Pronunciation Guide

This page is a guide on pronouncing the names invented for the LOTR Mod, along with general Sindarin pronunciation rules.

Most invented names are Sindarin, and thus follow the pronunciation of Sindarin. This is the general pronunciation of Sindarin, as taken from Tolkien Gateway:

Letter	Example	Notes
a, ä	Aragorn	Sindarin a is most like a in English father or a in Spanish mambo. Either pronunciation is suitable.
á		Sindarin á is pronounced just noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin a, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
â		Sindarin â is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin á, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as á.
ae	Maedhros	Similar to ai, but ends at a more open vowel height.
ai	Edain	Sindarin ai is most like i in English time. ae is similar to ai, but ai ends at a less open vowel height. J.R.R. Tolkien said that ae and ai can be pronounced the same if a person cannot tell the difference between them.
au, aw	Glaurung; Araw	Sindarin au is most like ou in English thousand or like ow in English cow. It is never pronounced like au in English cause or like aw in English law. The spellings au and aw are the same sound, but aw is preferred at the ends of words, as in Araw.
b	Beleriand
c	Celeborn	Always hard c like in English cake. Never soft c like in English cell.
ch	orch	Always like ch in Scottish loch. Never like ch in English chair.
d	Dúnedain
dh	Caradhras	Sindarin dh is most like th in English the. It is not pronounced like normal d.
e, ë	Beren	Sindarin e is most like e in English get or e in Spanish comprende. Either pronunciation is suitable, but it never has a y off-glide like in English grey.
é		Sindarin é is pronounced just noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin e, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
ê		Sindarin ê is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin é, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as é.
ei	Ereinion	Sindarin ei is most like ey in English grey, always with the y off-glide.
f	Fëanor	Represents V when final or before n, and F everywhere else.
g	Galadriel	Always hard g like in English gasp. Never soft g like in English gem.
h	Húrin
hw		Sindarin hw is most like the traditional pronunciation of wh in English whale, as it is still heard in Scotland, Ireland and parts of the southern United States. Is is also similar to ju in Mexican Spanish Juan. It is never pronounced like ordinary w in English wail. If nothing else works, try pronouncing w while whispering.
i	Minas Tirith	Sindarin i is usually pronounced as the ee in seen. But sometimes Sindarin i is more like y in English young—it is this way at the beginning of a word before a vowel, and in certain unstressed syllables before vowels. (For instance, Doriath is a compound of dôr+iath, where iath is just one syllable.)
í	Círdan	Sindarin í is pronounced noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin i, and has a different quality. Sindarin í is most like ee in English seen or like i in Spanish gringo. Either pronunciation is suitable.
î	Gwîr	Sindarin î is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin í, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as í.
l	Legolas
lh	Lhûn	There is no parallel for Sindarin lh in English. But it is like ll in Welsh or ł in Navajo, or Quenya hl. More specifically, it is a voiceless alveolar lateral, with air exhaled along the sides of the tongue. If nothing else works, try pronouncing l while exhaling.
ll	mellon	Sindarin ll is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin l, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
m	Mordor
mh		An Archaic Sindarin sound, a "spirant" m, just like Gaelic mh. This sound became the same as v since at least the First Age, and mh as a spirant m does not appear even in The Silmarillion-style Sindarin spellings, so that spellings like Tinúviel are preferred over *Tinúmhiel. Suffice it to say that this spelling of mh is not used in Lord of the Rings-style Third Age Sindarin either.
mm	Rammas	Sindarin mm is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin m, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
n	Nevrast
nc	Orthanc	Like nk in English think.
ng	Fingolfin; Glamdring	Represents ŋg between two vowels (like ng in English finger), and ŋ everywhere else (like ng in English singer). It is never pronounced like ng in English ginger.
nn	Pelennor	Sindarin nn is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin n, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
o, ö	Gorgoroth	Sindarin o is most like o in English hot, but with rounder lips. It can also be pronounced like the o in the Italian word notte. Either pronunciation is suitable, but it never has a w off-glide like ow in English show.
ó	Dor-lómin	Sindarin ó is pronounced just noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin o, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
ô		Sindarin ô is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin ó, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as ó.
oe		Sindarin oe is somewhat like oi in English join. Though this is not completely accurate because oe ends with an off-glide that sounds like Sindarin e, it is a suitable pronunciation because there is no Sindarin oi to contrast with. Alternately, oe is like oe in Hawaiian Aloha ʻOe.
œ	Nírnaeth Arnœdiad	An Archaic Sindarin sound, at one time pronounced like French eu, oe or oeu or like German/Swedish ö or like Danish/Norwegian ø. In the Third Age it is pronounced just like Sindarin e, so it is suitable to pronounce it like e. Mostly found in First Age Sindarin words, and most famously in Nírnaeth Arnœdiad. Lord of the Rings-style Third Age Sindarin spellings do not use œ at all, only e, such as Ered Luin instead of *Œrœd Luin.
p	Pengolodh
ph	Ephel Dúath	Represents f.
r	Boromir	Sindarin r is always trilled or at least flapped wherever possible, like in Scottish English. It is not pronounced like General English r, but this is still often a suitable pronunciation because Sindarin has no other rhotic consonant besides rh.
rh	Rhovanion	There is no parallel for Sindarin rh in English. But it is like Welsh rh, or Quenya hr. If nothing else works, try pronouncing r while whispering.
rr		Sindarin rr is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin r, but otherwise is pronounced the same. For this reason, rr is always trilled, because a flap r cannot be pronounced long.
s	Sirion	Sindarin s is always pronounced like s in English safe, and never like s in English ease. There is no z in Sindarin.
ss	Ossiriand	Sindarin ss is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin s, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
t	Túrin
th	Ecthelion	Sindarin th is always pronounced th in English think, and never like th in English these—the latter sound is used for the separate Sindarin consonant dh.
u	Curufin	Sindarin u is most like the vowel sound in the word boon. It is never pronounced like u in English gut, or like u in English rude.
ú	Lúthien	Sindarin ú is pronounced just noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin u, and has a different quality. It is pronounced like u in the English word dude or like u in Spanish mundo.
û	Barad-dûr	Sindarin û is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin ú, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as ú.
ui	Orodruin	Sindarin ui is most like oo y in English too young, pronounced all in one syllable. ui is always counted as one syllable, and never split into two syllables u i.
v	Tinúviel
w	Gwaihir
y	Emyn Muil	Pronounced like the French u or the German ü. It is also permissible to pronounce it like Sindarin i, if at least because Sindarin i and y become pronounced the same during the Third Age.
ý		Sindarin ý is pronounced just noticeably longer in duration than Sindarin y, but otherwise is pronounced the same.
ŷ		Sindarin ŷ is pronounced for an even longer duration than Sindarin ý, usually in single-syllable words. But it is permissible to pronounce it the same as ý.

