A gentler start, and a way out of any lesson

Unit 3 Lesson 4, "Night watch"

keep watch with Legolas high in Hollin under the winter stars, as he murmurs A Elbereth Gilthoniel. Learn menel (the sky), gil (star), Gilthoniel (Star-kindler) and celebrin (silvery), and say "Menel morn. Ithil celebrin." (The sky is dark. The moon is silvery.)

Unit 3 Lesson 3, "Holly-land"

after a fortnight on the road, dawn breaks over Hollin, where dark green holly grows among the broken stones of a fallen Elf country. Learn ereg (holly), Eregion (Hollin), galadh (tree) and gond (stone), and say "I ereg calen." (The holly is green.)

Unit 3 Lesson 2, "The Grey Pilgrim"

on the night march south, Gandalf tells you his Elvish name, Mithrandir (Grey Pilgrim), and at dawn the great mountains rise ahead: Caradhras (the Redhorn) and Celebdil (Silvertine). Learn caran (red) and celeb (silver), and say "Mithrandir mellon nín." (Gandalf is my friend.)

A new Unit 3 begins

"The Road South". Lesson 1, "Setting out": at dusk the company leaves Rivendell by the great gate and takes the road south beside the roaring Loudwater. Learn annon (great gate), men (road), nen (water) and Bruinen, and look back to say "Novaer, Imladris!" (Goodbye, Rivendell!) "Speak, friend" is now Unit 4.

Unit 2 is complete!

The finale, "Everyday phrases": on the evening before the Council, you greet Elrond, the hobbits and the whole Hall of Fire on your own: "Mae govannen, edhil a noeg! Im adan." (Hello, Elves and Dwarves! I am human.) You also learn mellyn (friends), to greet and say goodbye to a group.

Unit 2 Lesson 5 is now "Names on the map"

Lindir traces the road, and you take the great names apart and read them yourself: Imladris (deep valley of the cleft), Amon Sûl (hill of the wind), Ered Luin (the Blue Mountains) and Mithlond (the Grey Havens). Then say "Imladris imlad. Amon Sûl amon." (Rivendell is a deep valley. Weathertop is a hill.)

Unit 2 Lesson 4 is now "The map"

an afternoon in the map room, where Lindir shows you the lands to the south. Learn mountain, wood, river and valley, green and dark, and say "I eryn calen." (The wood is green.) We also fixed "valley": the word is nand, and nan is its short form inside names like Nan Curunír.

Unit 2 Lesson 3 "Many" is rebuilt

a feast night in the Hall of Fire, full of Elves, Men, Dwarves and halflings. Learn how Sindarin makes plurals by changing the vowels inside a word (edhel, edhil), learn a (and), and say "Lindir a Legolas edhil." (Lindir and Legolas are Elves.)

New lesson

Unit 2 Lesson 2, "The". Morning in the library of Rivendell: learn i (the), meet an ellon (Elf-man) and an elleth (Elf-woman), and say "I edhel mellon nín." (The Elf is my friend.)

Unit 2 begins its rebuild

Lesson 1 is now "The household". Evening in Elrond's house, and Lindir tells you who is who: "Elrond hîr. Legolas ernil." (Elrond is lord. Legolas is a prince.)

Every word and phrase in a lesson now shows where it comes from

"Tolkien's own" (he wrote it), "Built from Tolkien's words" (his words, put together his way) or "Modern word" (made by today's Elvish speakers where Tolkien left a gap, like hannon, "I thank"). Tap the tag to learn more.

Unit 1 is complete!

The finale, "Everyday greetings", brings it all together: the next morning in Rivendell you greet Lindir, meet a new Elf, give thanks and say goodbye on your own: "Mae govannen, mellon nín! Hannon le. Novaer!" (Well met, my friend! Thank you. Goodbye!)

Unit 1 Lesson 5 is now "Goodbye for now"

the Sun sets, the Moon rises, and Lindir says good night. Learn Tolkien's own "Cuio!" (live!) and say goodbye: "Novaer, mellon nín!" (Goodbye, my friend!)

New lesson

Unit 1 Lesson 4, "Elves and travellers". Evening in the hall of Rivendell: meet Elves, a Man, a Dwarf and a halfling, and learn to say who is who: "Im adan. Lindir edhel." (I am human. Lindir is an Elf.)

Unit 1 Lesson 3 is now "Who are you?"

on a terrace above the river, Lindir tells you his name and asks yours: "Man eneth lín?" (What is your name?). We also fixed a spelling mistake: "your" is lín, not lîn, which means "pool".

Unit 1 Lesson 2 is now "Thank you"

Lindir shows you to a room above the river with bread and a lamp, and you learn to thank him: "Hannon le, mellon nín." (Thank you, my friend.)

The journey begins

Unit 1 Lesson 1 is now "Well met". It's dusk on the road to the Ford, an Elf rider calls to you, and you learn to answer him: "Mae govannen, mellon!" (Hello, friend!). New pictures show it all through your own eyes, and more lessons will follow the same road through Middle-earth.

New lesson

Unit 1 Lesson 5, "Everyday greetings". You take "Mae govannen" apart word by word, then put words together until you can say "Mae govannen, mellon nín! Hannon le." (Hello, my friend! Thank you.)

A gentler first lesson

we removed a six-word line from Greetings. It was too much for a first lesson, and it turned out not to be Tolkien's own.

Quit any lesson at any time with the ✕ Quit button. We check first, because your score for that lesson won't be saved.

Faster finish

going back to your lessons after completing one is now quicker.

Word notes in Unit 1 now say clearly which words are Tolkien's own and which are modern phrases built from his language.