Sangheili (language)/Silver

Sangheili is a constructed language created for the Halo: The Television Series co-created by linguist David J. Peterson, known for the Dothraki and Valyrian languages used in Game of Thrones and the Chakobsa language in Dune (Parts 1 & 2), and language creator Carl Buck. Nearly three years before the series premiere, both conlangers began jointly developing a fleshed-out version of the fictional Sangheili language from the Halo universe. By early 2022, Carl Buck estimated they had crafted close to 250 Sangheili words, those being base words and not variations of verbs and nouns. Actress Charlie Murphy learned to speak Sangheili for her role as Makee on the show and was noted to have done a phenomenal job capturing the emphasis, pitch and pronunciations of the alien language.

Peterson posts transcripts for the words and their translations on his language wiki, as well as in a series of posts on Archive of Our Own, accessible here. See also David Peterson's records here and his additional informative Tweets archived here.

A full list of terms can be found in our Sangheili-English dictionary here.

Sangheili [san.ɣei.li]
Setting	Silver Timeline
Canonical name	Sangheili
Aliases	Sangheili language Covenant Covenant language Elite Elite language
Language code	sanɡ
Ancestors	Proto-Sangheili
Scripts	Latin
Alignment	ergative-absolutive
Head direction	head-final

About

During the development of Paramount+'s Halo adaptation, 343 Industries consulted with language expert David Peterson to examine the Elites' mandibles and facial structure and then produce a more robust and complete Sangheili language that reflected their actual physiology. Peterson, in turn, reached out to the conlanging community and recruited military veteran Carl Buck to assist in creating the Sangheili language that would be utilized among the species of the Covenant.

The creative choices in the language's phonology were guided by the producers and showrunners who desired Sangheili to sound alien and have a word structure similar to Japanese. Working with those parameters, Buck and Peterson infused various concepts of warrior culture into the language, ensuring it reflected the species' martial ethos. One such example is the Sangheili salutation "Hait'u ga k'utkho", a greeting and parting phrase which translates to "Fight with strength / Fight well."

Carl Buck - "Wort, wort, wort!"
Trouble with the audio sample?

Building on the cultural aspects of the Sangheili race, Peterson and Buck also incorporated metaphorical elements pertaining to the species' distinct physical features and their reptile-like ancestry. They integrated the aliens' unique hinged mandibles into the grammar to convey different levels of certainty. Within the mindset of the Sangheili, utilizing their upper mandible signifies certainty, while using their lower mandible expresses uncertainty.

The language they devised for the series drew minimally from past Halo material and video games as previous dialogue crafted for Covenant speak was primarily gibberish. For instance the word "domo" for "human" and the negative "eya" come directly from the latter games. The games' famous word "wort" for "go" did not fit phonologically and was altered to "warut'o."

Overview

Sangheili, the language featured in the show, is an ergative-absolutive language spoken by the Sangheili warrior race, commonly referred to as Elites, as well as generally inside the Covenant, an alien alliance that worships the Halo Array. The language is a lightly inflectional head-final language with distinctive vowel length and ejectives.

In the tradition of his other constructed languages, Peterson crafted the language by laying the groundwork with a proto-language known as Proto-Sangheili. This ancient Elite language evolved organically, undergoing both phonological and grammatical changes, eventually giving rise to the modern Sangheili language spoken within the Covenant empire.

Sangheili uses Standard American Romanization. Ejective consonants are written with a following apostrophe, and the r is the tap [ɾ]. The language has long vowels, represented by a doubled vowel, and occasionally has geminates, also written doubly. Likely the most challenging aspect of the phonology are the consonants with a velar release. These are written as if they began with a consonant cluster, but they occur at every point of articulation—namely, pkh [pˣ], tkh [tˣ], kkh [kˣ], and qkh [qˣ], and even the fricative (or fricative-ending) consonants skh [sˣ], shkh [ʃˣ], and chkh [tʃˣ]

Basic Sangheili Primer

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Standard Romanization

Letter	IPA	English example	Notes
a	a	father
b	b	bad
ch	tʃ	match
ch'	tʃ'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
chkh	tʃˣ	—	Like pronouncing ch, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
d	d	die
dz	dz	kids	Pronounced as such even at the beginning of a word.
e	e	get	Always pronounced like the e in get.
g	ɡ	goat	Never pronounced like the g in genius.
gh	ɣ	fuego (spanish)	Pronounced like the French r in rouge (the harsher pronunciation; not trilled).
h	h	hop
i	i	machine
j	dʒ	jam
k	k	sky
k'	k'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
kh	x~χ	blech!	Like German ch in Buch.
kkh	kˣ	—	Like pronouncing k, but releasing it very slowly with strong frication.
l	l	love
m	m	matter
n	n	never	[ɲ] before a palatal consonant, [ɴ] before a uvular consonant.
ng	ŋ	sing	Can occur at the beginning of a word.
o	o	tote
p	p	spike
p'	p'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
pkh	pˣ	—	Like pronouncing p, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
q	q	—	Like a k, but pronounced further back in the throat, with the back of the tongue contacting the uvula.
q'	q'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
qkh	qˣ	—	Like pronouncing q, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
r	ɾ	pero (spanish)	Nearly identical to the t or d sound in English matador when pronounced quickly.
s	s	sad
sh	ʃ	shack
shkh	ʃˣ	—	Like pronouncing sh, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
skh	sˣ	—	Like pronouncing s, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
t	t	stake
t'	t'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
tkh	tˣ	—	Like pronouncing t, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
ts	ts	cuts
ts'	ts'	—	Produced by holding your breath at the same time as making the above sound.
tskh	tsˣ	—	Like pronouncing ts, but with the back of one’s tongue contacting the soft palate.
u	u	ruminate
w	ɰ	wagon	Almost like wet, but with one's lips unrounded.
y	j	young	Never occurs as a vowel.
z	z	zebra
zh	ʒ	azure, measure
'	ʔ	uh-oh