This is the pronunciation of several words invented for the mod. Capitalized syllables denote stress. Language abbreviations are:

• K: Khuzdul (Dwarvish)
• S: Sindarin (Grey-elvish)

Name	Meaning	Pronunciation (English approximation)
Amon Gwîn	S: hill of youth or hill of wine	AM-on GWEEN
Athras	S: ash-horn or sunlight-horn	ATH-ras
Baraz-tûm	K: red-delvings	BAR-az TOOM
Belegwaeras	S: Great-wind-horn	bel-eg-WHY-ras
Cargon	S: red stone	CAR-gon
Durnor	S: dark fire	DUR-nor (first syllable sounds like doo, last sounds like sour)
Edhelmir	S: elf-jewel	ETH-ell-meer (th sound is like this, not think)
Emyn Haecharad	S: hills of far-south (far-south: "Far Harad")	EM-eun HIGH-khar-ad (eu sounds like French "lune". The alternative pronunciation "ee" is acceptable.) (kh as in Scottish "loch", German "Ach-laut", Yiddish-derived "chutzpah")
Emyn Winion	S: hills of young-land	EM-eun WEEN-ee-on (eu sounds like French "lune". The alternative pronunciation "ee" is acceptable.)
Eryn Garan	S: red forest	ER-eun GAR-an (eu sounds like French "lune". The alternative pronunciation "ee" is acceptable.)
Gulduril	S: sorcery-glow	GOOL-dur-ill
Hardorogost	S: south-troll-city	har-dOR-og-ost
Harunnor	S: south-east-land	ha-ROON-nor (double nn pronounced long, like in "unknown")
Hatholwaith	S: axe-land and axe-people	HATH-ol-wyth (last vowel sounds like eye, but ending in the th sound of bath)
Laegras	S: green-horn	LIE-gras
Luigon	S: blue stone	LHWEE-gon
Mirulond	S: wine-port	MIROO-lond
Morwaith	S: dark-men	MORE-wyth (last vowel sounds like eye, but ending in the th sound of bath)
Nan Harnagorath	S: valley of southern battles	NAN har-NAG-or-ath
Nin Haecharad	S: waters (lakes) of far-south (far-south: "Far Harad")	NIN HIGH-khar-ad (kh as in Scottish "loch", German "Ach-laut", Yiddish-derived "chutzpah")
Perdorogwaith	S: half-troll-land and half-troll-people	per-DOR-og-wyth (last vowel sounds like eye, but ending in the th sound of bath)
Rhúdel	S: eastern horror	HROO-del
Rhúnaer	S: eastern sea	HROON-ire
Rhúnaerim	S: eastern-sea-people	hroon-IRE-rim
Rhúnost	S: eastern city	HROON-ost
Taurelondë	Q: forest-port	TAU-re-lon-de (first syllable rhymes with cow as in Taurethrim; both 'e' pronounced 'pure', as in 'bet', definitely no off-glide as in 'way')
Taurethrim	S: forest-men	TAU-reth-rim (first syllable rhymes with cow, last syllable rhymes with whim)
Taur-i-Thorogrim	S: forest of the troll-folk	TAUR-ee-THOR-og-rim (first syllable rhymes with cow as in Taurethrim)
Tol Hîth	S: island of mist	tol HEETH

Note to editors: The International Phonetic Alphabet is not used, since most people are unfamiliar with it, and a simpler approach is more helpful to the average mod user.