qep'a' cha'maH chorghDIch Canon

This page contains a list of newly translated words provided by Dr. Okrand and Maltz.

Please refer any errors, issues, or questions to qurgh on Discord. If you have questions about these words for Dr. Okrand, please fill out this form so we can ask him during the Q&A.

New Word List

Language Users and Body Part are both types of Noun. They are listed separately for the purposes of identifying the correct plural suffixes.

tlhIngan Hol	Type	English	Description/Notes	Original Request
babton	General Noun	pepper (capsicum)		Request
bet	Verb	impale		Request
bIlemtan	General Noun	whim		Request
bobDar	General Noun	splash	Use with tlhen "sound as, produce the sound of" (e.g., bobDar tlhen "(it) produces a splash sound"	Request
boq Hol / boQ Hol	General Noun	pidgin, creole, contact language	These terms used interchangeably	Request
cheyIS	Animal	cephalopod	Another Klingon creature. It's definitely squid-like.	Request
choSan	General Noun	Korea	See Hanghuq. Both terms are used (Klingons are very confused by this)	Request
choSom	General Noun	quartz		Request
DamSayrotlh	Animal	hippopotamus, hippo	closest Klingon equivalent	Request
Dang	Verb	focus	Make (an image) less blurry	Request
DayqIr	General Noun	honey		Request
DI'	Verb	edit, revise, correct, modify		Request
ghalmov	General Noun	compound (chemical)		Request
ghom'oH	General Noun	slot
Hanghuq	General Noun	Korea	See choSan. Both terms are used (Klingons are very confused by this)	Request
HaSreH	General Noun	pattern, design pattern, markings, motif		Request
HaStay'	General Noun	pixel	Maltz had a hunch this was shortened at some point from HaSta 'ay', but that may be a folk etymology	Request
Hey'	Verb	censor		Request
HItlh	Verb	be brittle		Request
HuDngech	General Noun	sine (curve)	used to describes waves or curves and also in trigonometry	Request
jInbo'	General Noun	bias	There's also an idiom: ghu' neS	Request
jIqlem	General Noun	strap		Request
jo'	Verb	zoom in on	jo' is used for "zoom in on" (the object is the image). jo'Ha' is "zoom out" (applied to something that was previously zoomed in on). In context, Sach "expand, be amplified, be increased in scope" can be used for "be magnified."	Request
jutngev	General Noun	nectar		Request
larveS	General Noun	pus		Request
lIS'ab	Animal	rodent	This animal is more rat-sized than mouse-sized, but a vIghro' might well chase it. Its face kind of resembles that of a bat (though a bat is not a rodent).	Request
lot	Verb	scratch		Request
lotregh	General Noun	anaemia	Informally, some people say 'Iw Doy'	Request
lu'lap	General Noun	beep noise	Used with tlhen e.g., lu'lap tlhen "(it) produces a beep noise"	Request
lunglIH	General Noun	turbine, propeller	Maltz thought this word was based on a story in Klingon mythology about a loong, but he didn't recall the details. Some people also say cheqwI' "tornado-er."	Request
majaj	General Noun	cabbage, lettuce	closest Klingon equivalent; closer to lettuce than to cabbage, but could be used for either Terran plant	Request
mangtay	General Noun	Thailand		Request
maqIy	General Noun	Maquis (Resistance)		Request
mayvIm	General Noun	embryo		Request
meQHam	Adverb	ironically, counterintuitively, incongruously		Request
mIHneS	Animal	Grasshopper	closest thing; could also be used for locust or cricket	Request
mIjDang	Body Part	fin, flipper		Request
mIllogh qol	General Noun	animation, cartoon	This refers to animation only, not cartoons in the newspaper	Request
morwI', morwI' ghew	Animal	ant(s), formicidae	closest Klingon equivalent, based on what the bug looks like. The Klingon version is noted for its dexterity or agility (hence the name), not strength. But Klingons use this for the Terran ant anyway.	Request
mur	Verb	wince, cringe, flinch		Request
muSghoraw	General Noun	valve		Request
mu'tlhegh meS	General Noun	paragraph		Request
nam	Verb	move counterclockwise		Request
naptop	General Noun	eclipse		Request
neqjung	General Noun	contact, encounter, rendezvous,	The noun counterpart to ghom. It would be used in phrases such as neqjung wa'DIch first contact.
nevroD	Body Part	tentacle		Request
nIwqen	Body Part	gill		Request
nuj yaj	Verb	read lips	Used in a general way, one might say nujDu' vIyajlaH. When applied to a specific occurrence, one might say nujlIj vIyajlaH.	Request
nu'Qan	General Noun	alcove		Request
ngang	Verb	straddle		Request
ngeSlIch	General Noun	loan
ngeSlIch 'ap	General Noun	interest		Request
ngIr	Verb	knead, massage		Request
ngov	Verb	slither, wriggle, squirm, writhe	Slither "like a snake"	Request
ngur	Verb	be autistic/aspie		Request
paghur	Language User	hermit, recluse		Request
paSlogh tuQ DaS	Verb	be inside-out	Maltz thought there might be a single word for this, but he could only remember this commonly used idiom. In usage, this might be preceded by something like ghIH wep (or Soy' wep) "the shirt is sloppy/disheveled"	Request
pIlIpIynaS	General Noun	the Philippines		Request
pu'porgh 'oQqar	General Noun	ginger	sometimes 'oQqar is omitted	Request
qaq naH	General Noun	watermelon	closest Klingon equivalent	Request