Phonetics

Sangheili consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Stops	(p), b, p′ p, b, p′	(t), d, t′ t, d, t′		(k), g, k′ k, g, k′	(q), q′, *ɢ q, q′	ʔ ′
Affricates	px pkh	tx, (ts), tsx, dz, ts′ tkh, ts, tskh, dz, ts′	(tʃ, tʃx, dʒ, tʃ′) ch, chkh, j, ch′	kx kkh	qx qkh
Fricatives		s, sx, z s, skh, z	(ʃ, ʃx, ʒ) sh, shkh, zh	x~χ, ɣ~ʁ kh, gh		h h
Approximants		l, ɾ l, r	j y	ɰ w
Nasals	m m	n n	(ɲ) n	ŋ ng	(ɴ) n

Sangheili vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i, iː I, ii		u, uː u, uu
Mid	(e) e		(o) o
Low		a, aː a, aa

• Diphthongs: ai (like the y in sky), au (like the ow in how'), ei (like the a in gate)

• /e/ and /o/ are always short, but the other vowels may be short or long. Long vowels are indicated by doubling the vowel symbol.

• Proto-Sangheili also had a phonemic /ɢ/, but it merged with /ɣ/.

• Sequences of ejectives are not allowed, when one occurs, the second ejective is deglottalized.

• Certain sounds that are found in proper names among the Sangheili, which are not part of Sangheili phonology, are treated as approximations resulting from human attempts at Latinizing these names. Because there are no [f], [θ], or [v] sounds in the language, names like Thel 'Vadamee, Var 'Gatanai, and Fal 'Chavamee are English approximations of T'elo Badami, Baro Gat'anai, and P'alo Chabami, respectively, in Sangheili.

Phonotactics

Most of Sangheili's syllables are open, only three codas are allowed: /n/, /ŋ/ and /s/. /n/ has the allophones [ɲ] before palatals and [ɴ] before uvulars. Syllables may never start with consonant clusters.

Stress

Stress falls on the penultimate syllable if it is heavier than the antepenultimate, otherwise it falls on the antepenultimate. Secondary stress is placed on every other syllable radiating outward from the syllable with main stress. The final syllable never attracts stress, regardless of length.

Proposed Sangheili orthography

The Covenant script that is featured briefly in the show consists of triangular glyphs, visuals directly taken from the Halo franchise, yet remains nonsensical. Early into their project, David J. Peterson and Carl Buck proposed the creation of a writing script for the series, presenting a crafted sample that envisions a cohesive Sangheili writing system to complement the language they developed. Their conceptualization involved acknowledging the unique phonetics of Sangheili and led them to design an abugida, a script centered around syllables as the foundational unit, similar to Tibetan script. Each syllabic glyph would contain a base consonant with the potential for vowel modifications and additional diacritics to indicate coda consonants when necessary.

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Grammar and Morphology

Syntax

Sangheili generally follows SOV (subject-object-verb) word order akin to Japanese and Latin:

K'uucho o ₁ domo ₂ ruuk'inatan ₃ — "the warrior ₁ attacked ₃ the human ₂"

In content questions, question words appear in situ (the default or expected position within a sentence):

K'e o gha ts'aachi? — "what have you done?"

Subjects of transitive verbs are marked by the postposition "o", while subjects of intransitive verbs and objects of transitive verbs remain unmarked.

K'uucho o domo ruuk'inatan — "the warrior attacked the human"

• K'uucho is followed by o because it's the warrior that caused the attack on the human. Domo, the recipient in the sentence, gets no mark.

K'uucho mejayatan — "the warrior is ready"

• K'uucho is unmarked because there is no direct object affected by the warrior's action of getting prepared.

Nouns are preceded by adjectives, possessors, and relative clauses, while main clauses come after dependent clauses. Creating relative clauses is achieved by positioning their verb before the noun or relative pronoun they modify.

K'aidon k'uucho o domo ruuk'inatan — "the kaidon warrior attacked the human"

→ Domo ruuk'inatan k'uucho — "the warrior who attacked the human"

→ K'uucho o ruuk'inatan domo — "the human whom the warrior attacked"

Head-directionality

Sangheili is a head-final language, meaning everything comes first while the main head verb (the most important component of a phrase that determines the type of phrase) is relegated to the very end, hence head-final.

English:

I won't let you take the holy relic.

English (head-final):

You holy relic take I will-not-allow.

Sangheili:

K'e o qkhado kheluuga ch'imo jan o t'iswaqkhijaga.

