Quenya 101 Quenya

Tengwar Alphabet
Firstly, let’s learn the Tengwar alphabet focusing Quenya mode. Tengwar is a phonetic alphabet
and it can be used to write any language, as long as one grasps the meaningful phonetics rules
concerning the language mode desired and the tengwa used.

On this area initially, you’ll learn Tengwar alphabet designed to write Quenya and Quenya only.
Others languages require different modes, not discussed here.
Course Index
 Tengwar Chart
 Tehtar Chart
 Lessons (click on each tengwar line below)

 Exercise 1

 Exercise 2

 Exercise 3

 Exercise 4

 Exercise 5

 Exercise 6

 Exercise 7

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 Exercise 8

 Exercise 9

 Final Exercise
 Exercise Keys
 Quenya Guide
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Tengwar Chart

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The chart above shows all the tengwar (tengwa literally means letter) of the alphabet. Some of
them are used on Quenya mode, some are not. All tengwar represents consonantal values. But
what about the vowels? They’re different! They’re not letters by themselves, they’re tehtar
(tehta means diacritic). Below, you’ll find a chart with vowels, diphthongs and even some y-

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constructions.
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Tehtar Chart

Vowels when they come alone, they are supported by a short line if the vowel is short, or by a
long line if the vowel is long. When a vowel comes after a consonant, the corresponding
diacritic will appear on the top of that consonant. So, for instance a syllable like “pa” = P
tengwa+A tehta which will come on top of the P. Got it? On the other hand, a long vowel
will never come above a consonant. It’s always written with the long vowel support.
Click below on each tengwa in order to listen to its name and understand its proper sound in
Quenya.

(TIP: click with the right mouse button and open in another tab.)
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c/k

qu

Shall we practice reading a bit? Well, let’s use only the four consonants above and the vowels
we have seen so far. Try to read the words below and see if you can understand them. They are
simple words in Quenya and the answers are in the link given at the bottom of this page.
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Exercise 1

Easy? Hard? What did you think? Let’s head for the second row of tengwar:
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nd

mb

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ng

ngw

Now try to practice reading with this 2nd exercise involving all consonants so far:
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Exercise 2

Now let’s head to the 3rd row of tengwa. This one might need specific explanation concerning
some consonant values and Quenya internal history and its evolution through time.
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th (s)

-h

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hw

The 1st tengwa of this row (thúlë) denotes the phonetic evolution that came from Primitive
Quendian. There was indeed the th sound (quite like think) in Archaic Quenya, but this sound
vanished and was turned into a simple s sound (like sink). However, when we write Quenya
using its alphabet, we must be extremely careful with S words because you need to verify its
ancient root. If it came from ‘th’, you must write the word with thúlë and not silmë (will be
presented here later). E.g.: Sauron (not written with ‘s’ but with ‘th’) Why? It’s because Sauron
comes from saura (foul, putrid) and the primitive root of saura is (THUS).
Another detail in this row is the use of harma (-h). It’s never in the beginning of the word.
Always in the middle. There’s another specific tengwa for h sounds in the beginning of the
word which will be presented here later.
Time to exercise! I hope it’s been quite easy so far. Here a little bit more:

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Exercise 3

And here comes the next row of Tengwar, some compounds consonants that in Quenya are
taken as a unit and not as digraphs!
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nt

mp

nc

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nqu

Those digraphs substitutes presented above may be confusing sometimes (depending on one’s
mother tongue of course) but once you get used with Tengwar writing and reading, they won’t
pose any problem at all. So, start practicing right now:
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Exercise 4

Now some nasal consonants. Remember: what’s important in Tengwar alphabet is

the sound not the writing. In this case, for instance we have a huge difference between ‘n’ and
‘ñ’. Ok…I can see the difference between them right now you may say, but in Quenya
sometimes you cannot see it instantly. What do I mean? Well…e.g.: Noldor! Which letter n or
ñ? It’s ñ! See? It’s all based in sounds and the root of this particular word used as example
sounds ‘ñ’ not just a regular ‘n’. It’s little details but they surely will tell if you wrote something
right or wrong! So…look out! Quenya has got the Devil in the details!
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nw

Now head to more exercises:

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Exercise 5

And here comes the last row of the primary letters. Check them out and careful with the details
again. For instance: the -r tengwa below is only used in the end of syllables like ar, er, ir, or, ur
(and it’s strongly pronounced different from English). The y- tengwa is used only when ‘y’
comes in consonantal position and not palatalizing other consonant. (“ya” uses this tengwa
below, “tya” doesn’t.) Always when you write the ‘y-’ there are two dots underneath the tengwa
denoting the ‘y’ itself. And to conclude, there’s the w tengwa (always pronounced like v when
starting a word) which particularly is used to write ancient words with old roots in ‘w’.

