The tongues of the world
What dracarys and valar morghulis truly mean, the words the horselords ride by, and how much of these languages the books actually set down — as against the screen.
High Valyrian
- dracarys“dragonfire”
High Valyrian, and the single word a dragon is taught to obey. Spoken by Daenerys Targaryen, it is the command to loose the flame — the shortest and most terrible order in the tongue of old Valyria.
- valar morghulis“all men must die”
The grave Braavosi greeting, pressed upon Arya Stark with an iron coin by the faceless man who called himself Jaqen H'ghar. A password, a farewell, and a whole philosophy in three words.
- valar dohaeris“all men must serve”
The answer that must follow. Death and duty, bound together — for in Braavos, and in the House of Black and White, the two are held to be one and the same.
These few phrases are very nearly the whole of the High Valyrian the published books set down in full. The old Freehold's tongue survives on the page as a scattering of words and the bastard Valyrian dialects of the Free Cities — each city having drifted from the mother tongue in its own direction. The fluent, fully-declined language heard in the moving pictures was built for the screen by a philologist of our own world, and reaches far beyond anything the novels record; the chronicle notes it as adaptation, not canon.
Dothraki
- khala warlord; a chief
The leader of a khalasar, master of all who ride beneath him.
- khaleesia khal's queen
The title Daenerys carried across the Dothraki sea as the wife of Khal Drogo.
- khalasara khal's people & host
The whole riding band — warriors, women, children, slaves and herds — that follows a single khal.
- arakhthe curved sword
The half-sword, half-scythe of the horselords, made for the reach and slash of a rider at the gallop.
- dosh khaleenthe crones of Vaes Dothrak
The widowed khaleesis who read omens and rule the one Dothraki city; every khaleesi is destined to join them, or die.
- “it is known”the Dothraki refrain
How the horselords close any matter beyond dispute — often a thing that is not known at all, but merely believed with enough conviction to make argument pointless.
The tongues of Westeros & beyond
The Common Tongue
The shared speech of Westeros south of the Wall, carried in by the Andals and now spoken from the sands of Dorne to the snows of the North. It is the language of the chronicle itself.
The Old Tongue
The speech of the First Men and the giants, all but silenced in the green lands but still living beyond the Wall, where wildlings and giants both keep it. A few of its words linger in old place-names the maesters no longer fully understand.
The Valyrian of the Free Cities
Nine cities, nine bastard daughters of High Valyrian — Braavos, Pentos, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys, Volantis and the rest, each having drifted from the Freehold's tongue in the centuries since the Doom drowned the mother city.
What does dracarys mean?
Dracarys is High Valyrian for “dragonfire,” and it is the single word a dragon is taught to obey — the command Daenerys Targaryen uses to bid her dragons loose their flames. It is the shortest and most terrible order in the tongue of old Valyria.
What does valar morghulis mean?
Valar morghulis is High Valyrian for “all men must die.” It serves the Braavosi as greeting, farewell, and password alike; the proper answer is valar dohaeris — “all men must serve.” Together they bind death and duty into a single creed.
What does khaleesi mean?
Khaleesi is the Dothraki word for a khal's queen — his wife. A khal is a warlord who leads a khalasar, the whole riding band of warriors, families, slaves and herds that follows him. Daenerys carries the title as the wife of Khal Drogo.
Are the languages in the books as complete as the show's?
No. The novels set down only a scattering of High Valyrian phrases and a modest Dothraki vocabulary. The fluent, fully grammatical languages heard in the television adaptation were built for the screen by a philologist and go far beyond anything the books record — the chronicle treats them as adaptation, not canon.