Starting High Valyrian for beginners can feel intimidating. There are macrons over the vowels, nouns that change through eight cases, and a word order that flips English sentences around. But High Valyrian is one of the most learnable constructed languages in fiction, precisely because its creator, linguist David J. Peterson, documented it so thoroughly. This guide is your start-here hub: pronunciation essentials, your first 20 real words, the grammar skeleton in plain English, a concrete first-week plan, and the free tools that make it all stick.
Quick Answer
High Valyrian for beginners starts with pronunciation (long vowels, a trilled r, and the rounded y), then a core set of about 20 everyday words, then the grammar skeleton: SOV word order, four noun classes, eight cases, and dropped pronouns. A solid first week means two days on sounds, two on vocabulary, two on grammar, and one day reviewing with the dictionary and the High Valyrian translator.
High Valyrian for Beginners: Pronunciation First
Pronunciation is the kindest part of High Valyrian. The spelling is almost perfectly phonetic: every letter is pronounced, and there are no silent letters to memorize. If you can read a word, you can say it. Three features give the language its distinctive sound.
1. The macrons: ā ē ī ō ū ȳ
A macron, the line over a vowel, means the vowel is long: you hold it about twice as long as a short vowel. Blēnon (mountain) is not said like “blenon”; the ē stretches out, so it sounds closer to “bleh-non” with a longer first vowel. Missing a macron can change meaning, so always write them. On a keyboard, most learners copy-paste them or set up long-press shortcuts on their phones.
2. The trilled r and the rounded y
The r is trilled, like in Spanish or Italian: a rolling sound, never the flat English r. The y is rounded like the French u or German ü: say “ee” while rounding your lips as if saying “oo.” This one sound instantly makes your High Valyrian recognizable to other fans.
3. Everything is pronounced
Unlike English, High Valyrian has almost no silent letters, and stress falls in predictable places. Spend your first two days here. Good pronunciation makes every word you learn afterward twice as memorable, because your ear and your mouth learn them together.
Your First 20 High Valyrian Words
Every word in this table comes from documented High Valyrian vocabulary: no invented words, no guesses. These twenty are chosen because they are short, common, or immediately useful, and you will recognize several from the show. Learn them with their sounds, and you will already have the raw material for your first sentences.
| Word | Meaning | Say it like | Why learn it first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daor | not; no | “dah-OR” | The most useful negation word. You need “no” from day one. |
| Biarvose | you’re welcome | “bee-ar-VOH-seh” | A polite reply that pairs naturally with thank-you phrases. |
| Anne | horse | “AHN-neh” | Short, simple, and very Valyrian: the culture loved horses. |
| Glaesa | alive; true, real | “GLYEH-sah” | Teaches the gl- cluster and a classic High Valyrian ending. |
| Emagon | to have | “eh-MAH-gon” | A core verb with the common -agon infinitive ending. |
| Mazvestragon | to speak | “mahz-veh-STRAH-gon” | The verb of language itself. Essential for a learner. |
| Raqagon | to like, to love | “rah-KAH-gon” | Another -agon verb, and the root of several words below. |
| Raqnon | love | “RAHK-non” | Shows how roots turn into nouns. Compare raqagon above. |
| Raqiros | friend | “rah-KEE-ros” | Same raq- root again. Patterns like this make vocabulary stick. |
| Raqnoso | By friendship! (a greeting) | “rahk-NOH-soh” | Your first real High Valyrian greeting. |
| Jelmāzmo | Stormborn (title) | “yel-MAHZ-moh” | Introduces the long ā and the soft j, which sounds like “y.” |
| Dorzālty | the Unburnt (title) | “dor-ZAHL-tee” | One of Daenerys Targaryen’s titles. Instantly recognizable. |
| Amāzigon | to come, to arrive | “ah-mah-ZEE-gon” | A core motion verb, useful in almost any sentence. |
| Blēnon | mountain | “BLEH-non” (long e) | Teaches the long vowel ē in a concrete, easy noun. |
| Ābrar | humanity, all people; life | “AH-brahr” (long a) | A big, sonorous word that shows off the long ā. |
| Bisa | this (for animates) | “BEE-sah” | Your first demonstrative. You will point at things constantly. |
| Dorolvie | few, not many | “doh-ROL-vee-eh” | A handy quantifier. Pairs with naena below. |
| Dija | hot, warm | “DEE-jah” | A simple adjective. Adjectives are beginner-friendly in High Valyrian. |
| Naena | many, multitude | “NYEH-nah” | The opposite of dorolvie. Learn opposites together. |
| Beka | regular, normal, usual | “BEH-kah” | Short, common, and easy to drop into practice sentences. |
Beyond these twenty, you will recognize famous on-screen lines such as dracarys (“dragonfire”) and valar morghulis (“all men must die”). A quick accuracy note for the careful learner: the show’s subtitles write the dragonfire command as “Dracarys,” while Peterson’s published dictionary spelling is drakarys. Both are widely used; what matters is picking one spelling and staying consistent, never mixing the two silently.