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-r

y-

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w (v)

Time for more exercises. If you following them all, you’ll see it’s getting more complex and
including lot of tengwar by now. Keep training and practicing and in a while, you’ll be able to
read Quenya plainly!

-
Exercise 6

Don’t forget about the ‘y’. It’s marked by the two dots beneath the tengwa (when palatalizing a
consonant and coming at vowel position), and/or by the proper tengwa explained above (when
coming in consonantal position)

Now starts the additional letters row. It consists of tengwar not formed by telco nor lúva (telco
= leg & lúva = bow). They’re kind of a different style, but not less important as you’ll see below.
Their beauty and harmony stays the same and they simply add to the whole alphabet
composition. Here they are:

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r-

rd

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ld

And let’s practice more! There are lots of words with l and r in Quenya. Important exercise!

-
Exercise 7

Continuing with the Tengwar, we have now some easy ones! Everything related to ‘S’. It’s no
secret and it’s pretty much equivalent with English. Just watch out that it never sounds like ‘Z’,
it’s just a simple ‘s’ and double ‘ss’ doesn’t change that much phonetically. So, here it is:

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s (when carrying vowels)

ss

ss (when carrying vowels)

Here comes a very challenging exercise! If you cannot read it at once, read the aid given below
that will clear out some unexpected tengwar use here:

-
Exercise 8

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Well, the first weird thing you might be wondering is: What the heck is that thing in the end of
the 1st word of 2nd line? That’s an S! When coming at final position, S takes that unusual form,
like an artistic extension of the previous tengwar. But that happens only when S is the final
letter!!! S is a tengwa full of tricks, huh?

And what about the following word? You can see there a SS without a vowel, right? But why
the tilt after? The tilt corresponds a simple hyphen. The word presented there is in fact a root,
not a word in itself. I just used it here because SS without carrying a vowel is pretty pretty
rare in Quenya orthography! There is a tengwa to stand for that, but it’s applicable only on
those extreme situations like above.

Now the last tengwar of all and their particular details:

-

h- (only at word beginning)

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-i (diphthongs only)

-u (diphthongs only)

h (only before l or r)

And here it’s the last exercise involving the tengwa shown above. What are your Tengwar
reading and writing skills like so far? Are you doing fine? Do you have some doubts yet? Share
anything you feel like with me! I’ve been contacted by people who are improving their
knowledge and once you understand the syllabic logic within the Tengwar writing system,
everything becomes plain clear in front of your eyes! I hope I can assist thee in thy quest!
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Exercise 9

Extra notes
Well…all tengwar is here! If you followed this course so far, trained with the exercises and
practiced elsewhere too, you’re definitely ready and ‘graduated’ to start writing in Tengwar!
Here there are just a few notes about punctuation which might prove to be really helpful when
writing a text.
-

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. (paragraph’s end)

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()

And here also 2 important and final details about tengwar diacritics. Pay attention to them
because they’re very common!
-

Tilt = double consonant

Double dots = palatal consonant

-
Final exercise
If you can read the text below, you’re ready to live among elves! Congratulations! Try to read it
without checking the course above (when possible). Keys are coming!

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Check all your answers to the exercises in the link below.

Exercise Keys

Exercise Keys

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Quenya Guide

Tengwar Quenya Mode Quick Guide

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Exercise Keys
Here are the answers for all the exercises given in the Tengwar Alphabet Course. Check your
progress and any further doubts concerning these answers, do contact me!

Exercise 1

ta / tá / tópa / quetë / cucua / pitya

Exercise 2

ando / tumba / anga / ungwë / cenda / quendi

Exercise 3

asëa / fenda / sambë / hwindë / tehta / pahta

Exercise 4

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quanta / enquantentë / finca / tampa / ampendë / tinco

Exercise 5

nanda / ñanda / nwalca / muina / minquë / ñoldo

Exercise 6

már / vanya / wendë / yávië / yondonya / varna

Exercise 7

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lambë / aldu / arda / rómenna / rucë / laurelin

Exercise 8

sarno / pusta / lissë / falas / falass- / alassë

Exercise 9

harma / huinë / aulë / hlarë / hranga / taurë

Final Exercise

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I orvar nandeva haryar, i erdë alasseva i talan ná alya mélala cimiello, á patya, áva quelë enyalien, lá. Á lilta morniessë
lómeva, á lirë arinwa cálen.