Pronouns

Sangheili has an inclusive / exclusive distinction in its first-person plural pronouns for "we, us" ("Riin" for you and us and "Jaari" for us and not you). The Sangheili language also recognizes both animate and inanimate entities, but the third-person singular pronoun "Mu" makes no gender distinction between "he" (masculine) and "she" (feminine), acting neutral as "it, itself, they".

Personal pronouns	Singular	Plural
		Inclusive	Exclusive
First Person	jan	riin	jaari
Second Person	k'e	k'iri
Third Person Animate	mu	muuri
Third Person Inanimate	tkha	tkhaari

Noun derivations

Nouns, as well as verbs, have a series of affixes that produce groups of related or semi-related words that help to differentiate many nuances of meanings.

akhe "hand"; khuut'a "brood mate"; dzuro "circumstance"

Noun > Noun	V-Initial	C-Initial (Voiceless)	C-Initial (Voiced)
Diminutive ba(gh)-	baghakhe	bakhuut'a	badzuro
Augmentative ch'an-	ch'anakhe	ch'anghuut'a	ch'andzuro
Place -di	akhedi	khuut'adi	dzurodi
Collective -ri	akheri	khuut'ari	dzurori

Case Particles / Postpositions

These case particles are placed after a noun to indicate the role they play in a sentence. The ergative and absolutive are grammatical. The vocative case is used for direct address, while the rest pertain to locative functions. Nouns in Sangheili otherwise do not change form to indicate their grammatical role.

Type	Particle	Use
Absolutive	-	-
Ablative	ga	Indicates movement from a source or starting point of an action. This particle expresses the idea of "away (from)" or "of."
Adessive	ni	Indicates the location or position of an object or a person in relation to another object or place. It expresses the notions of "near, by, at, on, with, or upon."
Allative	oni	Indicates movement toward a location, destination, or recipient of an action. This particle expresses the ideas of "to, onto, at, for, or of."
Elative	ba	Indicates a separation or departure from a place or a starting point. This particle expresses the idea of "out of" or "from."
Ergative	o	Used after a noun to mark it as the subject of a transitive verb (a verb that can accept one or more objects).
Illative	zhi	Indicates direction or movement toward a location or place. It expresses the idea of "into" or "onto."
Inessive	me	Indicates being in a certain place or object. It expresses the ideas of "in, inside, within, or along side."
Vocative	ghu	Used to address or gain someone's attention directly. "Hey, Oh, O ye..."

Sangheili has six locative cases, identical to the Finnish and Estonian languages.

The locative cases are analogous to the following English prepositions:

Locative Case	Example	Translation	Example Sentences
Ga	wele ga	from the ship, away from the ship	K'uucho wele ga jayatan. (The warriors came from the ship.)
Ni	wele ni	by the ship, on the ship	K'uucho welegoja ni ts'aha. (The warriors are on the bridge.)
Oni	wele oni	onto the ship, toward the ship	Wele oni warut'o! (Go to the ship!)
Ba	wele ba	out of the ship	K'uucho wele ba jayatan. (The warrior came out of the ship.)
Zhi	wele zhi	into the ship	K'uucho wele zhi waruutan. (The warrior went into the ship.)
Me	wele me	inside the ship, within the ship	K'uucho wele me ts'aha. (The warriors are in the ship.)

In contrast to English, which has dedicated possessive pronouns ("my," "your," "his," "her") and a possessive ('s), Sangheili lacks dedicated possessive cases for nouns, instead using other cases for possession depending on the nature of the possessive relationship.

Examples:

• K'uucho oni zhuro - would be “the warrior’s weapon” or better yet "the weapon TO the warrior". This would presumably mean the weapon is one the warrior owns.

• K'uucho ni zhuro - would also be “the warrior’s weapon” or better yet "the weapon ON the warrior". This would imply the weapon nearby is one the warrior just picked up or happened to have.

• K'uucho oni nejo ga zhuro - "the weapon FROM the father TO the warrior". This would indicate that the warrior has their father's weapon.

• K'uucho me ik'o - "the warrior's eye(s)" or "the eye(s) IN the warrior". This suggests the warrior still has theirs.

• K'uucho ba ik'o - "the warrior's eye(s)" or rather "the eye(s) OUT OF the warrior". This suggests the warrior has regrettably lost theirs.

Example dialogue:

Sangheili:

K'e oni k'uucho mejayatan, K'aidon.

Your warriors are ready, Kaidon.

Kaidon:

K'uucho ghu! Riin oni nejo ba luuka ni. Riin oni khuut'a ba luuka ni. Warut'o! Ikhi ga!

Warriors! On the blood of our fathers. By the blood of our brothers. Go! Now!

Warriors:

Oq'o Ch'awaruut'u oni! K'aidon oni!

For the Great Journey! For the Kaidon!

Verb instrumental prefixes

Similarly to the Siouan or Uto-Aztecan languages of the North and Middle Americas, Sangheili has instrumental prefixes that can transform verb bases into entirely new verbs. The following 12 prefixes are routinely used to form a range of derivations and express how something is done.

