Dwarvish is the native tongue of dwarves considered one of the older languages, although it has become more of a second language for them. It's characterized by a large proportion of curses and swears,[1] which have transitioned into use by humans as well.[2]
Through the centuries, dwarves came to be so assimilated into human civilization and convinced about the harmfulness of chauvinism and the manifestation of otherness displayed so proudly by elves, that they use Common Speech not only when talking to humans, but even among themselves. Their youth barely knows Dwarvish and uses it very reluctantly.[3]
Dwarvish words are written in the dwarven ideograms.[1]
Dictionary
| Dwarvish | English |
|---|---|
| ballet[4] | knave (From French: valet) |
| drekthag[5] | likely "trek days" or "trek time" (from English: trek, and German: Tag); a year-long rite of passage during adolescence |
| dúvvel[1] | devil, sylvan |
| freie[6] | free (From German: frei) |
| hraval[4] | king |
| oc[7] | eye |
| sheyss[1] | shit (From German: Scheiß) |
| stadt[6] | city, town (From German: Stadt) |
| sihill[citation needed] | sihil |
| vaina[4] | lady |
| vist[7] | staring |
Names
| Dwarvish | English |
|---|---|
| Bloëmenmagde[1] | Flower Maiden (From German or Dutch: Blumen/Bloemen meaning flowers; Magd/Maagd meaning maiden) |
| Ocvist[7] | Staring Eye |
Phrases
| Dwarvish | English |
|---|---|
| dúvvel hoael[1] | Devil take it |
| dúvvelsheyss[1] | Devil shit |
Notes
- In an interview, Andrzej Sapkowski confirmed most of his dwarven words are based on German.[8]
- In Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni, developers came to this conclusion as well, elaborating that the Dwarvish echoes Old Norman and Old High German to a certain degree.