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Orthography
Orthography is such a fine art. It’s the detail, it’s the beauty. Unfortunately, people tend to
write things wrongly and poorly (be it by ignorance, by distraction or by laziness) specially on
the internet. What a tragedy! If you’re here, then you must like languages and I’m sure you’re
gonna stick to a fine Quenya writing as a quettandil (lover of the word). So, be mindful of the
following:…
Obs.: In this course, Tengwar writing is not the focus, so only Roman alphabet will be
referred to, for learning reasons. For Tengwar insight, check the previous course.

Course Index
 Basics
 Vowels
 Diphthongs
 Consonants
 Structure
 Double Consonants
 Consonant Clusters (unit)
 Consonant Clusters (not a unit)
 Diaeresis
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Basics
-
Quenya has 5 vowels

aeiou
They can be short vowels as above (without accent) or long vowels as below (with accent)

áéíóú
The small e (never capital E) may come with diaeresis depending on the position and situation.
You might even see another vowel with diaresis, but that’s not common. (details to be
explained later).

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ë (ä ö)
-
Quenya has 6 diphthongs

ai oi ui au eu iu
Diphthongs are written and pronounced altogether. They’re a unit. If you see two vowels
together other than those above, they’re not diphtongs. For instance:

ea ie eo ua uo ia io oa ue
Some vowel combinations DO NOT exist in Quenya. No way, never! Such as:

ei ao ae oe ou
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Quenya has 13 single consonants

tpcsfhnmrvywl
Those single consonants are considered an unit (obviously) and they may appear everywhere in
the word (1st, 2nd, 3rd syllable)

In Quenya, There is no:

jkz
The following consonants cannot appear by themselves. Alone they don’t form an unit, so they
need to come “attached” to another one, therefore you will never see them beginning any word
in Quenya.

bdg
From the 13 consonants shown above, only 5 can appear as the final letter of a word:

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trlns
-

Structure
The basic structure of a syllable in Quenya is: CV (consonant-vowel), so usually you’ll have
words containing only CV-CV-CV in its structure. However, there are some consonant clusters
allowed. They’re few and some of them work as a unit (not 2 letters in Quenya
orthography). Below, let’s analyze them all:

-
Double consonants

tt pp cc nn mm ll rr ss
They are considered as units and they play a major role in Quenya pronunciation. They are
longer than their single counterparts and they attract the stress to the previous syllable
(Quenya stress will be discussed later)

-
Consonant clusters (unit)

nd mb ng ngw nt mp nc
rd ld
The ones above cannot appear in the word’s beginning. They never do!

nqu
The one above follows the same principles of the previous one, but I left it out because there’s a
particularity here: the letter ‘u’ is considered a consonant. As weird as it may sound, what
matters here is the phonology and it’s <ncw>. See?

hw hl hr
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The ones above only come at the beginning of the word. Never in any other position. Although
they look odd, they still form an unit, not 2 letters.

qu
Once again as the ‘nqu’, this is considered a consonant cluster due to its phonology <cw> It
may come at any position in the word and it’s pretty common in Quenya.

nw
Uh-oh…here’s a cluster which rendered some debate around here. So, depending on your
own orthographic reference and individual thought you may use it only in the beginning of the
words OR anywhere else too. It’s debatable. Feel free to draw your own conclusions on the
matter.

ny ry ty ly hy
Very very common cluster in Quenya. The Y here functions as a “nasalized” marking for the
consonant and it also counts as a unit.

th
The consonant cluster above is common on some Quenya words in their archaic form. It is
counted as an unit, but it’s usually rendered as a simple ‘S,’ although it’s written with a
particular tengwa, and may be pronounced differently as well. (More about it in the coming
Phonetic course)
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Consonant clusters (not a unit)

ht lc lm lp lqu lt lv lw mn
ps pt rc rm rqu rt rs rw sc
squ st sw ts
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Above you got consonant clusters that are not counted as a unit. They are allowed in Quenya,
but they represent 2 different tengwar when writing and theydo not count as a unit. These
consonant clusters don’t come at the same syllable, they cannot appear at the beginning of a
word and although they are allowed (usually at the breaking of syllables), some of them are not
as frequent as others combinations here.
Below there are some consonant clusters that are common in some languages like English and
others, but in Quenya they ARE NOT allowed:

sh gr pl sm ph wr ck bl sl
fr wh
Final consideration about structure
There’s a golden rule I follow myself when composing Quenya words based on etymology or
mainly in an orthographic equivalent. The rule is: Is there already a Tolkien attested word with
THAT kind of consonant cluster (vowels are easier to determine if their combinations are
allowed or not, so it never poses a problem) that I wanna to write? If yes, then it is allowed in
Quenya! If no…uh-oh…better avoid it because Quenya orthography (which is pretty restrictive)
maybe doesn’t allow it!

