Nilfgaardian is a language based on the Elder Speech and used in the Nilfgaardian Empire , originating from the Nilfgaard proper itself.
It is characterized by long, drawn-out syllables[1] and hard pronunciation.[2] Some words of the classic Elder Speech have a totally different meaning in the Nilfgaardian: for example, y which is of in classic Elder becomes and in Nilfgaardian or white , usually translated as gwen by elves while wen by Nilfgaardians.
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Phrases
A
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
aâ'anval[3]
attack (from Dutch: aanval)
addan, adan
dance; dancer; dancing
adhart[3]
forward
aecáemm
to follow
aedragh
to provoke / to disturb
aen
from, to, for, with, of, in, out of, at, by, down, in, into, until, on, like, as
aep
of (mostly used for marking hereditary ties)
ard
great
arse
arse (UK), ass (US), butt, rump (Dutch: aars)
a'vean[4]
?
B
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
belean'graec
important, something important (From Dutch: belangrijk - pronounciation is nearly the same)
bleidd
wolf (From Welsh: blaidd)
bloede
bloody, gory, damn (UK: bloody hell / Dutch: Bloederig = bloody)
bu'rac[3]
bumpkin
C
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
calm
calm, ease
carn
tomb, grave, barrow
ceas'raet
empire (of Nilfgaard)
creasa
must, necessity, obligation, inevitability, duty
cuan
whore
D
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
daerienn
sorcerer, sorceress
deien
to serve
deith
flame
deithwen
white flame
d'yaebl
devil (From Spanish: diablo)
E
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
e'er[3]
honor (from Dutch: eer)
eigean
necessary, must, have to (From Irish: is éigean)
eimyr
hedgehog
ess
to be, is (From Italian: essere)
esse
will be, will (From Latin: esse)
essea
I am
evgyr
?
evn'gesaen
ambassador (From German: Abgesandter)
F
G
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
geehaet
hard
gláeddyv (plural: glaeddyvan)
sword (From Welsh: cleddyf)
gloir[3]
glory (From French: gloire)
glys
river (aevon in Elder Speech)
gvaedyn[4]
tenacious one
gvaelded[4]
bloodthirsty one
H
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
hael
greeting (long life to...); health (From English: hail, hale)
hanse
unit, armed group of friends, gang (From English: hanse)
I
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
iarean[3]
to search
J
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
joc[3]
joke
K
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
Ker'zaer[5]
Emperor (From German: Kaiser)
kroofeir[3]
haystack
kusse
genitals
L
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
laeke, loc
lake
larwm
alarm, alert
luned
daughter / young girl
Lyrien
Lyrian
M
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
morv
?
morvud, morvudd
enemy, enemies
N
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
na[3]
or (From Irish: ná)
neén / ne
no, not
nordlingaen
demonym for Nordling
nyald[3]
needle (From Dutch: naald)
P
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
pest
pestilence, plague, blight (from Dutch: pest)
piemellikkers[6]
cocksuckers (from Dutch: piemellikkers)
Q
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
que
that / what (From Italian: che, French: quoi/que)
R
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
rach[3]
to move (From Irish: Rachaidh)
raet
country
ratreut[3]
to fall back, retreat
rotzak[6]
scumbag (From Dutch: rotzak)
S
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
schijtlijster[6]
coward (From Dutch: Schijtlijster, literally little shitbird' )
se'ege[3]
victory (From Dutch: Zege)
seiâ'fyll[3]
formation
sheyss[3]
dammit (From German: Scheiße, shit )
stront[6]
shit (From Dutch: Stront)
T
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
tedd
time, age, season (From Dutch: Tijd)
thu
you (informal)
tròcair
mercy
tuvean[3] / tuv'en
death
twe
two (From Dutch: twee)
V
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
va
to go
va'en
trip, journey
vaer'truov
to hope, to trust (From Dutch: vertrouw)
va faill
goodbye, farewell
var'oom?[3]
what? (from German: warum / Dutch: waarom)
vatt'ghern
witcher
veloë
fast, quick; quickly (From Italian: veloce)
visse
you (formal)
vort
further, away (from oneself), still (From German: fort)
W
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
wen
white (From Welsh: Wen/wyn)
Y
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
y
and (perhaps from Spanish: y)
yn
on, over, upon, one
Phrases
Nilfgaardian dialect
English
Aâ'anval neen orde!
Attack at will!
Aecáemm aen me
Follow me
Aen Ard Feainn
By the Great Sun
Aen iarean nyald aep kroofeir
Like searching for a needle in a haystack
A d'yaebl aép arse
A devil up your arse
Bloede pest
Bloody plague (imprecation)
Deithwen Addan yn Carn aep Morvudd
The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies
E'er y glòir
Honor and glory (usually used as a greeting)
Esse'lath seiâ'fyll
Loose formation
Glaeddyvan vort!
Drop the swords!
Gloir aen Ard Feainn
Praise be the Great Sun
Glòir aen Ker'zaer
Glory to the Emperor
Hael Ker'zaer
Long live the Emperor
Larwm! Essea tuv'en a'vean![4]
?
Me hen aveen'eans aep tooraen. Me peuvt aen alvear'daeg
I am too old for wrath. All I feel is simple grief
Me voel'tocht aen geehaet va'en. Me vaer'truov, het aen belean'graec
I had a hard journey. I trust it is something important.
Neen ratreut
Do not dare fall back
N'ess aedragh a me
Do not provoke / disturb me
N'ess tedd a thu
I have no time for you
ne'esse a fydd
no passage
Ne tuv'en que'ss, luned!
Do not kill yourself, girl!
Que'ess zaighderan aep Dravograd vaen?
How many battalions are marching on Dravograd?
Que suecc's? / Que aen suecc's?
What's going on?
Se'ege na tuvean
Victory or death
Tuvean y gloir
Death and glory
va calm
at ease, keep calm
va vort
go away
Visse deien aep Ceas'raet. N'et aen vaerb'tinnea, het aen creasa
You serve the Empire. It's not your good will, it's your duty
Visse ess'spaet aep uav raet, daar'tocht aep Nordling daerienn
You spat on your country, conspiring with Nordling sorceresses
Visse gead'tocht gaedeen
You have done well
Notes
Nilfgaardian differs from the classic Elder Speech in that much of it seems to be based on Dutch.
In the Blood and Wine expansion, Nazairi soldiers use a great number of Dutch profanities; these include rotzak ("scumbag"), schijtlijster ("coward"), stront ("shit") and piemellikkers ("cocksuckers"). They also use the word kusse , later explained by Regis to mean vagina (akin to Dutch kut and its older form kutte , which carry the same meaning, though it more likely came from Danish where the word means "pussy").
After being asked by a fan, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz who works as a narrative designer for CD Projekt confirmed Nilfgaardian used in their games is a mix of Elder Speech and Dutch.[7]
References