Mando'a Lexicon
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/36704281.
Rating: General Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types
Additional Tags: Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Translation
Language: English
Series: Part 2 of Hold On Tight
Stats: Published: 2022-01-27 Words: 1,500 Chapters: 1/1
Mando'a Lexicon
by Umei_no_Mai
Summary
All the Mando'a words in Riding The Tiger, in alphabetical order. Updates alongside the fic.
‘ika: diminutive suffix
aay’han: bittersweet moment of both mourning and joy; ‘remembering and celebrating’
ad: child
adiik: child aged between 3 and 13; also a generic diminutive
akaan: war
aliik: sigil, crest; symbol on armour
aliit: clan
aliit'alore: clan leaders
alor: leader, boss
alor'ad: captain
aru’e: enemy
aruetiise: foreigners, traitors (plural; after a vowel plural endings are ‘se’)
baar’ur: a medic or healer
baji’cabur: lit. teaching guardian; a Master of a craft who takes on apprentices
bajur buy'ce: lit. teaching helmet; training armour for children
bajur: education
ba'vodu: parent's sibling or close comrade
be: of
beroya: bounty hunter
bes’loviik: poleyn; knee armour
bes’marbur: spaulder; shoulder armour
besbe: kit (slang)
besbe’trayce: lit. ‘firing kit’; weapons
beskad: Mandalorian sabre
beskar: Mandalorian iron, capable of blocking a lightsabre
beskar’gam: lit. iron carapace; Mandalorian armour and cultural dress
besom: ill-mannered lout, unhygienic person who lacks manners (by Mandalorian standards)
bev: spike, needle
birikad: baby carrier; it is, of course, armoured
bora: job, work
bral: hillfort
brikaase: happy
buir: parent
burc'ya: friend, often used ironically
buy’ce gal, buy’ce tal: a drinking song; ‘a helmet of ale, a helmet of blood’
buy’ce: helmet
Buyca: bucket
buycika: cradle; either from 'little helmet' or 'little bucket'
cabur’jetii: lit. guardian-Jedi; a padawan’s Jedi Master
cetar’bure: sabatons; foot armour
cetare: boots (plural)
chakaare: grave robbers; a generic insult
chayaik: tease
chayaikla: teasing; ‘yc’ and ‘la’ endings indicate adjectives and adverbs
cin vhetin: lit. white field; a new start
copikla: cute; used for babies and animals only
copyc: attractive; refers to personal qualities not appearance
cyar’ike: darlings, sweethearts
cyare: beloved, dear
dar’jetii: lit. former jedi; used generically for Jedi not affiliated with the Order, Fallen Jedi
and Sith
demagolka: a war criminal, especially one who does terrible things to children
Dha Werda Verda: Warriors of Shadow (archaic); war chant and epic poem
Dha'kad'au: the Darksabre; a black-bladed lightsabre made by Tarre Vizsla, the only known
Mandalorian Jedi
di’kute: lit. no-under-armour; idiots (plural)
di’kutla: idiotic
dinii: lunatic
Dral'han: the Annihilation; Mandalorian term for when the Republic glassed a significant
proportion of the Mandalorian Sector's main planets as a 'pre-emptive strike'
duraanyc: contemptible
duse: lit. unclean things; rubbish
dushne: worst
gai bal manda: lit. name and soul; Mandalorian adoption ritual
gaid: plate, both armour and for eating off
gar serim: you’re right, that’s it
gar: you, your (singular and plural)
gedet’ye: please
get’bur: gorget; neck armour
getakan: lit. almost war; a spar, sparring
goran: smith; armourers are very important in Mandalorian culture, given the significance of
armour as cultural dress
gotabore: engineers
gra’tua: vengeance
Gratua Cuun: Our Vengeance; battle chant
