In English, an object's location is normally indicated using prepositions, such as under, over and next to.

In Klingon, on the other hand, such concepts are most commonly described using a nouns referring to areas and surfaces. Examples include:

To express a spatial relationship to an object, we can use a simple noun-noun construction:

nagh retlh the area next to the rock
QI bIng the area below the bridge

This can then be combined with the suffixes -Daq and -vo' to describe an object's location or motion in relation to another.

nagh retlhDaq jIHtaH. I am next to the rock.
QI bIngDaq 'oHtaH nagh'e'. The rock is below the bridge.
QI bIngvo' maqet. We ran from the area below the bridge.

Special place nouns

There are a handful of place nouns which never take the suffix -Daq. These are:

As such, the following two sentences are correct:

naDev jIHtaH. I am here.
Dat naghmey tu'lu'. There are rocks everywhere.
vogh 'oHbejtaH. It is definitely somewhere.

However, the following three sentences would not be correct:

Wrong: *naDevDaq jIHtaH.
Wrong: *DatDaq naghmey tu'lu'.
Wrong: *voghDaq 'oHbejtaH.

Note that these words may still take the suffix -vo'. For example:

naDevvo' yIghoS! Go away (from here)!
pa'vo' yIttaH. They are walking away from there.

The dual meaning of pa'

The word pa' is an interesting case, as it has two completely separate definitions:

pa' there, thereabouts
pa' room

This can cause some confusion, but context will usually make it clear which meaning is intended. Also, because the first use of the word is never combined with the suffix -Daq, this can sometimes be used to disambiguate:

pa' chaHtaH. They are there.
pa'Daq chaHtaH. They are in the room.

Interior and exterior surfaces

In Klingon, one always distinguishes between the interior and exterior top of an object, as well as between the interior and exterior bottom. The interior surfaces are those which can be seen from the inside, while the exterior surfaces are those which can be seen from the outside.

This distinction may sound somewhat technical at first glance, but it can be illustrated using an example from everyday life:

Let's say you live in an apartment on the second floor of a building. Looking up and down, you can easily see your apartment's interior surfaces: You call the interior bottom (bIS'ub) your floor (rav), and you call the interior top ('aqroS) your ceiling (rav'eq).

The exterior surfaces, however, are not visible from inside your apartment. The exterior bottom (pIrmuS) of your apartment is the ceiling of the apartment below you.

Likewise, the exterior top (yor) of your apartment is the floor of the apartment above yours. Alternatively, if you live on the top floor, the exterior top of your apartment will be part of the exterior top of the building itself: Its roof (beb).

(We will discuss architectural terms in more detail in the next lesson.)