qatvoH	Animal	shellfish (clam, oyster, mussel, scallop, brachiopod…)	There are a number of these sorts of creatures. qatvoH applies to various bivalves. Large qatvoHmey are served in non-Klingon restaurants that feature Klingon food, but they usually just call this dish "Jumbo Klingon Mollusks."	Request
qav'ap juH	General Noun	apartment	This is for a house or an apartment of any size that is not owned by the occupant. For a dwelling within a larger building containing several such dwellings (regardless of ownership), it's common to just say pa'mey (or occasionally just pa').	Request
qayrI'Hom	Body Part	clavicle		Request
qeSnoDmaj	Animal	jellyfish	closest Klingon equivalent	Request
QIb	Verb	filter, strain, sieve, sift		Request
QImHal	Body Part	ovary		Request
qIn	Verb	moan, groan		Request
qot	Verb	back, sponsor, support, capitalize, invest in	To specify what or how much is invested, make use of peS as in X qotmeH Y peS ("invest Y in X")	Request
qovDa'	General Noun	exponent	Though there is a noun, the idea of raising a number to the power of something is generally expressed by using the verb Sep, as in wejlogh Sep'egh cha'; chen chorgh.	Request
qurmoQ	Body Part	larynx		Request
quSDI'	General Noun	batch		Request
reD'eS	General Noun	bureaucracy	The slang expression pumnuj reD'eS is used if things are definitely inefficient	Request
rey'	General Noun	a special performance or presentation	This is a noun that's kind of hard to define in a word or two, but it refers to a performance or presentation that's pretty special in some way. Maybe it's something that happens only once, not to be repeated. Or maybe it occurs regularly but not very often, so it's something looked forward to well in advance. Maybe it's something that features a special performer or performers
reDyev	General Noun	shortage		Request
rIS	General Noun	click	Used with tlhen e.g., rIS tlhen "(it) produces a click sound"	Request
rIS	Verb	make a clicking sound	Expands the meaning of the verb rIS to including clicking along with cracking and snapping	Request
rober jan	General Noun	lathe		Request
roDSon	Body Part	uvula	Informally, the term tlhepwI' is often used	Request
romanI'ya'	General Noun	Romania		Request
rom'on	General Noun	zinc		Request
roSmaH	Body Part	chromosome	Chromosomes are numbered (e.g. roSmaH wej); the two sex chromosomes are roSmaH pagh and roSmaH bID; two roSmaH bID chromosomes occur in females, one of each occur in males.	Request
rubyo'	Language User	politician		Request
Senjorgh	General Noun	grenade	There's also a slang term: ruqwI'	Request
Setlhlo'	General Noun	arsenic		Request
SIr	Verb	be unique, be unprecedented		Request
SIrgh 'aplom	General Noun	bead		Request
SolbIS	Animal	whale, dolphin, porpoise	Any fishlike creature that has to come up to breathe air	Request
Sornagh	General Noun	coma		Request
Sotlhqel	General Noun	yolk	A slang term is QIm julHom or even just julHom	Request
SuqwIl	General Noun	hiss	This is a noun referring to the sound (from an animal or otherwise). Used with tlhen e.g., SuqwIl tlhen "(it) produces a hiss sound"	Request
taj Hol	General Noun	propaganda		Request
targhoroj	Animal	crab	One of several crab-like animals found on Qo'noS	Request
tat taS	General Noun	electrolyte		Request
(tera') raS'IS moQ naH	General Noun	pomegranate	This is the Klingon way to refer to the Terran fruit	Request
tIH javmaH	General Noun	X-ray	Rays are identified by numbers (gamma ray, for example, is tIH wej). Maltz didn't know where the specific numbers come from or what they might refer to.	Request
toyDal	General Noun	tactic	This is singular	Request
tlhargh	Verb	explore	This implies going somewhere and looking around. It can also be translated "scout" or "survey."	Request
tlhawjoq	General Noun	mantle (geology)		Request
tlhen	Verb	sound as, produce the sound of	Use with sound nouns e.g., bobDar tlhen "(it) produces a splash sound"
tlhu'roD	General Noun	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
vIrveq	General Noun	terrorism		Request
vIyetnam	General Noun	Vietnam		Request
vo'nung	General Noun	Phase	This is the "fraction of a wave cycle." It is not used for phases of the moon or phases of life, etc.	Request
wu'	Verb	be mystical, be esoteric, be occult		Request
wu'tIbIS	General Noun	superstition		Request
wuvchuq	Verb	be entangled (quantum physics, but maybe more general)	The subject of the verb could be, for example, pay'an "particle"	Request
yayal	General Noun	nickel (element)		Request
yelmo'	Body Part	membrane		Request
yelneHSIQ	General Noun	vanadium		Request
yelvew	General Noun	texture		Request
yoghan	General Noun	renaissance, revival		Request
yorqej	Language User	nomad		Request
'aHra'	General Noun	harness		Request
'alghuQ	General Noun	bastard, illegitimate child		Request
'atray	General Noun	siege		Request
'ayIvlaS	General Noun	moss	This is the closest Klingon equivalent, and quite similar.	Request
'ejyaH	Number	infinity		Request
'enno	General Noun	lens		Request
'Igh'aDmegh	Body Part	antibody	plural is formed with -mey	Request
'Inyam	General Noun	ego, the self		Request
'Ing	Verb	move clockwise		Request
'orgh	Verb	skitter	like a startled lizard or bug	Request
'ul ghom'oH	General Noun	electrical outlet		Request
'umyotlh	General Noun	profit	this is strictly in the monetary sense, not general advantage or benefit	Request