New Klingon Words
The words listed here were revealed or expanded upon after the publication of The Klingon Dictionary and Klingon for the Galactic Traveler. This list was originally compiled and maintained for many years by Will Martin (a.k.a. charghwI'), then it was curated by Alan Anderson (a.k.a. ghunchu'wI'), and has now been handed over to a team of volunteers lead by Tali Smith (a.k.a. tIjey). Note that not all of these words are perfectly defined, and the list is subject to additions, deletions, and emendations as our knowledge increases. The choice of what words deserve to be included in this list is up to the team. Send them suggestions for additional entries, realizing that only words from confirmed Okrand sources will be accepted, and the source must be cited. See the explanation at the bottom of this list for source abbreviation descriptions.
In order not to compete with Dr. Okrand's income via royalties, the vocabulary of TKD and KGT will not be reproduced here. For a complete word list, combine this list with the ones in those two books.
Last updated: 2025-04-14
tlhach mu'mey
n
jargon
KGT p45
tlhagh patat 'oQqar naQHommey
n
fries
TN!LK
tlham
v
slide
qep'a' 25
tlham rI'gheS
n
parachute [lit. gravity deflector. Apparatus that creates some sort of force field that counters gravity when descending.]
qepHom 2020
tlhamchem
n
gravitational field
qepHom 2017
tlhan
v
dig [the object is dirt or soil or a field or a road, for example, not "hole"]
qep'a' 25
tlhapragh
n
monster
qepHom 2017
tlhargh
v
explore [This implies going somewhere and looking around. It can also be translated "scout" or "survey". Does not take an object.] [Request]
qep'a' 28
tlharwIl
n
link in a chain
qep'a' 25
tlharwIl
n
episode in a TV show
qepHom 2024
tlharwIl Duj
n
railroad car [part of a train]
MiniaturWunderland
tlhat
n
grid [either two-dimensional array or lines on a map]
qepHom 2015 p.18
tlhavqop
n
punctuation [A slang expression is ghewmey. tlhavqop is inherently plural, but you can say tlhavqop ngutlh(mey) punctuation mark(s).] [Request]
qep'a' 26
tlhay
n
sound of letter tlh [alphabet]
qep'a' 16
tlhay
v
embalm [Refers to infusing a dead body with some sort of fluid to preserve it (and thereby create a jItuj'ep "mummy").]
qepHom 2020
tlhay'
v
be tame, domesticated [Friends of Maltz: Quvar]
qep'a' 23
tlhay'qeq
n
domestication [The request was for a socio-historical term with the morpheme -qeq. As with mang, qeq is not a freely applied element.]
qep'a' 30
tlhech
v
investigate
qepHom 2024
tlhechwI'
n
investigator
qepHom 2024
tlheD
v
depart [implies setting out on a journey, having a goal or destination in mind]
qepHom 2019
tlhegh jIrmoHwI'
n
windlass
ta'puq mach
tlheH
n
spell (magical) [One can say either tlheH reS or just reS alone for he/she casts a spell.]
November 2016 email to Lieven
tlhej
v.t.
accompany [Note: this is labeled as a noun in TKD, but Okrand corrected himself in Okrand's notes.]
HolQeD v2n4p18, TKW p161
tlhen
v
sound as, produce the sound of [Use with sound nouns e.g., bobDar tlhen "(it) produces a splash sound".]
qep'a' 28
tlheng'IQ
n
thranx [a plant described in the novel Kahless by Michael Jan Friedman]
paq'batlh
tlhep
v
be suspended, dangling [Use HuS if, for example, you hang your coat on a hook on the wall or hang sheets on a clothesline to dry. But if, say, you see a spider dangling at the bottom of one of those silk threads that spiders extrude, use tlhep. Or if you see a pair of shoes tied together by the laces and, for whatever reason, they're hanging by the tied-together laces from an overhead power wire, use tlhep.]
Hamletmachine
tlhep
v
be dangling; also: be straight (hair) [basically the intransitive meaning of ?hang?, like a spider dangling from a thread or a pair of sheos from a power line] [Request]
qepHom 2021
tlhepQe'
n
saliva
HolQeD, v12n4p8
tlhepwI'
n
uvula (informal term) [The formal term is roDSon.]
qep'a' 28
tlhIm
n
carpet, rug, tapestry, blanket [Marc Okrand email 2012-01-09]
qepHom
tlhIn
v
be particular, individual [Note that "individual" in this definition does not mean simply "single, separate" but rather something like "be attributable to something or someone" or "be uniquely associated with something or someone."]
qepHom 2017
tlhIng yoS
proper n
Kling District
BoP Poster
tlhI'
v
sign
Klingon at Conventions
tlhI'
n
signature
Klingon at Conventions
tlhoD
v
be somewhat obscured, filtered, smudged, fuzzy
qep'a' 23
tlhogh
v
get married to, marry [This verb can be used regardless of who's getting married. "Marry" in the sense of what the person who conducts a marriage ceremony does would be tlhoghmoH (and the object would be plural).]
