nuqneH

tlh
en
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what do you want?, traditional greeting
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/nuqˈnɛx/
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A blunt Klingon conversational opener meaning "what do you want?", often glossed as a greeting but culturally not the same as hello.
Practice using nuqneH in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • lojmItDaq Qam 'avwI' 'ej nuqneH jatlh.
    The guard stands at the door and says what do you want?
  • nuqneH?
    What do you want?
  • tlhIngan jatlh: nuqneH?
    The Klingon says, what do you want?
  • qaghomDI', nuqneH Dajatlh.
    When I meet you, you say what do you want?
  • tera'ngan leghDI' tlhIngan, nuqneH jatlh.
    When the Klingon sees the Terran, he says, what do you want?

Similar words

Meanings

What do you want?

interjection
culture
neutral
A direct Klingon opener said to someone who approaches, literally asking what they want rather than offering a polite hello.

Examples

  • nuqneH?
    What do you want?
  • tlhIngan jatlh: nuqneH?
    The Klingon says, what do you want?
  • tera'ngan leghDI' tlhIngan, nuqneH jatlh.
    When the Klingon sees the Terran, he says, what do you want?
  • qaghomDI', nuqneH Dajatlh.
    When I meet you, you say what do you want?
  • lojmItDaq Qam 'avwI' 'ej nuqneH jatlh.
    The guard stands at the door and says what do you want?

Similar words

Etymology

From nuq, meaning what, and neH, meaning want. KLI teaching material describes it as a clipped form of nuq DaneH, what do you want.

FAQ

Comments & contributions

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Pearl Raven
Jul 16
I still say it at my phone when an unknown number calls lol
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Polar Badger
Jul 10
this word is basically why Klingon is fun, even the hello is impatient
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Silver Loon
Jul 9
qaStaH nuq? is the separate what is happening? phrase. I have seen beginners treat it like a softer nuqneH, but it is asking a different question.
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Stormy Leopard
Jul 8
Riker's line in The Emissary is nuqneH, qaleghneS. The respectful bit is qaleghneS, not nuqneH itself.
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Solar Heron
Jul 5
neH can mean only in other sentences. In nuqneH it is the verb want, so dont use this one word as proof that neH always means want.
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Dashing Cheetah
Jun 30
People at cons use nuqneH as the showy way to say hi, and everybody understands the joke. If you are trying to write in-universe Klingon dialogue though, having warriors greet every passerby with it feels very Terran.
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Warm Warbler
Jul 4
at conventions its fine, everyone knows you mean Klingon hello
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Jolly Jay
Jun 24
also dont write NuqneH just because English starts sentences with capitals. Klingon case follows the letters, not sentence position.
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Jovial Elk
Jun 26
Duolingo autocapitalized it on me once and then marked other caps wrong, rude
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Hardy Nightingale
Jun 24
The final H is not decorative caps. In the usual spelling H is its own Klingon letter, the rough German Bach or Scottish loch sound. nuqneh with small h looks wrong to people who read Klingon.
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Lunar Tanager
Jun 22
nuqneH is clipped from nuq DaneH. So if you try to rebuild the grammar and wonder where the Da- prefix went, thats the point, it is a frozen exclamation.
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Onyx Eagle
Jun 18
if someone says nuqneH to you in a practice dialogue, dont echo nuqneH back. Klingon for the Galactic Traveler has the part people forget: often you just get on with the business, or the answer can be yIjatlh!, Speak!. It is closer to state your business than handshake hello.
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Sleek Kudu
Jun 20
the no-reply part always made me laugh. very Klingon, just continue the agenda
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