Prefix	Origin	Usage	Example
ba (n)-	baan (spine)	utilizing the back or rear	ban + k'utkho (to fight) → bank'utkho (to defend / resist)
ch'a (n)-	ch'ano (head)	utilizing the head	ch'aa + mosik'o (to understand) → ch'aamosik'o (to understand well)
dzu (m/n)-	dzumu (to be sharp)	with a weapon, or with a sharp point, dangerously	dzu + k'utkho (to fight) → dzuk'utkho (to battle)
ga (i/y)-	gadi (lower mandible)	with the lower mandible, with uncertainty	gai + duje (to molt / shed) → gaiduje (to sully)
gha (y)-	ogha (foot)	using the foot	gha + jaya (to arrive) → ghajaya (to return)
kh (e/y)-	akke (hand)	general instrumental; also specifically utilizing the hand	khe + ch'imo (to collect) → khech'imo (to retrieve)
juu (n)-	juun (upper mandible)	with the upper mandible, with certainty	juu + khawa (to say) → juukhawa (to claim)
me (kh)-	maikhu (tool, device)	using a tool or device	me + ch'in (to stab) → mech'in (to cut)
mo (s)-	mos (mind, brain)	using the mind or reasoning	mo + duje (to molt / shed) → moduje (to lose track of)
ru (u)-	ruq'a (fire)	using fire or heat	ruu + k'ina (to bite) → ruuk'ina (to attack)
t'i (s)-	t'iis (word)	verbally; using words	t'i + khawa (to say) → t'ikhawa (to chat)
wel (e)-	wele (ship, vessel)	using a ship, vessel, vehicle, or other means of transport	wele + kkhosa (to flee) → welekkhosa (to retreat)

• Suffixes also play a role in forming additional derivations in verbs. A common suffix, -jo, is utilized for forming agent nouns (e.g. teach-er, visit-ors).

• Maaro (seek) → maarojo (search team, searchers)

• Moq'aara (have faith) → moq'aajo (zealots)

• Another suffix, -t'u (or -tu), is employed to create nominalizations.

• Ts'aha (be at) → ts'ahat'u (presence)

• Hai (be able / have ability) → hait'u (strength, might)

• The suffix -q'u (or -qu) in Sangheili means "to make," "cause to be," "render," or "become." It transforms regular verbs into causative verbs, indicating an action that causes something to happen or come into being.

• T'iya (to live) → t'iyaq'u (to bring to life, cause to manifest)

• Ruq'ota (to burn) → ruq'otaq'u (to burn something, to incinerate)

• Oq'o (be honorable) → oq'oqu (to render honor to something or someone)

Verb derivations

jaya "to come"; k'utkho "to fight"; buulo "to be high"

Verb > Verb	V-Final	C-Final (Voiceless)	C-Final (Voiced)
Causative -q'u / -qu	jayaq'u	k'uuqu	bwiq'u
Abilitive -ala / -la	jayala	k'utkhala	bwiyala
Continuative q'(a)-	q'ajaya	q'ak'utkho	q'abuulo

jaya "to come"; k’utkho "to fight"; buulo "to be high"

Verb > Noun	V-Final	C-Final (Voiceless)	C-Final (Voiced)
Qualitative Nominalization -t'u / -tu	jayat'u	k'uutu	bwit'u
Place Nominalization -mo	jayamo	k'uumo	bwimo
Instrument Nominalization -gha / -ga / -ka	jayagha	k'uuka	bwiga
Individual Nominalization -jo / -cho	jayajo	k'uucho	bwijo

Verb Tenses

Sangheili has 8 tenses, but the meanings of those tenses vary depending on whether the verb is stative or dynamic.

Verb Tenses	Dynamic Verbs	Stative Verbs	Suffix
Bare	Imperative (An action is issued as a command or order)	Present (A state or condition is provided as a fact or general truth)	None (---)
Reduplicative	Imperfect (An action is ongoing or continuous)	Emphatic (A state or condition is emphasized)	Varies (a part of a verb is partially repeated)
Inceptive	Inceptive (An action has begun)	Inchoative (A state or condition is beginning)	-(i)khi
Completive	Perfect (An action has concluded)	Cessive (A state or condition has ended)	-(i)tan
Declarative	Present (An action is occurring)	Probabilitive (A state or condition holds an element of probability)	-(i)jo (or -cho)
Witnessed / Direct	Emphatic (An experienced action is emphasized)	Past (A past state or condition is referred)	-(i)ji (or -chi)
Overheard / Inferential	Uncertain (An action has an element of uncertainty)	Possibilitive (A state or condition carries a sense of possibility or potentiality)	-(i)jen (or -chen)
Prospective	Future (An action will come in the future)	Future (A state or condition will occur later)	-(i)jaga (or -chaga)

• Every Sangheili verb has a reduplicated form, which may occasionally deviate from regular patterns, yet remains somewhat foreseeable.

• Verbs in both the indicative and interrogative modes have positive and negative forms as well.

Sangheili verb paradigm.

Verb Paradigm for Dynamic and Stative Verbs

V-Final	Dynamic Bekkha "to breathe"		Stative K'aacho "to be useful"
	Positive	Negative	Positive	Negative
1. Bare	bekkha	bekkheya	k'aacho	k'aachoya
2. Reduplicative	baabekkha	baabekkheya	k'aagach'o	k'aagach'oya
3. Inceptive	bekkhekhi	bekkheye	k'aachwekhi	k'aachoye
4. Completive	bekkhatan	bekkhitan	k'aachotan	k'aachwetan
5. Declarative	bekkhajo	bekkhijo	k'aachojo	k'aachwejo
6. Witnessed	bekkhaji	bekkhiji	k'aachoji	k'aachweji
7. Overheard	bekkhajen	bekkhijen	k'aachojen	k'aachwejen
8. Prospective	bekkhajaga	bekkhijaga	k'aachojaga	k'aachwejaga

Other aspects and question forms

	Dynamic Verbs	Stative Verbs	Suffix
Negation	Reverse action	Contrary state	-eya (or -ya)
Ability	Possible action	Possible state	-’ala
Yes or No Question	-	-	-jahe (or -chahe) and is attached to a reduced set of 4 tenses: Bare, Reduplicative, Inceptive, and Completive.