Diaeresis
As stated above, Quenya got diaeresis on some vowels (a, e, o). But why is it so? This is a
feature Tolkien chose to use in order to emphasize the distinct pronunciation of some Quenya
words.

Here are some situations where you will ALWAYS use diaeresis:

-ë
Final e is always marked with diaresis. So, you’ll
have lambë (language), yávië(autumn), melë (to love) and so on. The only exceptions are:
monosyllabic words such as ve (as), te (them), le (you) and so on.
Function: To stress the pronunciation of the ‘e’ in the end of the words unlikely some English
words and most of French too.

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ëa ëo (Eä Eö)
When those vowels above come together with e, have in mind: They are not diphthongs AND a
diaeresis will come in the e, except when it’s capital E, then the diaeresis jumps to the following
vowel (a or o). For example: neldëa (third),ëar (sea), Eärendil (sea-lover), aldëon (avenue
of trees) Eönwë (herald of Manwë). There is only one single “mutated” word: loëndë (year-
middle day) which has the “eo” inverted, but the diaeresis rule still apply.
Function: Distinguish the pronunciation of the 2 vowels involved as 2 separate sounds. They
are not a diphthong and should not be pronounced altogether.

Note about diaeresis

That’s a feature you will only use while writing Quenya with Roman alphabet. There’s no
difference at all between an e or ë when you write in Tengwar.

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Phonotactics
After you’ve got in touch with Quenya orthography, you see clearly how restrict it is, comparing
to other languages. Also, the limitation of vocabulary and the rendering of names without
having a reliable etymological source may push you to an orthographic equivalent or
adaptation.
Here, I’ll provide some guidance in order to exchange here and there the letters you’ll need to
fit the Quenya orthography. Noteworthy to point out is that some people tend to work those
exchanges of letters by adhering closely to the historical evolution of the elvish languages and
all the mechanisms triggered by constant changes in it. Well, that’s an interesting approach,
however if one thinks deeply about the matter this conclusion would certainly come up:
Why use elvish evolutionary features in a word that does not come from any elvish
language?

For instance: L is a good substitute for D in Quenya. There is a whole reason for that. Primitive
Quendian and Common Eldarin history explains why. But why would I write a Hebrew name
David as Lavir in Quenya? (It has been done by Neo-Quenya people) It doesn’t make sense. A
Hebrew word would never undergo the features and changes that a regular elvish word had. It
is not native. It’s a foreign word and phonotactics is exactly about that! Arranging foreign
words to make them suitable in another orthographic system. (not pretending that they are
native and molding them as native words). So…here you will find a different way of thinking
and doing it. I will follow closely the IPA chart and all the phonetic relations involved in
changing one letter for another.
Below, you’ll find the most common substitutions practiced so far as well as why, phonetically,
they are done this way. All the symbols in bold and in the headings refer to the IPA, which you
may consult here.

Initial position
b β
B becomes V. Same relation established by the almost same sound between ‘b’ & ‘v’ in Spanish.

Example:

 Benin ⇨ Venin

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bl, kl, dl, fl, gl, pl ɬ

BL, CL, DL, FL, GL, KL becomes HL. Some might turn ‘consonant+l‘ into simple ‘l’ (that’s
absolutely ok if we’re not handling the cluster in the beginning of the word), but that just
ignores the main consonant accompanying the ‘l’ which constitutes the core while promoting
an unvoiced ‘l’ into a voiced single ‘l’. I don’t like it! It doesn’t make sense. With the ‘hl’ of
Quenya, we keep the unvoiced ‘l’ at check and constitute a more harmonious equivalent.
Examples:

 Blarney ⇨ Hlarni
 Claiborne ⇨ Hlaivóren
 Dlažkovice ⇨ Hláscovitsë
 Flambeau ⇨ Hlambo
 Glasgow ⇨ Hlascou
 Placentia ⇨ Hlasentya

br, kr, dr, fr, gr, pr ɺ

BR, CR, DR, FR, GR, KR becomes HR. Same thing here as cited above! It’s slight inaccurate to
convert ‘consonant+r’ to simple ‘r’ letting go completely the ‘main consonant’ sound and its
influences.
Examples:

