Complete High Valyrian Grammar Guide: 8 Cases, 7 Tenses
Table of Contents
This High Valyrian grammar guide begins with a key fact: High Valyrian grammar works very differently from English. It is a heavily inflected language created by linguist David J. Peterson for HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, which means words change their endings to show who is doing what, when it happened, and how it relates to everything else in the sentence. George R.R. Martin’s original books contained only a handful of Valyrian words, so nearly all of the grammar below comes from Peterson’s documented system.
This High Valyrian grammar guide gives you the complete picture: the four noun classes, the eight noun cases, how verbs conjugate for seven tenses, the SOV word order, and the rules for negation. Every rule here reflects grammar documented on the public High Valyrian wiki (wiki.dothraki.org and its sister wiki); where a form is reconstructed rather than directly attested, it is labeled as such.
Quick Answer
High Valyrian is a heavily inflected, verb-final language with four noun classes (lunar, solar, terrestrial, aquatic), eight noun cases, and four grammatical numbers. Verbs conjugate for person, number, tense, voice, and mood across seven tenses including the distinctive aorist and past habitual. The default word order is subject–object–verb (SOV), and subject pronouns are usually dropped because verb endings already show who acts. Read on for the full High Valyrian grammar guide.
High Valyrian Grammar Guide: Where the Language Comes From
High Valyrian was built from scratch by David J. Peterson, the linguist who also created Dothraki. When the television production needed full dialogue in Valyrian, Peterson designed a complete language — sound system, grammar, vocabulary — then expanded it for House of the Dragon. The public wikis track which words and forms are directly attested in dialogue and which are built by applying Peterson’s documented rules.
One practical consequence: the rules are remarkably regular. Learn the noun classes and the verb endings and you can build correct forms with confidence — as long as you stick to documented vocabulary. Guessing at words that never appeared in the shows or in Peterson’s published materials is where learners go wrong, so always check new words against a High Valyrian dictionary before using them. That single habit is the most useful takeaway from this High Valyrian grammar guide.
The Four Noun Classes
High Valyrian nouns belong to one of four grammatical classes — sometimes called “genders” — that have nothing to do with biological sex. Each noun’s class determines which declension pattern it follows:
- Lunar: roughly, noble or powerful beings — dragons, kings, gods. Example: vala (“man”).
- Solar: ordinary animate beings — people, animals, roles. Example: azantys (“knight, soldier”).
- Terrestrial: large or significant inanimate things — cities, mountains, ships.
- Aquatic: small or fluid things — water, fire, most abstract concepts.
The class of a noun is the single most important fact to learn about it, because adjectives must agree with nouns in class, number, and case. Peterson also created Dothraki, but Dothraki divides nouns only into animate and inanimate — a separate, simpler system. When you test a sentence in the English to Valyrian translator, keep in mind that it can suggest words but cannot do full class and case agreement for you; this High Valyrian grammar guide teaches you to check that yourself.
The Eight Noun Cases
Nouns change their endings depending on their job in the sentence. High Valyrian has eight cases — more than Latin’s six — though a few collapse together in some declensions. The nominative singular is the dictionary form, so dārys (“king”) as subject becomes dāri when it is the direct object.
| Case | Marks | English equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | The subject | “the king” (does the action) | dārys (“the king”) |
| Accusative | The direct object | “the king” (receives the action) | dāri (“the king,” as object) |
| Genitive | Possession, association | “of the king” | used with the postposition bē for “on top of” |
| Dative | The indirect object | “to/for the king” | recipient of a gift or message |
| Locative | Location | “in the king” / “at” | hen lentot — “from a house” uses the preposition hen + locative |
| Instrumental | Means or instrument | “with, by means of” | “with a sword” |
| Comitative | Accompaniment | “together with” | not distinguished from instrumental in all declensions |
| Vocative | Direct address | “O king!” | also used for the subject of third-person commands |
Our dedicated article on High Valyrian noun cases walks through each with example sentences and pairs well with this High Valyrian grammar guide. The crucial habit: never drop a noun into a sentence in its dictionary form unless it is the subject — High Valyrian relies on endings, not word order, to mark grammatical roles.
Four Grammatical Numbers
Beyond singular and plural, High Valyrian distinguishes the paucal (a few of something) and the collective (all of something as a group):
| Number | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | one | vala — “man” |
| Paucal | a few, some | valun — “some men” |
| Plural | more than one | vali — “men” |
| Collective | all, as a group | valar — “all men” |
You already know the collective from the show’s most famous phrases: valar morghulis (“all men must die”) and valar dohaeris (“all men must serve”). The collective can even be re-declined as a new singular, which is how azantyr shifts from “army” as a collective of soldiers to a regular noun meaning “army.” A good Valyrian to English translator will usually give you the dictionary form, so watch for number endings when reading real sentences — a preview of what this High Valyrian grammar guide unpacks in detail.
The Verb System at a Glance
High Valyrian verbs conjugate for person, number, tense, voice, and mood — seven tenses: present, aorist, future, imperfect (nonperfective), perfect, pluperfect, and past habitual. The dictionary form is the present active infinitive, ending in -agon: dohaeragon (“to serve”), ipradagon (“to eat”), sagon (“to be”).
