Death while standing is preferable to life while kneeling.
ghopDu'wIjDaq yInmeyraj vIlaj.
I accept your lives into my hands.
batlh potlh law' yIn potlh puS.
Honor is more important than life.
yInlu'taH 'e' bajnISlu'.
Survival must be earned.
Similar words
taH
Meanings
Be alive or continue living
verb
life and death
neutral
To be alive or continue living. The verb is intransitive, so the living or surviving being is its subject. For residing in a place rather than being alive, Dab is usually more exact.
This sword of honor was made while Kahless the Unforgettable was alive.
yIn SuvwI'.
The warrior lives.
qaStaHvIS may' yIntaH ghaH.
He stays alive during the battle.
Similar words
taH
Life
noun
life and death
neutral
The state or span of being alive. Canon treats life as something pain can teach one to understand, honor can outweigh, and another person may hold in their hands.
Examples
yIn DayajmeH 'oy' yISIQ.
To understand life, endure pain.
batlh potlh law' yIn potlh puS.
Honor is more important than life.
ghopDu'wIjDaq yInmeyraj vIlaj.
I accept your lives into my hands.
yIn nI' yISIQ 'ej yIchep.
Endure a long life and prosper.
QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS.
Death while standing is preferable to life while kneeling.
Similar words
Etymology
FAQ
Comments & contributions
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Silent Koala
Aug 1
For all life, dont pluralize just because English lets you argue from many examples. Klingonists have corrected this one: abstract yIn is singular, yInmey is separate lives, like the lives in somebody's hands.
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Modest Lynx
Aug 2
yeah this is the sort of thing a dictionary list will never teach you
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Coral Jay
Jul 27
For "living X", reach for -bogh. yInqa'bogh baHwI' works much better than baHwI' yInqa' for a gunner who lives again.
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Wise Badger
Jul 30
this was my zombie-name problem too, i kept wanting an English adjective slot
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Rustic Warbler
Jul 20
If you are trying the Trek quote, dont write yIn nI' je chep. That is dictionary shopping, not Klingon. The canon line is yIn nI' yISIQ 'ej yIchep, where yIn nI' is the long life you endure. Small difference on paper, huge difference once you stop translating word by word.