 Brazil ⇨ Hrasil
 Christ ⇨ Hristo
 Drengist ⇨ Hrengist
 Frankfurt ⇨ Hrancefurt
 Grenada ⇨ Hrinéta
 Prestbury ⇨ Hrestemberi

ʃ ͡tʃ
CH & SH becomes TY. Instead of a voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant (non existent in Quenya),
we change it to a voiceless palato-alveolar affricative.
Example:

 Champagne ⇨ Tyampan

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d t
D becomes T. As said before, ‘d’ & ‘l’ are only related somehow in the elvish phonetic evolution.
And it stops right there! In any other circumstances, we would obtain ‘d’ & ‘t’ pairing as they
are alveolar plosives much more related than ‘d’ & ‘l’.

Example:

 Dagana ⇨ Tacana

d͡ ʒ ͡tʃ
G becomes TY. Attention to the sound! This G stands for d͡ʒ (gin). So, naturally this sound
would be substitute for TY in Quenya, which is pretty close to that.
Example:

 Geneva ⇨ Tyeníva

g k
G becomes K. Both are Dorsal Velars, so the change is an obvious one to make.

Example:

 Gaavillingili ⇨ Cávillingili

ʒ j
J becomes Y. That’s exactly the reverse of good ol’ Latin. You know, Quenya is based on Latin
too…so it couldn’t be more appropriate (not only phonetically speaking)

Example:

 Jesus ⇨ Yésus

sk, skw, st e+s…

SC, SK, SQ & ST are not allowed in initial position in any Quenya word. So, to adapt them all,
we shall use a recurrent feature, largely used in many languages which is to add a “supporting”

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vowel in the beginning of the word. E isthe connecting vowel of Quenya in many situations, so
more than appropriate here.
Example:

 Skåne ⇨ Escónë
 Squaw ⇨ Esquo
 Steuben ⇨ Estoiven

sl, sm, sn, sp, sv l, m,

n, f, v
SL, SM, SN, SP & SV become L, M, N, F & V respectively. Unfortunately, here are consonant
clusters that are not allowed anywhere in the word. Thus, it’s not a matter of introducing a
supporting vowel at the beginning, like the method above. There is no method at all to deal
with this. Bottom line is: we gotta mimic an elvish phonological evolution (because we simply
don’t have another way) where SL turned into HL and subsequently L for instance.

Examples:

 Sligo ⇨ Laico
 Småland ⇨ Mólan (Móland-)
 Snyder ⇨ Naiter
 Sparta ⇨ Farta
 Svetlogorsk ⇨ Vetyolocoscë

z s
Z becomes S. Easy one. Both are alveolar fricative and as there’s no Z in Quenya, S is its natural
substitute (even though in elvish languages the phonetic evolution worked something different)

Example:

 Zambia ⇨ Sambia

Medial position

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CC CeC / CiC
Medial position consonant clusters can be dealt much easily than the initial position ones.
Quenya is a restrictive language but you simply need to add a vowel right in the consonant
cluster and voilà…you’ll have a perfectly suitable word in Quenya. Let’s analyze the…

Example:

 Antigua & Barbuda ⇨ Antiqua & Varevuta / Antiqua & Varivuta

As you can see we had all the necessary changes (with g, b & d) and also the breaking up of the
consonant cluster /rb/ with the introduction of a neutral vowel. In Quenya, you may
use e or i, both are suitable for the task. If you happen to find a triconsonantal cluster, don’t
despair! Try to understand its phonemes (usually a bunch of consonants altogether may be
separated into simpler sounds) so you add just one breaking vowel (e – i). Though, if it’s not
possible to reduce its phonetic value, add the vowels you need to have a word valid in Quenya
orthography.