The present tense endings are short and regular. Applied to the stem iprad- (“eat”), they give:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | ipradan — “I eat” | ipradi — “we eat” |
| 2nd person | ipradā — “you eat” | ipradāt — “you all eat” |
| 3rd person | ipradas — “he/she eats” | ipradis — “they eat” |
Two of these forms are directly attested in Peterson’s documented materials: ipradas and ipradis. The rest are regular forms produced by the documented endings. The full system — aorist, future, past habitual, and more — is covered in our companion High Valyrian verb tenses article; this High Valyrian grammar guide stays focused on the essentials.
Word Order: Verb Goes Last
The default word order is subject–object–verb (SOV). The verb stays at the end of the clause, and only one thing may follow it: the negation particle daor. Daenerys’s famous line shows the whole pattern in four words: zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor — “a dragon is not a slave” (subject, object, verb, negation).
Adverbs and adverbial phrases precede the verb: havon qurdot paerī neveti — “we carried the bread to the table slowly.” Adjectives usually precede their nouns but may follow them for formal emphasis, as in ābra kirine — “the happy woman.” Our High Valyrian sentence structure guide breaks down full examples that complement this High Valyrian grammar guide, including ditransitive sentences like taobot rūklon tepan (“I give the boy a flower”).
Pronouns and Pro-Drop
Because verb endings already mark person and number, subject pronouns are normally omitted — High Valyrian is a pro-drop language, like Latin or Spanish. The pronoun appears only for emphasis: nyke (“I”) shows up in nyke Daenerys Jelmāzmo (“I am Daenerys Stormborn”) because Daenerys is making a pointed declaration of identity. Mastering pro-drop early will make the rest of this High Valyrian grammar guide easier to apply.
Negation: daor Comes After the Verb
To negate a sentence, place daor (“no, not”) after the verb, at the very end of the sentence. Ziry parklon ipradus daor means “she generally doesn’t eat meat,” while kōrior gierion ērinus daor is the proverb-like “evil people never win.” Kessa (“yes,” attested in House of the Dragon) and standalone daor (“no”) handle simple answers; see our High Valyrian negation guide, the follow-up to this High Valyrian grammar guide, for how tense shapes a denial.
Long Vowels and Macrons
Vowel length is meaningful and written with macrons: ā ē ī ō ū ȳ (the ȳ is a long version of the front-rounded y sound, like German ü). Endings often hinge on a single long vowel, so always copy words with their macrons intact when looking them up in the High Valyrian phrases collection or dictionary. Keep this macron rule in mind whenever you look up words while using this High Valyrian grammar guide.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Using the dictionary form as the object: dārys is the king only as a subject; as an object it must be dāri.
- Putting the verb first: English order (subject–verb–object) is wrong — the verb goes last.
- Inventing words: if a word is not attested in the show or documented on the wiki, do not use it. The translator on this site works from documented vocabulary and does not produce perfect native-level grammar, so double-check anything important against these rules.
- Negating before the verb: daor follows the verb, as in zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor.
- Skipping the foundations: work through this High Valyrian grammar guide in order — noun classes, then cases, then verbs — instead of jumping straight to translation.
Related Valyrian Tools
Use these tools alongside this High Valyrian grammar guide:
- Valyrian to English translator — decode High Valyrian text word by word
- English to Valyrian translator — draft sentences, then check grammar by hand
- High Valyrian dictionary — verify vocabulary against documented words
- High Valyrian phrases — study attested example sentences
Frequently Asked Questions
Is High Valyrian a real language?
It is a real constructed language with a complete, documented grammar, created by linguist David J. Peterson for HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. It has native-style grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation rules, but no native speakers — it was designed for television, not for a real community. This High Valyrian grammar guide documents the system Peterson built for the screen.
How many noun cases does High Valyrian have?
Eight: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, locative, instrumental, comitative, and vocative. The instrumental and comitative merge in some declensions, and the genitive, dative, and locative are not always distinguished in the plural. The full breakdown with examples is in our noun cases guide, the companion to this High Valyrian grammar guide.
What is the basic word order of High Valyrian?
Subject–object–verb (SOV). The verb comes last in its clause, and the only word that may follow a verb is the negation particle daor. Adverbs precede the verb, and adjectives usually precede the noun they modify. SOV order is the backbone of every sentence you will build with this High Valyrian grammar guide.
What does the aorist tense do?
The aorist expresses timeless, general truths rather than events happening at a specific time. Valar morghulis (“all men must die”) uses the aorist because it states a universal fact, not something happening now. In negated sentences the aorist gives a philosophical “never,” as in kōrior gierion ērinus daor (“evil people never win”). The aorist is one of the first tenses this High Valyrian grammar guide recommends learning.
How do I say “no” and “not” in High Valyrian?
Daor serves as both “no” (standalone answer) and “not” (after the verb). Kessa (“yes”) is attested in House of the Dragon dialogue. See our negation rules guide for how daor interacts with tense — negation placement is a core rule in this High Valyrian grammar guide.
Where can I check whether a High Valyrian word is real?
Start with the High Valyrian dictionary on this site, and for grammar verification consult the public High Valyrian wiki (wiki.dothraki.org), which documents what is attested in the shows versus what is reconstructed by fans.
This High Valyrian grammar guide covers the core systems — noun classes, eight cases, seven verb tenses, SOV word order, pro-drop, and post-verbal negation. Learn the endings before you memorize vocabulary, and verify words against documented sources: a grammatically perfect sentence with an invented word is still wrong.