Example questions:

• Ghashank'o. Mu sachahe? — The demon. He's sure?
• K'e sachahe, Hirajo? — Are you certain, Blessed One?
• Ikhi k'e o ch'anik'ojahe? — Do you see now?
• Q'a riin ni tkha jayetanjahe? — But it did not make its way back to us?
• Juukhojo ine ga waawotkhijahe? — This is what the prophets fear?

Copular constructions

Sangheili generally uses zero-copula constructions, meaning the copular verb "to be" (and its forms: am, is, are, was) is often dropped from sentences when the meaning is understood from the context.

• K'uucho haala. — The warrior is strong. ("The warrior strong")

• Ne bekkhajo riin o maamaro gha. — This creature is what we seek. ("This creature what we seek")

• Ine ii zap'atu. — This was no victory. ("This not victory")

However, Sangheili does have a locative copula, ts'aha (to be at):

• Maamaro gha ogha ni ts'aha. — "What we seek is close."

• Ghaamos riin nis ts'aha? — "Why are we here?"

Question words

Question words that are commonly used as subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns include:

Gha	what
Ghaazhi	because, if, when
Ghaadi	where
Ghaasha	how
Ghaakhe	how much
Ghaamos	why, how come
Ghaijo	who

Demonstratives

Type	Adjective / Determiner	Pronoun		Adverb
		Singular	Plural
Proximal (near the speaker)	ne - this	ine - this	niri - these	nis - here
Medial (neither near nor far)	zo - that	uzo - that	zuri - those	zus - there
Distal (far from the speaker)	tkha - it, that (over there)	athka - that (over there)	tkhaari - those (over there)	tkhaas - over there, yonder
Unknown / Indefinite (indicating uncertainty)	ba	aba	baari	baas
Negative (indicating absence)	ii - no, not	ngajo - none, no one		ngamaas - no way, nowhere

• Adverbs can be followed by postpositions, for instance tkhaas oni translates as "that way".

Coordinating conjunctions

Common coordinating conjunctions include:

Q'a	but
Nizhi	and (used to coordinate nouns and sentences)
Ze	and (used to coordinate adjectives)

Numerals

Sangheili uses a base eight numeral system:

e.g. $[...,{\frac {512}{8^{3}}},{\frac {64}{8^{2}}},{\frac {8}{8^{1}}},{\frac {1}{8^{0}}}]$

• Domo ch'ishan — human three&eight: (13 _base-8 = 11 _base-10)
• Eleven humans.

The suffix -ngo is used to mark ordinals.

Sangheili Numerals

Cardinal Numbers	Base-8	Ordinal Numbers	Cardinal Numbers (cont.)
0 - Nga	0
1 - Ju	1	1st - Jungo	20 - (24 base-8) - yuak'unan
2 - K'ung (-ku)	2	2nd - K'ungo	21 - (25 base-8) - yuak'uro
3 - Ch'i	3	3rd - Ch'ingo	30 - (36 base-8) - yuach'ighu
4 - Nan	4	4th - Nango	40 - (50 base-8) - yuaro
5 - Ros (-ro)	5	5th - Rongo	50 - (62 base-8) - yuaghuku
6 - Ghu	6	6th - Ghungo	60 - (74 base-8) - yuadzonnan
7 - Dzon	7	7th - Dzongo	70 - (106 base-8) - yuashan ghu
8 - Shan	10	8th - Shango	80 - (120 base-8) - yuak'ushan
9 - Jushan	11	9th - Jushango	90 - (132 base-8) - yuach'ishan k'ung
10 - K'ushan	12	10th - K'ushango	100 - (144 base-8) - yuananshan nan
11 - Ch'ishan	13	11th - Ch'ishango	101 - (145 base-8) - yuananshan ros
12 - Nanshan	14	12th - Nanshango	111 - (157 base-8) - yuaroshan dzon
13 - Roshan	15	13th - Roshango	144 - (220 base-8) - baashkhi
14 - Ghushan	16	14th - Ghushango
15 - Dzonshan	17	15th - Dzonshango

Sangheili lines & outtakes

— Season 1 Sangheili Dialogue —

— Season 2 Sangheili Dialogue —

Samples

Jan David ngiit'a.	My name is David. or I am called David.
Hait'u ga k'utkho!	From strength, fight! or Fight with strength! (Used by Sangheili as both a greeting and a farewell.)
Jan o moa ba ngani rotkho pkhonji.	I will eat a moa burger. or I will eat moa flesh.
Qkhe p'os, Sugakho.	Oh shit, Needler.
Yodu Shandi ni Ch'awaruut'u ba pumo jayajaga.	Soon the Covenant will begin it's Great Journey. (Soon the dawn of the Covenant's Great Journey will come.)