Final position
-C* -Cë
* = C {t, l, n, s, r}
Here’s something we gotta deal in Quenya: final position consonants. Emphasis
on consonants, single ones not clusters. Why is that? Because as you know, Quenya has got
strict rules about the allowed consonants at the end of the words. So, following the same
concept illustrated above, you just need to add a supporting vowel in the end and you’ll have a
perfectly acceptable Quenya word.
If the consonant is the ones mentioned (t, l, n, s, r) then you need do nothing! Those are ok in
final position. If you got a cluster at the end of the word, then apply the medial position as
well as final position rules. Supporting vowels are the best help you can get to break
down nonexistent Quenya orthography .
Example:

 Carryduff ⇨ Céritufë

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Phonetics
This is by far the most awaited course! People have been urging for that! You know…sometimes
they find THE right course, read it, study it…but even though they get all the phonetics
information they need, something still lacks! They don’t LISTEN! Here in Quenya101, you can
enjoy audio resources available inPoem & Prose and Ainulindalë Quenyanna, and now here at
Smart Course! Check all the phonetic details concerning vowels, consonants, nasalizations of
Quenya! As I said…it’s time to listen! (So you know the drill, click on the letters and listen!)
Course Index
 Vowels
 Short Vowels: a, e, i, o, u.
 Long Vowels: á, é, í, ó, ú.
 Diaeresis: ë.
 Diphthongs: ai, oi, ui, au, eu, iu.
 Hiatuses: ëa, uo, ie, ua, ëo, oa.
 Consonants
 1st row: t, p, k, kʷ.
 2nd row: ŋd, ŋb, ŋg, ŋgʷ.
 3rd row: θ, f, -h, hʷ.
 4th row: ŋt, ŋp, ŋk, ŋkʷ.
 5th row: n, m, ŋ, nʷ.
 6th row: ɹ, v, j, v.
 7th row: ɾ, ɹd, l, ld.
 8th row: s.
 9th row: h-.
-

Vowels

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Diphthongs
-

Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a diphthong (within the same syllable)

Hiatuses

Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

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Always pronounced as a hiatus (separately, not within the same syllable)

There are more hiatuses in Quenya than those shown above, but they are less common and as
you can notice they all follow the same pattern of pronunciation. Therefore, they will not be
demonstrate here. So, now…we come to a very important issue (but not hard at all) on Quenya
phonetics…….

Consonants

Quenya consonants are easy to get (even if you don’t have a Latin based language background)
and some few may pose a challenge to people who are not used with foreign phonemes.
-

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A regular T similar to its English counterpart. E.g.: take, tie

Recommended: Doors – Light My Fire lyrics. Check the t’s!

A regular P similar to its English counterpart. E.g.: part, pie

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C is always pronounced like a K, never as an S. E.g.: cart, key

This is like a K with a W attached to it, so it sounds like Q. E.g.: quartz, quote

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D is always preceded by an N and is pronounced just like English. E.g.: handy, bounded

B is always preceded by an M & is pronounced like English. E.g.: mambo, lambeau

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G is always preceded by an N & souns as English middle NG, not final. E.g.: mango, anger

This is a G with a W attached to it. It’s always preceded by an N. E.g.: (Spanish) lengua,

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The TH almost similar to English TH. Tongue is articulated touching the back of upper teeth.
Attention: in Quenya orthography, this is rendered as an s. E.g.: (Icelandic) þakið

Regular F like English. E.g.: fork, father

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This is the H coming after vowels, pronounced like German phone and allophone. E.g.:
(German) acht, (German) ich

This is a regular H labialized i.e. with a semivocalic U attached to it. E.g.: N/A (at least in non-
extinct languages)

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This is a regular T preceded by the nasal N. E.g.: wanted, untouchable

This is a regular P preceded by the nasal M. E.g.: amplify, trump

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This is a regular K preceded by the nasal N. E.g.: uncle, anchor

This is like a K with a W attached to it, so it sounds like Q and is preceded by the nasal N. E.g.:
uncle, anchor

Recommended: Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast lyrics. Check the nqu’s!

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This is the regular English N. E.g.: note, spoken

This is the regular English M. E.g.: mother, stomach

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This is the N in the final of some words. E.g.: king, among

This is an N with a W attached to it. The sound is modified just like K + W = Q E.g.: anwerne
(“we” in Aranda)

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This is the English R sound that comes after vowels at the end of syllables. E.g.: Mars, bird.

This is a regular English V. E.g.: vase, visit.

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This is like a regular English Y always in consonantal position. E.g.: you, yellow.

This is like a regular German W sound (just like English V). E.g.: wunderbar,werden.

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This is a flap R very common in Spanish and American English allophone of intervocalic T.
E.g.: rojo, butter

This is like any RD would sound in English. E.g.: hard, murder.

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This is a clear L (even in the end of the syllables) like most English and Spanish words.
E.g.: long, lately, papel.

This is a simple L & D coming together. E.g.: older, .golden

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All the 4 tengwar shown above stand for the regular S sound in English. E.g.: set,suicide

Common regular H sound in most of English words. E.g.: hair, hell

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