High Valyrian Corpus

High Valyrian Language Navigation: Home, Phonology, Grammar, Vocabulary, Dictionary, Orthography, Dialogue

This is the canon of High Valyrian words, phrases and sentences from the original texts by G.R.R. Martin. The vocabulary developed by David Peterson for the Game of Thrones series is found on the High Valyrian Vocabulary page.

Words and phrases

Very few words and phrases are mentioned in the books:

• dracarys: "dragonfire"
• valar morghulis: "all men must die"
• valar dohaeris: "all men must serve"
• valonqar: "little brother"

Occurrences in A Clash of Kings

The very first instance of a sentence in High Valyrian is when Jaqen H'ghar tells Arya Stark to go with him across the Narrow Sea. After he gives her a coin:

If the day comes when you would find me again, give that coin to any man from Braavos, and say these words to him - valar morghulis."

"Valar morghulis," Arya repeated. It wasn't hard. Her fingers closed tight over the coin. Across the yard, she could hear men dying. "Please don't go, Jaqen."

"Jaqen is as dead as Arry," he said sadly, "and I have promises to keep. Valar morghulis, Arya Stark. Say it again."

"Valar morghulis," she said once more, and the stranger in Jaqen's clothes bowed to her and stalked off through the darkness, cloak swirling.

Only much later do we learn the meaning of the phrase and its expected reply.

Occurrences in A Storm of Swords

While talking to Ser Jorah Mormont:

“Drogon,” Dany said softly, “dracarys.” And she tossed the pork in the air.

Drogon moved quicker than a striking cobra. Flame roared from his mouth, orange and scarlet and black, searing the meat before it began to fall. As his sharp black teeth snapped shut around it, Rhaegal’s head darted close, as if to steal the prize from his brother’s jaws, but Drogon swallowed and screamed, and the smaller green dragon could only hiss in frustration.

“Stop that, Rhaegal,” Dany said in annoyance, giving his head a swat. “You had the last one. I’ll have no greedy dragons.” She smiled at Ser Jorah. “I won’t need to char their meat over a brazier any longer.”

“So I see. Dracarys?”

All three dragons turned their heads at the sound of that word and Viserion let loose with a blast of pale gold flame that made Ser Jorah take a hasty step backward. Dany giggled. “Be careful with that word, ser, or they’re like to singe your beard off. It means dragonfire in High Valyrian. I wanted to choose a command that no one was like to utter by chance."

After Arya escapes from the Hound and prepares to travel to Braavos:

"It's iron. Here." She pressed it into his hand, the small black iron coin that Jaqen H'ghar had given her, so worn the man whose head it bore had no features. It's probably worthless, but . . .

The captain turned it over and blinked at it, then looked at her again. "This . . . how . . . ?"

Jaqen said to say the words too. Arya crossed her arms against her chest. "Valar morghulis," she said, as loud as if she'd known what it meant.

"Valar dohaeris," he replied, touching his brow with two fingers. "Of course you shall have a cabin."

Also of which we learn the meaning later on.

Occurrences in A Feast for Crows

Cersei remembers the prophecy a soothsayer had told her in her youth:

The old woman was not done with her, however. "Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds," she said. "And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."

"What is a valonqar? Some monster?" The golden girl did not like that foretelling. "You're a liar and a warty frog and a smelly old savage, and I don't believe a word of what you say. Come away, Melara. She is not worth hearing."

The meaning is later revealed:

"Tyrion is the valonqar," she said. "Do you use that word in Myr? It's High Valyrian, it means little brother." She had asked Septa Saranella about the word, after Melara drowned.

Proper nouns

House Targaryen came from Valyria and thus its members can be considered to have High Valyrian names.

Female names

• Aelinor
• Alysanne
• Alyssa
• Baela
• Daella
• Daena
• Daenerys
• Daenys
• Elaena
• Helaena
• Jaehaera
• Laena
• Naerys
• Rhae
• Rhaella
• Rhaelle
• Rhaena
• Rhaenyra
• Rhaenys
• Saera
• Shiera
• Valaena
• Visenya

 

Male names

• Aegon
• Aegor
• Aelyx
• Aemon
• Aenar
• Aenys
• Aerion
• Aerys
• Ayrmidon
• Baelon
• Baelor
• Daemon
• Daeron
• Gaemon
• Haegon
• Jacaerys
• Jaehaerys
• Laenor
• Lucerys
• Maegon
• Maegor
• Maekar
• Maelor
• Maelys
• Matarys
• Rhaegar
• Valarr
• Viserys

 

House names

The following houses are of Valyrian descent and probably have Valyrian names:

• Baratheon
• Celtigar
• Qoherys
• Targaryen
• Velaryon

 

Dragon names

The Valyrians (including House Targaryen) most likely gave High Valyrian names to their dragons, as "the singers had given them the names of gods."

• Arrax
• Balerion
• Caraxes
• Meleys
• Meraxes
• Morghul
• Shrykos
• Syrax
• Tessarion
• Tyraxes
• Vermax
• Vermithor
• Vhagar

 

However, not all the House Targaryen dragons have Valyrian names; Queen Alysanne's dragon was named Silverwing.

Place names

It is very likely that the ancient cities in and around the Valyria peninsula have Valyrian names:

• Elyria
• Mantarys
• Oros
• Tolos
• Tyria
• Velos

 

Also several cities being founded as Valyrian colonies are believed to have Valyrian names or at least names that originate in the High Valyrian language. However they could also represent changes in their own dialects of Valyrian:

• Lorath
• Lys
• Myr
• Norvos
• Pentos
• Qohor
• Tyrosh
• Volantis