The Complete Guide to Game of Thrones Languages
George R.R. Martin wrote only a few dozen words of Dothraki in his novels. By the time HBO's Game of Thrones ended in 2019, Dothraki had thousands of words, and High Valyrian had become a Duolingo course. Few TV shows have ever turned invented languages into something fans could actually learn.
This guide maps every major language of Westeros and Essos: who speaks it, who built it, and how you can try it today.
How Many Languages Are in Game of Thrones?
Short answer: The world of A Song of Ice and Fire mentions more than a dozen languages. The TV series developed two major constructed languages — Dothraki and High Valyrian — plus several Valyrian dialects and smaller languages, most created by linguist David J. Peterson.
The Counterintuitive Truth: The Most Important Language Is the One You Never Hear
Almost every character in Westeros speaks the Common Tongue — represented on screen by English. It's so invisible that viewers forget it's a language at all.
But its dominance matters. The Common Tongue exists because the Andals conquered Westeros and replaced older languages. The First Men's Old Tongue survives only beyond the Wall. That's conquest erasure: the quiet disappearance of a language when its speakers lose power — a pattern that happened constantly in real history.
Map of the Languages
Westeros
| Language | Speakers | On-screen status |
|---|---|---|
| Common Tongue | Most Westerosi | English |
| Old Tongue | Giants, some wildlings | Very limited |
| Skroth | White Walkers | Sound design |
Essos
| Language | Speakers | On-screen status |
|---|---|---|
| Dothraki | Horse lords of the Dothraki Sea | Fully developed |
| High Valyrian | Nobility, scholars, Targaryens | Fully developed |
| Low Valyrian dialects | Free Cities, Slaver's Bay | Partly developed |
| Lhazareen | Lhazareen shepherds | Limited |
| Asshai'i | Asshai-by-the-Shadow | Limited |
Dothraki
The language of Khal Drogo and his khalasar. It's one of the most complete TV languages ever made.
- Created by: David J. Peterson, from Martin's original words
- Started: 2009
- Famous phrases: Yer shekh ma shieraki anni ("You are my sun and stars"), Me nem nesa ("It is known")
- Culture in the grammar: Many words and idioms relate to horses and riding
Dig deeper in How to Speak Dothraki.
High Valyrian
The ancient language of the dragonlords of Old Valyria — used by Targaryens, maesters, and religious orders, much like Latin in medieval Europe.
- Created by: David J. Peterson, expanding Martin's phrases like Valar morghulis
- Features: Four grammatical genders (lunar, solar, terrestrial, aquatic) and many noun cases
- Famous phrases: Valar morghulis, Dracarys
- Real-world course: Duolingo launched High Valyrian in 2017
Our earlier post explains why Daenerys speaks Valyrian so fluently.
Low Valyrian Dialects
When the Valyrian Freehold collapsed in the Doom, its language splintered. Each Free City developed its own version.
- Astapori Valyrian — heard in Season 3, influenced by the Ghiscari language of the slave masters
- Meereenese Valyrian — heard in later seasons
- Volantene, Braavosi, Pentoshi — mentioned in the books
This mirrors how Latin became Spanish, French, and Italian. More in High Valyrian vs Low Valyrian.
Skroth (White Walkers)
The White Walkers don't speak a language in the usual sense. The show's sound team created a chilling sound — often compared to cracking ice.
Lhazareen
The language of the peaceful Lhazareen people, whom the Dothraki mockingly call "Lamb Men." Developed by David J. Peterson.
Asshai'i
The mysterious tongue of Asshai-by-the-Shadow, a city associated with shadowbinders, sorcery, and Melisandre's origins.
The Old Tongue
The ancient language of the First Men, still spoken by giants and some Free Folk. The show uses it only briefly, but it hints at thousands of years of history before the Andals.
And of Course… Hodor
One word. Infinite meaning. A heartbreaking origin.
House of the Dragon
The prequel series, set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, uses High Valyrian more prominently. Targaryens in their prime spoke it among themselves and to their dragons. Peterson returned to expand the language.
This shows prequel enrichment: a language growing backwards in story time as audiences see the older, more powerful civilisation that spoke it.
Who Created the Languages?
David J. Peterson won a competition run by the Language Creation Society in 2009 to create Dothraki for HBO. He went on to create or expand the show's Valyrian languages and has since built languages for many other productions, including Defiance, The 100, Thor: The Dark World, and Dune (2021). He's also the author of The Art of Language Invention (2015).
We profile his approach in David J. Peterson: The Linguist Behind Game of Thrones.
How the Languages Shape the Story
Languages in Game of Thrones aren't decoration. They drive plot:
- Daenerys gains power by learning Dothraki.
- She wins the Unsullied in Astapor partly because slavers assume she can't understand them.
- The High Valyrian she learned as a noble becomes a weapon of liberation.
That's language as strategy — a central theme we explore in How Language Shapes Power in Game of Thrones.
Where Westeros Languages Are Heading
With more spin-offs in development, we predict High Valyrian will become the most complete TV-created language in history, surpassing Dothraki in vocabulary as prequels focus on Valyrian-speaking Targaryens and Old Valyria itself.