The Klingon Translator converts English to Klingon vocabulary and back. Type into the text field to translate to Klingon, or paste Klingon into the lower field to translate to English. Output renders in either Latin transliteration or pIqaD (the Klingon writing system).
Common Phrases
How the Klingon Translator Works
The translator does word-by-word dictionary lookup using the established Klingon vocabulary curated by Marc Okrand and expanded by the Klingon Language Institute since 1992. Type an English word or phrase, and the tool replaces each English word with its Klingon equivalent. Klingon words you paste in the other direction get the same treatment in reverse.
When the dictionary doesn't contain a word (modern English has plenty of vocabulary Klingon never developed), the tool falls back to letter-by-letter substitution, transliterating the English letters into Klingon-style spelling. The fallback is honest about its limitations: it gives you something Klingon-flavoured rather than a real Klingon translation.
The output toggle lets you switch between two display modes: Latin transliteration (the way Klingon is written using Latin letters, like "nuqneH" or "Qapla'") and pIqaD, the native Klingon writing system, which uses its own distinctive geometric glyphs. Use Latin transliteration when you want something legible to share in writing. Use pIqaD when you want the message to look properly Klingon.
An important honest caveat: the translator does not handle Klingon grammar. Klingon uses Object-Verb-Subject word order, has rich verb prefixes and suffixes for tense and aspect, and includes noun classifiers that English doesn't have. The vocabulary will be right, but the sentence structure will be wrong. Bing's Klingon translator has the same limitation, as do most fan-built Klingon translators online. For grammatically correct Klingon, consult the Klingon Language Institute directly, or work with the canonical reference: Marc Okrand's The Klingon Dictionary (1985, second edition 1992).
The pIqaD Alphabet
pIqaD is the Klingon writing system, developed for Star Trek productions and standardised by Marc Okrand as part of the Klingon language. It uses 26 distinctive geometric glyphs that map to the phonetic sounds of spoken Klingon. The glyphs were designed to look distinctly alien, with sharp angles and aggressive shapes that match the Klingon culture's warrior aesthetic.
To use pIqaD, switch the output toggle on the translator above. Your Klingon translation will render in pIqaD glyphs rather than Latin letters. For a quick reference, the alphabet maps 1:1 to the Latin-transliterated Klingon phonemes. Note that Klingon uses some capital letters (D, H, I, Q, S) as distinct phonemes from their lowercase counterparts.
| Latin | pIqaD |
|---|---|
| a | |
| b | |
| ch | |
| D | |
| e | |
| gh | |
| H | |
| I | |
| j | |
| l | |
| m | |
| n | |
| ng | |
| o | |
| p | |
| q | |
| Q | |
| r | |
| S | |
| t | |
| tlh | |
| u | |
| v | |
| w | |
| y | |
| ' | |
Common Klingon Phrases
A small reference of well-known Klingon phrases. The translator above handles arbitrary input via the dictionary, but these are the ones every Klingon speaker knows.
| Klingon | Meaning |
|---|---|
| nuqneH | What do you want? |
| Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam | Today is a good day to die |
| jIyajbe' | I don't understand |
| tlhIngan maH | We are Klingons |
| Qapla' | Success! |
| ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj | May your enemies run with fear |
| maj | Good |
| bortaS bIr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay' | Revenge is a dish best served cold |
A note on Klingon greetings: Klingons traditionally don't have a direct word for "hello". The closest is nuqneH, which literally means "what do you want?", reflecting the Klingon cultural disinclination toward small talk.
A Brief History of the Klingon Language
Klingon was created by the American linguist Marc Okrand for the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The original brief was small (a few lines of plausible-sounding alien dialogue), but Okrand built something far more ambitious: a fully grammatical constructed language with its own phonetics, vocabulary, syntax, and writing system. He deliberately designed Klingon to sound and feel distinctively alien, using phonemes uncommon or absent in human languages and an unusual Object-Verb-Subject word order.
Okrand published the canonical reference The Klingon Dictionary in 1985 (second edition 1992, Pocket Books), which became the foundational document for the language and remains the most authoritative Klingon resource. The book includes vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and a brief Klingon-language history within the Star Trek fictional universe.
