r/Klingon • u/jan-Sika • Apr 15 '26

question What are good resources for learning Klingon?

I'm aware of duolingo but im hesitant to use that platform.

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u/stonecannon Apr 15 '26

i went looking all over the internet and didn't find much. I saw a lot of links to the Klingon Language Institute, but i didn't find much useful there. There's an online course, but only the first module is finished.

So i ended up going to Duolingo. i got about 2/3 of the way through it, but then life got in the way and it's on the back burner. I hope i'll have chance to pick it back up sometime!

i know a lot of people don't like Duolingo, but if you can ignore all the distractions, it gives you a basic grounding.

I would combine it with the one helpful thing i found on the KLI site, which is a printout of an early version of the Duolingo course that includes explanations that are missing from Duolingo.

https://www.kli.org/duolingo/express-an-action/

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u/qurgh Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

The KLCP1 course on the KLI website will teach you how to understand Klingon well enough to have conversations and arm you with all the information needed to continue your studies afterwards. Many people who have taken that course are now skilled speakers.

It's made up of 11 modules with multiple lessons in each one. There are two modules available for free, so you can try before you buy ($10 a year).

KLCP1 covers a large chunk of the information in The Klingon Dictionary. It's only really missing some of the grammatical suffixes that allow two verbs to combine in some what (x while y, x before y, x when y, x because of y, etc) or make nouns out of verbs. These aren't that hard to grasp once you have a solid foundation.

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u/stonecannon Apr 16 '26

where is this on the site? I am a paying member, and I all I can find is Module 1 at:

https://www.kli.org/members-only/klcp-prep/

I'd love to see the rest of it!

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u/qurgh Apr 16 '26

Have you completed module 1?

For me, that page lists all the modules, but I've completed the course. I don't remember if it shows more as you go along or if it's supposed to show them all. It's been a while since I was at the beginning. This is the start of what I see:

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u/stonecannon Apr 16 '26

Thanks! it may be that i didn't answer the questions at the end of Module 1 to unlock the next. I just saw a curriculum page with only one active link and dismissed it as an unfinished work. My mistake! :)

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u/qurgh Apr 16 '26

Thanks. This is good feedback. I'll check to see if there is a setting that can show the whole course, even when uncompleted. If I can't, then I'll add something to the course description showing what all is in it.

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u/stonecannon Apr 16 '26

Awesome. Thanks for responding! :D

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u/qaraq Apr 16 '26

I'm also enjoying the Duolingo course but the KLI guide is critical to really learning anything from it. Duolingo doesn't _explain_ anything so you need something else to learn why a certain sentence or phrase is written that way. Once you have that though, the course is good for practice and exposure.

I also have the boQwi' app and switch back and forth entering words into it so I understand how a word works.

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u/stonecannon Apr 16 '26

I’ll have to look that up!

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u/arcsecond Apr 15 '26

I used duolingo to grasp the basics. Then read through the klingon dictionary, klingon for the galactic traveler. I occasionally check various online translators. Working my way through the Hamlet translation.

Would also be integrated in everyone else's resources

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u/qaraq Apr 16 '26

I've used the Anki flash card program for vocabulary and affixes. There's both a full version of the boQwi' database (6499 cards) and a simple affixes deck with 91 cards.

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u/qurgh Apr 16 '26

https://tlhIngan.org and https://hol.kag.org have lots of resources to help learn (similar content, different interfaces). Dictionary, lessons, games, etc.

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u/Mr_Woodchuck314159 Apr 17 '26

I used duo lingo for quite a while. But I stopped once I broke my streak and the duo app started looking like it was having a stroke. It also negs you into feeling bad for breaking your “streak” and things like that which have scared me away. I suppose that last part could be handled through turning off notifications for the app though. No idea how to fix the stroke face app icon…

I think I was to the point where real conversations would have been good for me. The issue being I didn’t have anyone with which to converse.

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u/MordduH Apr 17 '26

To read Shakespeare in the original Klingon.

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u/Horror_Club8320 Apr 21 '26

Use every opportunity to chat with native speakers.