13 July 2017 email to Lieven
tlhom
n
dusk [Friends of Maltz: Quvar]
qep'a' 23
tlhom chum
n
sunset (colorful sky) [Friends of Maltz: Quvar]
qep'a' 23
tlhop
n
public area
qepHom 15
tlhoqtlhal
n
favor [This is generally the object of a verb like tur. The recipient of the favor is marked with -vaD.] [Request]
qep'a' 27
tlhoS
adv
barely ["almost," used with a negative verb]
qep'a' 25
tlhot
v
land on water (like a bird) [if bird lands on land, use Saq, in a tree, use ngun]
HolQeD v10n4p5
tlhov
v
wheeze
This was omitted from the English-Klingon listing of TKD
tlhoy
adv
overly, to an excessive degree, excessively, too much
HolQeD v8n3p2
tlhoy'
n
wall, interior wall, interior face of exterior wall, territorial wall
NEWS
tlhoy' SaS
n
ceiling/floor between stories
NEWS
tlho' Huch
n
tip [lit. gratitude money; Maltz said the concept was weird.]
qepHom 2020
tlho'ren
n
unit measure approx. one quart/litre
MSN
tlhub
n
climax [Height of action in a narrative (not orgasm)]
qep'a' 26
tlhuDwI'
n
slang for microwave device
qepHom 2024
tlhuHtuch
n
armadillo-like Klingon creature [The request was for anteater, sloth, armadillo. These are, of course, Terran animals. There is, however, a Klingon creature that more or less looks like an armadillo (though not so much like the others) called a tlhuHtuch.] [Request]
qep'a' 30
tlhup
v
whisper
This was omitted from the English-Klingon listing of TKD
tlhum
v
be constrained, bound ["bundle", set of objects wrapped or tied together]
qepHom 2021
tlhur
v
catch [Grab in midair, like catching a baseball]
qep'a' 26
tlhut
v
be stuffed [use tlhut when filling something to achieve a shape or look (e.g. a teddy bear or a dead animal skin); use ghoD when putting something into a container (e.g. a suitcase or something to eat)]
qepHom 2019
tlhu'roD
n
martyr [This refers to a person who not only died (or was killed) for a belief/cause, but who has become a symbol or emblem or rallying point of or for that belief/cause.] [Request]
qep'a' 28
Count:66
Works Cited
- CK
- Okrand, Marc. (1992). Conversational Klingon (audio cassette). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 5-022-73903-6391
- FFN
- Festival of the Spoken Nerd (2015). Full Frontal Nerdity DVD. Laughing Stock. ISBN: 0-671-79739-5
- Hamletmachine
- Translation by Lieven Litaer of Heiner Müller's 1977 play Die Hamletmaschine. (link)
- HolQeD
- (1992 to present). The quarterly journal of the Klingon Language Institute. Assorted interviews with and articles by Marc Okrand. ISSN: 1061-2327
- KCD
- Okrand, Marc. (1992). Star Trek: Klingon, CD-ROM. New York: Simon & Schuster Interactive. ISBN: 0-671-52873-4
- Monopoly
- (2011). MONOPOLY® – Star Trek Klingon Limited Edition, board game. USAopoly/Hasbro.
- OZ
- 'aS 'IDnar pIn'a' Dun, Jackson Bradley's translation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- PCHC
- Chase Masterson (2016). Pop Culture Hero Coalition message. Facebook. (link)
- PK
- Levine, Barry & Okrand, Marc. (1993). Power Klingon: Master the Language of Warriors (audio cassette). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0-671-87975-8
- qepHom
- An annual meeting of Klingonists in Germany. The first such qepHom took place in 2002. (The word can refer to any minor gathering, but this list uses it exclusively for the organized German meeting.)
- qep'a'
- The annual conference of the Klingon Language Institute. Marc Okrand is often in attendance. qep'a' wa'DIch was held in 1994. (The word can refer to any convention or conference, but this list uses it exclusively for the KLI's annual meeting.)
- TKD
- Okrand, Marc. (1985 & 1992). The Klingon Dictionary, 2nd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0-671-74559-X
- TKW
- Okrand, Marc. (1996). Star Trek: The Klingon Way: A Warrior's Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0-671-53755-5
- TN!LK
- (2011). Talk Now! Learn Klingon. EuroTalk, Ltd. ISBN: 1-846-06606-9
- veS QonoS
- (1990). Newsletter of Mortas-Te-Kaase, a defunct Klingon club. Some new words from Marc Okrand appeared, and a subset of these were later used in CK. The entire list was reprinted by permission of both Okrand and the club in HolQeD 1:3.