haal: breath
haalur: to breathe
haar’chak: generic explitive along the lines of ‘damn it’; literal meaning is something like
‘the thief’
Haat Mando’ade: lit. True Mandalorians; reformist faction founded by Jaster Mereel
haat, ijaa, haa’it: Truth, honour, vision; traditional Mandalorian pact for sealing oaths and
deals
Haat’ad: lit. True-child; a member of the True Mandalorian faction
haili cetare: lit. fill [your] boots: Mandalorian version of bon appetit
hal’cabure: chest-plates; Mandalorian cuirass that comes in two parts
haran: oblivion, annihilation; used as an equivalent to ‘hell’
harayc: hell-like
haryc b’aalyc: lit. tired and emotional; drunk
hibir: student
hut’uun: coward
hut'uunla: cowardly
ijaat: honour
ijaatyc: honourable
ikaad: baby, child younger than 3
iru’bure: rerebrace; armour covering the upper arms (plural)
Jai'galaar: shriek-hawk, bird of prey native to Mandalore
jare: a suicidally stupid person who recklessly endangers themselves
jare’la: stupidly oblivious of danger
jaro: death wish, insane act of suicidal stupidity
jate: good
jate'kara: lit. good stars; luck, destiny
jatne: best
jet’ika: lit. little Jedi; used here as an analogue of verd’ika, so ambiguous on whether as
‘junior Jedi’ or affectionately
jetii’ad: lit. ‘child of the Jedi’; used here to indicate a Jedi padawan
Jetii’tsad: lit. Jedi society; the Jedi Order
Jorhaa'yaim: lit. speaking house; meeting place of the Clans in Keldabe
k’atini: lit. endure (imperative); used as encouragement, or to tell someone to suck it up
because ‘it’s only pain’
k’jorhaa: talk (imperative)
k’nu tigaan: do not touch; k’ is an imperative prefix
k’olar: lit. here (imperative); used as 'come here'
ka’ra: stars; in Mandalorian tradition, the stars are also the former rulers of Mandalore
ka’rta beskar: lit. heart-iron; central armour piece that fits between the cuirass pieces, has
cultural significance
kad: sword, blade
kad’au: lightsabre
kal: traditional Mandalorian dagger
kama: belt-spat; reinforced open-fronted fabric apron to protect the legs from a jetpack
kandosii’la: awesome, amazing
Kar’ta Tor: Heart of Justice: battle chant
kar'am: breath
karyai: sunken central area in a traditional Mandalorian home
kaysh: they or them; only pronoun that exists in Mandalorian language
keldab: citadel, stronghold
Kih’dabe: ‘Little Keldabe’, Mandalorian diaspora settlement on Coruscant
kih'beskar: lit. small iron; training armour
kom’rke: gauntlets (the ‘e’ marks a plural)
Kote Darasuum: Glory Eternal: battle chant
Kov’nyn: headbutt
kute: under-armour
kyr’bes: skull; often used to refer specifically to a mythosaur skull
Kyr’tsad: lit. Death Society; the Death Watch, Mandalorian extremist terrorist faction
kyramla: deadly
kyramud: assassin, killer
laandur: frail, delicate; can be used as an insult ‘weak, pathetic’
lek: contraction of ‘elek’, meaning yes; yeah
Mand’alor: traditional ruler of the Mandaorian people
Manda: the collective soul of the Mandalorian people
Manda’yaim: the planet Mandalore
Mando’a: Mandalorian language
Mando’ad: lit. ‘child of the Manda’; a Mandalorian
Mando'adyc: Mandalorian (adjective)
mandokar: the ‘right stuff’ for a Mandalorian; aggression, tenacity, loyalty and lust for life
me’sen: starship
me’vaar ti gar: lit. what’s new with you; both ‘how are you’ and a demand for a sitrep
me'bana?: what's going on? What happened?
me'copaani?: what do you want?
mesh’la: beautiful
me'ven?: huh?