The Klingon Language Institute (KLI) was founded in 1992 by Lawrence Schoen as a non-profit organisation dedicated to studying and developing the Klingon language. KLI publishes the quarterly journal HolQeD, maintains an expanding vocabulary in collaboration with Okrand (new Klingon words are still being added), and runs the Klingon Language Certification Program (KLCP), which tests Klingon proficiency. Fan-led translations of major literary works into Klingon include Shakespeare's Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, the Tao Te Ching, and the Bible's Gospel of Mark.
Klingon Today
Klingon remains an active living language within its fan community. KLI events happen multiple times per year, including the annual qep'a' (Klingon language conference). The boQwI' mobile app provides a comprehensive Klingon language reference on iOS and Android. Popular culture continues to use Klingon regularly: it appears across the entire Star Trek franchise, in The Big Bang Theory, in the 2010 opera 'u' (written entirely in Klingon), and in countless fan productions, podcasts, and online communities.
The Klingon Translator above is a casual tool for getting Klingon vocabulary right. For grammatically correct Klingon, deeper learning, or formal certification, the Klingon Language Institute is the authoritative resource. For other encoding and cipher tools, explore our Cipher Tools hub, including the Binary Code Translator and Morse Code Translator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Klingon is a constructed language (a language invented for fiction) spoken by the Klingons in the Star Trek universe. Unlike the made-up alien speech in most science fiction, Klingon was built as a complete language with its own vocabulary, grammar, phonetics, and writing system (pIqaD). It was created by the linguist Marc Okrand for the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and has been actively developed and spoken by fans ever since.
The American linguist Marc Okrand created Klingon in 1984 for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. His canonical reference, The Klingon Dictionary (1985, second edition 1992), remains the foundational document for the language. Since 1992, the Klingon Language Institute has worked with Okrand to expand the vocabulary, publish learning materials, and certify Klingon speakers through the KLCP.
The translator uses a Klingon dictionary (sourced from open-source Klingon vocabulary databases that draw on the canonical Okrand reference) to replace English words with their Klingon equivalents, and vice versa. You type or paste text into one field and the translation appears in the other. Words not in the dictionary fall back to letter-by-letter transliteration. See the How the Klingon Translator Works section above for the full walkthrough.
Klingon grammar is genuinely complex (Object-Verb-Subject word order, verb prefixes for tense and aspect, noun classifiers), and proper grammatical translation requires real linguistic engineering. The current translator handles vocabulary correctly (each English word maps to the right Klingon word) but does not transform sentence structure. Bing's Klingon translator has the same limitation. For grammatically correct Klingon, consult the Klingon Language Institute or work with Marc Okrand's The Klingon Dictionary.
pIqaD is the native Klingon writing system. It uses 26 distinctive geometric glyphs that map to the phonetic sounds of spoken Klingon (a, b, ch, D, e, gh, H, I, j, l, m, n, ng, o, p, q, Q, r, S, t, tlh, u, v, w, y, '). The glyphs were designed to look distinctly alien, with sharp angles that match the Klingon warrior aesthetic. Use the output toggle on the translator above to switch between Latin transliteration and pIqaD rendering.
Klingons traditionally don't have a direct word for "hello". The closest is nuqneH (pronounced nook-neh), which literally means "what do you want?". This greeting reflects the Klingon cultural disposition: they tend to skip pleasantries and get straight to the point.
Qapla' (pronounced KAP-lah, with a glottal stop at the end) means "Success!" and is the most famous Klingon expression. It is used as a battle cry, a goodbye, a toast, and an expression of triumph. The apostrophe at the end represents a glottal stop (a quick closure of the throat, similar to the catch in the middle of "uh-oh").
Yes. Klingon has a documented vocabulary of over 4,500 words, a complete grammar, and a writing system. The Klingon Language Institute runs the formal KLCP certification programme for serious learners, publishes the quarterly journal HolQeD, and hosts the annual qep'a' Klingon language conference. The free boQwI' mobile app provides a comprehensive learning reference. Fluent Klingon speakers exist worldwide, though the community is small (probably a few dozen people who can hold a real conversation).
The most universally recognised Klingon phrases are Qapla' ("Success!", the battle cry), nuqneH ("What do you want?", used as a greeting), maj ("good"), Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam ("Today is a good day to die"), and tlhIngan maH ("We are Klingons"). See the Common Klingon Phrases section above for a fuller curated reference.