Introduction
Dothraki and High Valyrian are the two constructed languages created for HBO's Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Linguist David J. Peterson built both languages. Type a message above and the tool looks up each English word in a Dothraki and Valyrian vocabulary dictionary, outputting the constructed language equivalent. Toggle between English-to-Dothraki, Dothraki-to-English, English-to-Valyrian, and Valyrian-to-English modes. Unknown words pass through unchanged. All processing runs in your browser, so nothing leaves your device.
What this tool does
- Word-level translation between English and Dothraki, and between English and High Valyrian, using dictionaries of attested vocabulary from the show and David J. Peterson's reference materials.
- Four modes: English-to-Dothraki, Dothraki-to-English, English-to-Valyrian, and Valyrian-to-English. Switch with the mode selector or the swap button.
- The settings panel shows the full vocabulary table with a search filter. Type to narrow the list by constructed language or English text.
- Unknown words pass through unchanged in all directions. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- All translation runs client-side. No text is sent to any server.
How this tool works
The translator splits your input into tokens using a regex that separates letter sequences from non-letter characters. Each word token is lowercased and looked up in the dictionary for the selected language. In English-to-Dothraki mode, the dictionary maps English words like "horse" to "hranna" and "blood" to "qoyi". In English-to-Valyrian mode, it maps English words like "dragon" to "zaldri" and "fire" to "perzys". Multi-word phrases are checked first, sorted by length descending. Words not found in the dictionary pass through unchanged. Non-word tokens (spaces, punctuation, line breaks) are preserved exactly. The mode setting syncs to a URL query parameter, so you can share a link that preserves your configuration.
How the Dothraki and Valyrian languages work
David J. Peterson created Dothraki and High Valyrian for Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novels. According to the Wikipedia article on the Dothraki language, HBO held a competition in 2009 through the Language Creation Society to find a linguist who could build Dothraki from the small number of words Martin included in the books. Peterson won the competition and expanded the language to over 3,000 words with full grammar.
The Wikipedia article on High Valyrian describes how Peterson designed Valyrian as a declining classical language, similar to Latin in the real world. High Valyrian has over 2,000 words, four noun genders, and a case system with eight cases. Peterson also developed Low Valyrian dialects for the show, including Braavosi and Ghiscari, which evolved from High Valyrian the way Romance languages evolved from Latin.
Peterson documents his work on his website dedalvs.com and the fan site dothraki.org. The Duolingo High Valyrian course launched in 2017 and has attracted over 3.2 million learners. The course was developed in collaboration with Peterson and covers vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Peterson also published the Living Language Dothraki guide, a printed reference with audio recordings.
Dothraki grammar includes a subject-object-verb word order, no copula (the verb "to be"), and a system of noun cases. High Valyrian has a free word order enabled by its case system, four genders (lunar, solar, terrestrial, aquatic), and verb conjugation by person and number. Both languages were designed to be learnable and performable by actors on the show.
How to use this tool
- Select the language and mode: choose Dothraki or Valyrian, then choose English-to-constructed or constructed-to-English.
- Type or paste your text in the input field. The output updates instantly as you type.
- Each word is looked up in the vocabulary dictionary for the selected language. Unknown words pass through unchanged. Punctuation and whitespace are preserved.
- Use the swap button to quickly switch translation direction without retyping.
- Search the vocabulary table in the settings panel to find specific words.
- Copy the result using the "Copy result" button or download it as a .txt file.
Real-world examples
Translating a Dothraki greeting
A user types "hello" in English-to-Dothraki mode. The tool looks up "hello" and finds "hajas". The output reads "hajas". If the user types "blood rider", the tool finds "qoyi" for "blood" and "dothrae" for "rider", producing "qoyi dothrae". Words not in the dictionary pass through unchanged.
Saying dragon in Valyrian
Someone wants to write "dragon" in High Valyrian. They type "dragon" in English-to-Valyrian mode. The dictionary looks up "dragon" and returns "zaldri". The user copies the output and uses it in a fan fiction set in the Game of Thrones universe. The word is attested in the show and documented on Peterson's website.
Decoding Valyrian dialogue
A fan has a line of High Valyrian from the show: "valar morghulis". They paste it into Valyrian-to-English mode. The tool looks up "valar" and finds "all men", then "morghulis" and finds "must die". The output reads "all men must die". Words not in the dictionary pass through unchanged so the reader can identify them manually.
Comparison with similar methods
| Method | Complexity | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Dothraki (word-level) | Medium | Game of Thrones fan writing, roleplay, decorative text |
| High Valyrian (word-level) | High | Game of Thrones fan writing, Duolingo practice, language study |
| Na'vi (word-level) | Medium | Avatar fan writing, roleplay, language learning |
| Quenya/Sindarin (word-level) | High | Tolkien fan writing, Elvish calligraphy, language study |
Limitations or considerations
This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup, not full grammatical translation. Both Dothraki and High Valyrian have complete grammars designed by David J. Peterson. Dothraki has a subject-object-verb word order and a system of noun cases. High Valyrian has four noun genders, eight cases, and verb conjugation by person and number. This tool models none of that. The vocabulary covers attested words from the show and Peterson's reference materials. Words outside the dictionary pass through unchanged. This is not encryption. For actual encryption, use the AES block cipher. For other fictional languages, try the Minionese translator, the Na'vi translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, or the Aurebesh translator.
Frequently asked questions
Who created the Dothraki and Valyrian languages?
David J. Peterson created both languages for HBO's Game of Thrones. He won a competition held by the Language Creation Society in 2009 to build Dothraki from the small number of words George R.R. Martin included in his novels. He expanded Dothraki to over 3,000 words and later designed High Valyrian with over 2,000 words, four noun genders, and a case system with eight cases. He documents his work on dedalvs.com and dothraki.org.
Does this tool translate full Dothraki or Valyrian sentences?
No. This tool performs word-level dictionary lookup. It matches each English word to its Dothraki or Valyrian equivalent from a fixed vocabulary list. Both languages have complete grammars with case systems, verb conjugation, and specific word orders, none of which this tool models. The tool does not handle morphology or syntax. It is a vocabulary reference, not a full machine translation system.
Can I learn High Valyrian on Duolingo?
Yes. The Duolingo High Valyrian course launched in 2017 and has attracted over 3.2 million learners. It was developed in collaboration with David J. Peterson and covers vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The course is free and available on the Duolingo platform. Peterson also published the Living Language Dothraki guide, a printed reference with audio recordings for learners who prefer a book format.
How many words are in the Dothraki and Valyrian languages?
Dothraki has over 3,000 words. High Valyrian has over 2,000 words. David J. Peterson continues to expand both languages and documents new vocabulary on his website dedalvs.com and the fan site dothraki.org. This tool's dictionary covers a subset of the most frequently attested words from the show and Peterson's reference materials.
Are Dothraki and Valyrian real languages?
They are constructed languages (conlangs) created for a television show. Both have real grammar and vocabulary designed by a professional linguist, and both have dedicated learner communities. High Valyrian has a Duolingo course with over 3.2 million learners. They are not natural languages, but they are more fully developed than most fictional languages, with complete phonology, morphology, and syntax.
Conclusion
The Dothraki and Valyrian translator converts English text to and from the two constructed languages David J. Peterson created for Game of Thrones. Type your message, switch modes with one click, and copy the output. For more fictional language tools, try the Minionese translator, the Na'vi translator, the Quenya/Sindarin translator, or the Aurebesh translator.