Chapter 4

Notes

Original work by Paul F. Strack, written in 2023, provided here under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Retrieved on 2023-08-30.

Note: You may wonder why the definite article i is used so rarely in these examples. That’s because genitive expressions (X of Y, Y’s X) are an example of a situation where English uses “the” but Quenya often omits i. This topic will be discussed further in Chapter 6, Section §6.3.3.2.

Note: The English phrasing “a leg of a boy” is awkward; English is more likely to say “the leg of a boy”. But the Quenya phrasing telco seldo with omitted i is normal; this is a case where Quenya usually omits i but English usually includes “the”. The Quenya syntax will be discussed in Chapter 6, Section 6.4.

Note: The plural of hína “child” is irregular híni.

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No.	Quenya	Tengwar	Means
1	I atan hirnë i osto.	     	The man found the city.
2	Iþil síla sí or tië.	     	The moon is shining now above a road.
3	I perian matuva aiwë enar.	     	The halfling will eat a bird tomorrow.
4	I nís merë marë mi taurë.	      	The woman wants to live in a forest.
5	I nauco fárëa i orcor nu i oron.	        	The dwarf is hunting the orcs under the mountain.
6	Aiwi vilir nu menel.	    	Birds fly under the heavens/sky.
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8	Ninqui axor naucoron caitar nu i oron.	       	[The] white bones of dwarves lie under the mountain.
9	Luini aiwi vílar or i andë tiër.	       	Blue birds are flying above the long roads.
10	I atano sercë carnë.	    	The man’s blood [is] red.
11	Calmar cálar laurië i ostossë.	     	Lamps are shining golden[ly] in the city.
12	Cenin varni leperi máryo.	    	I see [the] brown fingers of his/her hand.
13	Mornë homi orquion serir amborintassen.	     	[The] black hearts of orcs rest in their chests.
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15	I sercë-quilië mindoni tarir i ambossen.	      	The blood-coloured towers stand on the hills.
16	Híni samir nityë piri.	    	Children have little toes.
17	Turcë ranqui carir turwë atani.	     	Strong arms make powerful men.
18	I hesto cirnë i orquion telqui / telqui i orquion.	      /    	The captain cut the orcs’ legs.
19	Nécë fánë fanyar vilir fanyaressë.	     	Pale white clouds fly in the sky.
20	I þindë eldar marir laicë tauressen.	      	The grey elves dwell in green forests.
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22	I nér maxëa apsa.	    	The man [male] is cooking meat.
23	I seldo antanë yávi i netten.	      	The boy gave fruits to the girl.
24	Amillenya mastëa massa sí.	    	My mother is baking bread now.
25	Atarelya nancë i orva.	    	Your father bit the apple.
26	Eldar carir miruvórë nehtenen.	    	Elves make mead with honey.
27	Quëar ar yávi mára matta (nár).	      	Vegetables and fruits are good food.
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29	I veru ulyanë limpë veriryan.	     	The husband poured wine for his wife.
30	Á anta nin yulma neno.	     	Give [to] me a cup of water.
31	Matuvalvë mat ó i periandi síra.	      	We [and you] will eat a meal [together] with the halflings today.
32	Merin yulda limpëo sí.	    	I want a drink of wine now.
33	Lável mánya lambalyanen.	   	You licked my hand with [by means of] your tongue.
34	I nís mantë culuma.	    	The woman ate an orange.
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36	Nís rendë erdi restaryassë.	    	A woman sowed seeds in her field.
37	Olvali alaner lintë tanomë.	    	Some plants grew swift[ly] there.
38	I nís nemnë alassëa restaryassë.	     	The woman seemed happy in her field.
39	Matta launë i nissen.	    	Food abounded to the woman (= the woman had lots of food).
40	I nís mastanë massa.	    	The woman baked bread.
41	Nettë cambë massa i nissello.	     	A girl received bread from the woman.
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43	Seldoli rapper i massa i nettello.	      	Some boys snatched the bread from the girl.
44	I nettë laccë telco seldo.	     	The girl kicked the leg of a boy.
45	I seldor hlasser i nettë yalë i hesto.	        	The boys heard the girl call the captain.
46	Nirnentë i nettë öa ar nornentë i hestollo.	        	They pushed the girl away and they ran from the captain.
47	I hesto censë i osto i seldoin.	       	The captain searched the city for the boys.
48	I telumë tumpë i híni.	     	The roof covered the children.
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50	Calali cálar i ostossë.	    	Some lights are shining in the city.
51	Uluva enar.	  	[It] will rain tomorrow.
52	I taurë lauca síra.	    	The forest [is] warm today.
53	I rottossë morë ná.	    	In the cave [it] is dark.
54	Hrísa ar i lossë ringa.	     	[It] is snowing and the snow [is] cold.
55	Nicunë nöa.	  	[It] was cold yesterday.
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57	Nárë úra.	  	Fire [is] hot.
58	Nén linquë.	  	Water [is] wet.
59	Helcë ringa.	  	Ice [is] cold.
60	Á tinta nárë, mecin.	     	Light a fire, please.
61	I vista lauca i coässë.	     	The air is warm in the house.
62	Olvar alar cemenessë.	   	Plants grow in the earth.

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