mir’baar’ur: lit. brain-medic; a therapist
mirjahaal: lit. brain health; peace of mind, emotional healing and wellbeing
mir'shebs: smart-ass
mirshmure'cya: lit. brain kiss; a gentle forehead touch or (ironically) a head-butt
mir'shupure: brain injuries (both physical and emotional)
mor’cabur: back-plate
motun’bur: cuisse; thigh armour
mureyca: kiss
N’entye: lit. no debt; ‘you’re welcome’
Naak'la Mando'ade: lit. peaceful Mandalorians; the militant pacifist New Mandalorian
faction
Naakl'ade: New Mandalorians
narudar: temporary ally, specifically your enemy’s enemy; indicates a very temporary pact
ne’tra gal: black ale; traditional Mandalorian grain-fermented drink
ne'johaar: lit. no talk; shut up
n'eparavu takisit: lit. I eat (my) insult; standard Mandalorian 'I'm sorry'
neverde: lit. not soldiers; civilians
Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad: I know [your] name as [my] child: the words of the Mandalorian
adoption ritual
nu draar:lit. not never; Mandalorian uses double negatives for emphasis ‘never ever’
nu jii: not now
nu, ne, n' : negative prefix
ori’jate: lit. big-good; very good ( ori’ is a general enhancing prefix)
ori’ramikade: supercommandos
ori'buyce: lit. big helmet; contraction of "ori'buyce, kih'kovid" -big helmet, small head-
which is an insult aimed at somebody with an over-developed sense of authority
ori'kih: lit. very small; tiny
ori'vod: older sibling
osik: shit (rude)
osi'kyr: lit. shit death; a strong explamation of surprise or dismay
oya!: hunt! General exclamation of solidarity
pare: wait, from the verb parer 'to wait'
Resol'nare: Six Actions, the tenets and pillars of Mandalorian culture
Ret’lini: lit. maybe-need; a plan B, just in case
riduurok: marriage vows
sal b'alii'gai: paint and flag/colours
sen'tra: jetpack
serim: correct, accurate
shabla: screwed up, failed, ruined; very impolite
shabuir: lit. screw-up parent; ultimate insult in Mandalorian, where ‘it doesn’t matter who
your parent was, just what kind of parent you’ll be’
shar’tas: plackart; armour piece covering the belly
shebse: buttocks; singular is shebs and used generically for 'ass'
shereshoy: lit. seize-hunt; lust for life
shev'la: silent
shi: just, only
shig: Mandalorian tea
shuk'yc: broken, generally referring to machinery
skanah: loathed thing or person
skira: personal vengeance
skraan: food
skraan'ikase: lit. small foods; little dishes like tapas or meze that are a traditional part of a
Mandalorian special occasion, because they're fiddly and not practical to make in the field
solus: alone, lonely; also the number one
striil: strill; six-legged apex predator native to Mandalore's forests that is wolf-sized with
skin-flaps for gliding, is hermaphroditic, hairless, smelly (but only to men) and drools a lot;
very fierce, has only successfully been tamed by Mandalorians.
sush ner ba'ji: listen (to) my teacher
sushir: to listen
tadun’bure: schynbalds; armour that covers only the shin rather than the full lower leg like a
greave
tihaar: Mandalorian alcohol distilled from fruit
tiingilar: Mandalorian spicy casserole
tion’jor: why?
tomade: allies
tor: justice
troan: face
udesii: calm down
uj'alayi: Mandalorian syrup cake
uj'ayl: thick scented syrup used for cooking
usen'ye: a very rude 'go away'; same word root as 'osik'
vencuyot: future, the future
ver'alor: lieutenant
verd: soldier
verd’goten: lit. soldier-birth; cultural coming-of-age at 13
verd’ika: lit. little-soldier; used to refer both to the rank of Private and affectionately as-is;
contect-critical
ver'verde: mercenaries
vheh'yaim: temporary residence made of wood and earth
vhetin: field
vhett: farmer
vod: sibling, also used as a term of affection for a close comrade
Vode An: Siblings All; battle chant
vor entye: lit. I accept a debt; ‘thank you’
waadas: wealth, riches, money
wayii!: exclamation of shock or surprise, both good or bad.
Woor'balut: wind patrol
yaihadla: lit. full of child; pregnant
yaim: home; also indicates a Mandalorian-style house
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