These outtakes for the first season, from Peterson's audio recordings (linked above at the top), are unused or alternate lines that are also absent in Peterson's own dialogue scripts.

Episode 101

Makee	Q'iitu. Et'o zwari. Maasa ghwiri k'e o jan ni ch'angongo oni jayatan.	Mercy. Welcome. It's been a long time since you've visited my chambers.
Mercy	Yap'o dzuro ba jayatan jan itskhaji.	I wish I came under better circumstances.
Mercy	Ch'inji, k'utkho ba kkhosa k'entan ch'anoq'o sangheli et'ojo T'elo Badami oni.	Taken, from a sangheili swordsman of great nobility named Thel 'Vadamee who chose to flee rather than fight.
Mercy	Domo ga q'aha ba kheluuga ch'uitan, mu o juukhojo. Tkha me k'iis me mos ba.	He said the artifact awoke to the human's touch as if lit from within.
Mercy	Ts'ekhe ni jan o ine mosik'ola. K'unjo o eya.	I find this easy to understand. Others might not.

Episode 102

Makee	Ne oni k'e o k'utkhitanjahe?	Is that why you did not fight? (For this you did not fight?)
Makee	P'uuka o jan mositskhajo.	That's an intriguing question. (The question intrigues me.)
Makee	Ghaazhi Ghashank'o o tkha q'ahiji, gha k'e o p'ayut'u ba ch'anik'otanjahe?	When the demon touched it, what exactly did you see?
Makee	Q'iitu k'e o jan juuch'iiji, ngenoji. K'e o jan ch'anggonji, Oq'o Ch'awaruut'u oni jan q'onji. Ghaazhi k'e o jan oni ne tskha'iji, jan o riin oni ne waaka waqkhijaga. Jan o oq'ogakha maaroji, nizhi jan o qkhaamo oni Sangheli me tkha bit'ajaga. Tkha o ch'anggagomo oni riin gwijaga.	Mercy, you took me in, saved me. You tutored me, and taught me of the Great Journey. For what you have done for me, allow me to deliver this gift to us all. I will find the keystone. And I will bring it to the sacred shrine on Sanghelios and it will lead us to the ring
Mercy	Eya, T'elo Badami. Ghaazhi k'e ni haanga oni k'e o ghabaat'u ch'imitan, buut'u nizhi ruuq'ontu ba k'e ni ch'anopkhuutu jayajaga.	No, Thel 'Vadamee. For the shame you have brought to your kind, your redemption will come through penance and reeducation.
Mercy	Eya, T'elo Badami. Jaari oni ghabaat'u ni, buut'u ze ruuq'ontu ba ch'anopkhuutu jayajaga.	No, Thel 'Vadamee. For our shame, your redemption will come through penance and reeducation.
Thel	Hirajo me haat'u o mu o riin ni ch'aqkhosa moshkhaachen tkhazhi tkha o ghashank'o oni me mos ba nizhi moshkhaachahe?	If the abilities of the Blessed One mean she is meant to be with us, do they not mean the same for the demon?
Thel	Juukhojo Q'iitu. K'aidon me mos ba, ghuuri maasa jan o domo k'uutan. Ghashank'o jan o chkha'ala nizhi matkhala, tkhazhi jan o modujitan gha khech'imala. Tkhet'a ga, jan o ch'anopkhola jan oni t'iswaqkho.	Prophet Mercy. As a kaidon, I have fought with the humans many times. I can hunt and kill the demon, and retrieve what I have lost. Please, allow me to redeem myself.
Thel	Asho, ts'age oni tkha ruumaachi. K'e ba juukhot'u me mos ba.	It glowed blue and bright. Just as you prophesy.
Truth	Saatu ba eya. K'e ch'anggaaya, chkhuung--	Absolutely not. You're far too valuable to--

Episode 103

Makee	Tkha ba niqkhagha waachaga, nizhija oq'ogakha ts'ughejaga. Jan satkha.	It will reveal its secrets even in the absence of the keystone. I'm sure of it.
Makee	Nizhi muuri?	And them?
Makee	Daaghaya, Q'iitu. Riin o t'onguutan zhaan o k'e mojaya. Tkha zhaan me baazhi ni chkhan q'unqa jan o qkhit'uji--jan me muuri oni maaziit'u mosa.	No need to worry, Mercy. You remember the day we met. I've tried to forget everything that came before that day--everything except my hatred for them.
Makee	Q'iitu. Riin o t'onguutan zhaan o jan nizhi mojaya. Domo o jan zhi ruutskhaatan gha o jan mojaya. Jan me muuri oni maaziit'u o jan nizhi mojaya pkha.	Mercy. I also remember the day we met. I remember what the humans did to me, and I remember my hatred for them.
Mercy	Jaari o maarolatan ine yap'o naachi pkha. Riin o t'onguutan zhaan oni tkha o jan mobit'a. Tkhazhi k'e ma uuri naachi.	This is the best we could find. It reminds me of the day we met. Of course, you were much smaller then.
Mercy	Jan o k'e ba hait'u t'iiweya.	I have no doubts in your abilities.
Mercy	Muuri moq'aara. Q'a jan daagha. Ne wiiwaruut'u o k'e ni tkhet’a oni k'e wiibit'ajaga.	They have faith. But I do worry. This journey will bring you in contact with your kind.
Sangheili	Uzo me baan ni tkha ts'aha. Zus me.	It's behind that. In there.
Sangheili	Oq'ogakha ogha ni ts'aha.	The relic is close.
Sangheili	Nis tskha'ijahe?	Near here?
Sangheili	Ine riin o maamaro gha.	This is what we seek.

