Quick Guide to Sindarin Pronunciation

This guide is designed to get your pronunciation to a level where Sindarin-speakers will understand you, even if they find your accent strange. If you’re aiming for perfect pronunciation, you should read the complete description.

Vowels

The vowels are similar to those of Spanish, Hawaiian, or Italian: A, E, I, O, and U are pronounced ah, eh, ee, oh, and oo. Y is always a vowel, and can be pronounced ee¹.

Examples:

A	as in “father”	barad tower
E	as in “well”	pen without
I	as in “machine”	hîr lord, master
O	as in “for”	tol island
U	as in “brute”	dûr dark

An accent over a vowel, like á or â, indicates that it is held for slightly longer.

Certain sequences of two vowels have their own pronunciation:

• AI and AE sound like eye.
• AU ~ like ow in now. Aur day sounds like English hour.
• EI ~ as in weigh.
• OE ~ like oy in boy.
• UI ~ an oo sound followed quickly by an ee sound, almost as in ruin: Fanuilos (a title of Elbereth).

Consonants

• C is always a hard K-sound, as in cat.
• G is likewise always hard, as in get.
• R should be trilled, as in Spanish.
• CH is the sound heard in Scottish loch or German Bach. Gondorians often turned it into a K or H sound, and so can you, if you prefer.
• DH has the sound of th in leather: edhel elf.

The other consonants should be pronounced more or less as in English.