The Grammar Skeleton in Plain English
You do not need to master High Valyrian grammar in week one. In this guide for beginners, you only need its skeleton. Four ideas carry most of the language’s structure.
SOV word order
English is Subject-Verb-Object: “I see the mountain.” High Valyrian is Subject-Object-Verb: the verb goes last. Once you internalize “verb at the end,” whole sentences suddenly parse.
Four noun classes
Every noun belongs to one of four classes: lunar, solar, terrestrial, or aquatic. Think of them like grammatical genders in French or German. They decide which endings a noun takes. You do not choose the class; you learn it with the word, the way you learn that der Tisch is masculine.
Eight cases
Nouns change their endings depending on their job in the sentence: subject, possessor, location, and so on. High Valyrian has eight cases. That sounds like a lot, but the endings are regular, and beginners only need the nominative (subject) and accusative (object) to start reading simple sentences.
Pro-drop: pronouns are optional
Verbs carry person and number information, so subject pronouns are usually dropped, just like in Spanish. A single conjugated verb can be a complete sentence. This actually makes High Valyrian easier, not harder: fewer words to juggle.
Your First Week Plan
Here is a concrete seven-day plan that turns the sections above into daily action.
- Days 1 and 2: Sounds. Work through the pronunciation section above: macrons, the trilled r, the rounded y. Read the 20 words aloud until they feel natural.
- Days 3 and 4: Vocabulary. Memorize the 20-word table, focusing on the -agon verbs (emagon, mazvestragon, raqagon, amāzigon) and the raq- word family. Notice the patterns rather than drilling blindly.
- Days 5 and 6: Grammar skeleton. Re-read the grammar sections above slowly. Practice rearranging simple English sentences into SOV order as a game: “I the mountain see.”
- Day 7: Review and play. Quiz yourself on the 20 words, re-read the pronunciation rules, and translate simple phrases with the English to Valyrian translator and the Valyrian to English translator. End the week by reading about common Valyrian phrases and their meanings to hear familiar words in context.
Tools to Use as a Beginner
- High Valyrian dictionary: 400 searchable, verified entries. Your first stop for any unknown word, and the authority behind the vocabulary on this page. Our translation sources page explains exactly where those entries come from.
- English to Valyrian translator: turn practice sentences into High Valyrian and check your word order.
- Valyrian to English translator: decode phrases you hear on the show or read online.
- High Valyrian phrases: ready-made phrases for greetings, farewells, and famous quotes.
Avoid the classic beginner trap of memorizing grammar tables before you can pronounce the words in them. Sounds first, then words, then grammar. If motivation dips, remember why you started: a language this well documented, built by a professional linguist, is a rare thing among fictional tongues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is High Valyrian hard to learn as a beginner?
It is moderately challenging but very learnable. The pronunciation is phonetic, the grammar is regular, and the documentation is unusually complete for a fictional language. Most beginners find the first month is mostly vocabulary and sounds; the cases become the real work later.
What should I learn first in High Valyrian?
Pronunciation first (macrons, trilled r, rounded y), then a core set of everyday words like the 20 in this guide, then the grammar skeleton: SOV order, noun classes, and cases. Resist jumping into full grammar tables before you can say the words comfortably.
How long before I can say my first sentences?
With a week of steady practice on the plan above, you can produce simple sentences using the dictionary for vocabulary and the grammar skeleton for word order. Most learners reach comfortable reading of simple phrases within one to three months of regular study.
Is it spelled “drakarys” or “Dracarys”?
Both exist. Peterson’s published dictionary uses drakarys, while the television subtitles spell the command “Dracarys.” Pick one spelling per context and stay consistent. The same care applies to macrons everywhere: they are part of the word, not decoration.
Do I need to watch the show to learn?
Not strictly, but it helps enormously. Recognizing words like dracarys in context gives your memory powerful hooks, and the show is the main source of attested High Valyrian. Watching with an ear for the language doubles as listening practice.
Can I really become fluent in High Valyrian?
Functional fluency (reading, writing, and holding simple conversations) is genuinely achievable, because the language is complete enough to support it. Native-like mastery takes years, but the documented vocabulary and grammar give you a real foundation to build on.