Episode 104

Sangheili	Yojo oni ikhi.	Switching to needler.
Sangheili	Qkhe p'os, Jan ni khobuugha!	Oh shit, my gun!

Episode 105

Makee	Gakha me pkhot'a zhi nasa warut'o o riin enjo. Baatkhi.	We must go further into the rockface. Start digging.
Makee	Tkha nis ts'aheya jan o iik'uji. Riin me qkhan o tkha gaibit'ajo. Q'a ruut'iyaji, nguuka nis huunjo. Jaja atkha o tkha me la'ajo oni gwijaga.	I am aware it's not here. Our enemies possess it now. But it was active, radiating energy here. That may be enough to lead us to it's twin.
Makee	Atkha tskha'a pkha.	See that you do.
Makee	Eya. Ine k'unjo. K'unjo ba nguuka. K'unjo ba oq'ogakha. Ghaadi ni tkha ts'aha tkha o riin oni khaujo. Siin shak'o tkha o loloshkho!	No. This is something different. A different energy. The other keystone. It's telling us were it is. It's showing us the fastest route!
Makee	Eya. Ine k'unjo. Nguuka o... K'unjo ba oq'ogakha. Tkha o riin t'isiizit'a!	No. This is something different. The energy... The other keystone. It's calling out to us!
Makee	K'ung oq'ogakha ba riin ngani. Juunduje pkha.	We need both keystones. Make it look good.
Makee	Jaari o khuuta ba nguuka huunjo.	We share the same energy.
Makee	Tkhazhi oq'ogakha k'ung ni riin ba, riin o muuri ruubaaji hai.	And with both keystones, we can destroy them.
Elite	EEEEEEEEEEYA!	NOOOOOOOOOO!
Guard	Jan ba ine q'unqa, Hirajo, q'a ghaazhi kheluuga nis ts'aheya--	Forgive me, Blessed One, but if the artifact is no longer here--
Guard	K'e ba t'iis ga. Ghaazhi jaari o shak'o mekhechkhaatan jan o k'e ghap'uuchaga, Hirajo.	As you wish. I will send for you when we've cleared the way, Blessed One.

Episode 109

Makee	Mu eya Ghashank'o. Mu q'a domo, k'unjo ba chkhan me mos ba. Yodu k'e o muuri ga ch'ano ba chkhan bit'aji.	He's no demon. He's just a man like billions of others. Soon you will have all their heads.
Makee	Mu eya Ghashank'o. Mu q'a domo, k'unjo ba chkhan me mos ba. Yodu muuri ruq'otoza pkha.	He's no demon. He's just a man. Soon they will all burn.
Makee	Jan o bambit'atan.	As promised.
Makee	Ghashank'o jayatan. Mu yua pkha.	Demon is here. Get him!!!
Mercy	Ch'anggagomo maaro p'umo pkha. Gha oni Tkhuyujo o khawetan, mu o ch'awaruut'u tkhahana ba riin ngani. Mu o tkha tkhahaajen ghaazhi ni, mu ruubaachi. Jan o jan ga rotkho k'inajo (Idiom).	Finding the ring is only the beginning. For reasons the ancients have kept from us, we need her to complete the Great Journey. But once it is complete, she will be destroyed. I will keep my promise.
Mercy	Ch'anggagomo maaro p'umo pkha. Gha oni Tkhuyujo o khawetan, mu o ch'awaruut'u tkhahana ba riin ngani. Q'a ghaazhi mu ba riin ngani naseya, jan o jan ga rotkho k'inajo (Idiom).	Finding the ring is only the beginning. For reasons the ancients have kept from us, we need her to complete the Great Journey. But once we no longer need her, I will keep my promise.
Mercy	Jan o jan ga rotkho k'inajo.	This Sangheili idiom, translating to 'I will bite my flesh,' symbolizes a commitment to keeping one's promise. Carl Buck crafted this idiom and drew inspiration from the concept of a 'blood oath,' akin to the practice of making a solemn promise by slicing the palm of one's own hand with a blade.
Mercy	Eya. Nizhi yodu pkha. Nizhi yodu.	No. It's too soon. Too soon.
Mercy	Mu ba riin ngani ikhi. Baqkhat'a rasq'u, q'a mu matkhaya pkha. Wele oni oq'ogakha mech'imeya!	We need him now. Knock-down his defenses but take him alive. And bring the keystones to our ship!
Mercy	Mu o ch'anggagomo maaro ba riin ngani. Mu matkhaya pkha.	We need him to find the ring. Take him alive.
Mercy	Ghashank'o matkhaya pkha!	Take the demon alive! (Do not kill the Demon whatsoever!)
Mercy	Baashkhi shandeta ba, jaari o ch'anggagomo maarotan. Zus nizhi tkhaas, jaari moq'aaritan. Q'a jaari o q'amaamaro.	For hundreds of generations, we have searched for the sacred ring. At times, our faith faltered. But still we searched.
Mercy	Baashkhi shandeta ba, jaari o ch'anggagomo oni jaari gwijaga oq'ogakha maarotan. Zus nizhi tkhaas, jaari moq'aaritan. Q'a jaari o q'amaamaro.	For hundreds of generations, we have searched for the keystone that will lead us to the sacred ring. At times, our faith faltered. But still we searched.
Mercy	Ine Mot'onguut'u ga shak'o k'umas juuchkhugiijo. Aamu me mos ba tkhuyujo yodu jaari o ghashangojo.	This is the vindication of the ways of the Covenant (This Covenant's ways are again vindicated). We will soon join the ancients as gods.
Mercy	Hirajo'ni chkhan zhiiq'o ni diibe ts'aatsaha. Ghaazhi k'e guujen. K'e o jan oni ch'ano ga Ghashank'o bambit'aji.	There is always a place for the Blessed One. If that is what you want. You promised me the demon's head.
Mercy	Ine ba oq'ogakha ga juq'utan. Yodu ch'awaruut'u ba p'umo jayajaga.	And the keystones are finally together. Soon we will begin our Great Journey.
Mercy	Mu k'aachoya haazhi ni, tkhet'a me ruq'otajaga. Bambit'atan jan o q'unqeya, Juukhojo Gaik'inat'u.	Once we no longer need her, she will burn along with her species. I have not forgotten my promise to you, Prophet Regret.
Mercy	Ch'ammaarot'u ba, riin ba bambit'agha ch'anik'ojaga.	After the long search, the promise shall be fulfilled.
Mercy	EYA! Pkhada!	NO! Stop!
Regret	K'e o juuqkhaachi, Q'iitu.	As you always have, Mercy. (You have always walked with certainty, Mercy.)
Regret	Ne qkhado kkhago ruut'sagijaga...t'edaaq'u ruq'a t'isquuchaga...qkhadomo zhi shak'o ruq'echkhajaga.	I shall light this holy ring...release its cleansing flame...and burn a path into the divine beyond.
Truth	🔊 Shandi o Shak'o ni qkhaachaga. Ch'awaruut'u ba p'umo ba ghaazhi ni ngajo mots'ahajaga.	The Covenant shall walk the Path. None will be left behind when our Great Journey begins.

Sangheili war chant : The Ballad of Kel 'Darsam

A poem was crafted for the series inspired by the Ballad of Kel 'Darsam in Joseph Staten's short novel, Halo: Shadow of Intent. In the show, this ballad is sung as a Sangheili war chant. The line "K'iis o aamu ni mu maaroji" can be heard in Transcendence, the ninth and final episode of the first season. The following are only the first eight lines of a lengthier poem.

English	Sangheili
Born of woman, fathered by Deity, Kel ‘Darsam was a pillar of piety,	Dzana bojo ba, aamu nejo ba, K’elo Daasamu moq’aaji, ch’anaani,
Brave and noble, strong and wise, he sought only justice and no other prize,	Dzima ze oq’o, haala ze khoya, gaibaat’u ba q’a bak’ontu maaroji,
He battled with monsters, slew terrible beasts, to make his lands safe and to guarantee peace,	Mu o ghashank’o dzuk’uuchi, matkhaji; tkhaati’ni baat’u, dzukhunt’u waqkho’ni,
But jealous were others, who envied his grace, a rival Kaidon sought his rival’s disgrace,	Q’a k’unjo’ mu’m ch’apkhaat’u ghamaaziji, K’aidon o mu juutkhoma maaroji,
But a cowardly fighter, disgraced and defeated, took aim at the two as they finally retreated,	Q’a juutkhaat’u ba nuju k’uucho o muuri ni welekkhosa ni dzushkhaatan,
Kel ‘Darsam fell, spear in his back, down to the rocks where the waves did crack,	Mu ni baan me luk’a o K’elo Daasamu mogha ni gakha oni ts’aatan,
But as Kel was falling, the sun was arising, the first rays of Urs halted ‘Darsam’s demising,	K’elo ni ts’aha ni has o ruuekhi tkhazhi Daasamu ba q’ii pkhadatan,
The light found him godly with noble intention, and embraced him as kin and confirmed his ascension.	K’iis o aamu ni mu maaroji, tkhazhi tkha o tkhet’a oni mu juuch’iitan.

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Vocabulary

A full vocabulary list can be found here: Sangheili-English dictionary.

Basic Nouns

• Buulo Ch'awaat'u : High Charity
• Ch'adomo : Spartan(s)
• Ch'ambuujo : Hierarch(s)
• Ch'anggagomo : Halo, the Ring
  • Qkhado Ch'anggagomo : The Sacred Ring, The Holy Ring
• Ch'awaruutu : The Journey
  • Oq'o Ch'awaruutu : The Great Journey
• Domo : Human(s)
• Gaik'inat'u : Prophet of Regret
• Ghashank'o : Demon, Master Chief
• Hirajo : Blessed One
• Juukhojo : Prophet(s)
• Kiigiyaara : Kig-Yar
• Maduriga: Madrigal
• Mak'ii : Makee
• Oq'ogakha : Keystone
• Q'aatu : Prophet of Truth
• Q'iitu : Prophet of Mercy
• Sangheli : Sangheili
• Shak'o : The Path, the way
• Shandi : The Covenant, the alliance
• T'inguqkhuujo : The Arbiter