All DnD languages explained

While adventuring, you're bound to come across a creature that speaks different DnD languages from you. The universal language of Common can only get you so far, and it pays to be fluent in a few extra dialects. This guide is for all potential polyglots who want to master the 17 key Dungeons and Dragons languages - or one of over 60 more obscure options from farther away planes.

We'll explain the standard and rare languages spoken by the many DnD races and monsters. Plus, we'll advise you on ways to learn additional languages, from spellcasting to carefully choosing your DnD classes. This hefty guide also covers alphabets for practical use and tips on which languages to choose during character creation.

DnD languages explained:

How many DnD languages are there?

There are 17 main languages in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. These are split into 10 common languages and seven rarer ones. Over 60 languages total are recorded for the DnD multiverse.

Standard DnD languages

The 'standard' 5e languages are Common, Dwarvish, Elvish, Giant, Gnomish, Goblin, Halfling, Orc, Draconic, and Common Sign Language.

These 10 standard DnD languages are widely spoken across the core settings, making any one of them useful to know, whether you're infiltrating an urban community or wandering through uncharted forests. Here's an overview of each standard language, which alphabets they use, which sourcebook they're referenced in, and who tends to speak them.

Common

Common is a universal language spoken by most species, and unless you specify otherwise, it's what your character is assumed to communicate with. Being able to talk to everyone in Common is super useful, but the other standard languages can still be handy, provided you're creative.

Common Sign Language

As the name implies, Common Sign Language is the sign equivalent of Common. The 2024 rules have made more effort to include sign language in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. For example, the Comprehend Language spell now also gives you the ability to understand sign and spoken language.

Draconic

If you're playing a Dragonborn, chances are you can talk to an actual dragon using your shared language, Draconic. Kobolds also have distant dragon ancestry, and they can join the conversation too.

Dwarvish

While it's mainly spoken by Dwarf characters, several other languages use the runic alphabet that was first used for Dwarvish. As well as being widely spoken, you'll see a lot of weapons inscribed with Dwarvish runes.

Elvish

Also sometimes called Elven, Elvish is commonly spoken by Elf characters. Long ago in Elvish history, some Elves had ties to the Feywild, so the language spoken on that plane shares the Elvish alphabet.

Giant

Giant (or Giantish) is one of the oldest living languages in the core setting of Faerûn. Since they're such massive foes, being able to communicate with giants is always helpful.

Gnomish

Gnomish shares an alphabet with Dwarvish, but the languages are very different. Naturally, Gnomish is most commonly spoken by Gnomes, but creatures from a variety of species use Gnomish in academic writing thanks to its clear and specific vocabulary.

Goblin

Goblins, Bugbears, and Hobgoblins all share the Goblin language. To the untrained ear, many sounds in the language resemble grunting.

Halfling

Generally, Halflings are very open to learning other languages, but their species does have a language of its own. Perhaps this affability is why the Halfling language shares the Common alphabet.

Orc

If you're playing an Orc or Half-Orc, your native tongue is likely to be the Orc language. It's an old language that evolved from even older languages spoken by Orcs, but it shares an alphabet with Dwarvish.

Rare DnD languages

The seven rare Dungeons and Dragons languages are Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal, Deep Speech, Primordial, Sylvan, and Undercommon.

The rare DnD languages - previously known as exotic languages - are spoken in places that are less populated by average adventurers, but speaking them can often be just as useful as their Common counterparts.

If you're exploring the Feywild or the Nine Hells, chances are you'll encounter a rare language that's unique to that area - and knowing the lingo will make you a very useful party member. Here's a run-through of all seven languages, their alphabets, and which races use them.

Abyssal

Abyssal is spoken by all demons, but its dialects sound vastly different depending on the rank of the demon speaking. Baloths, Quasits, and Nycaloths may all speak Abyssal - but very different forms of it.

Celestial

As the name implies, Celestials - such as Angels, Hollyphants, or Ki-rins - speak the Celestial language. It's also common for Clerics to pick it up, given its angelic origins.

Infernal

Devils in the Nine Hells commonly speak and write in Infernal. Clerics of certain alignments may learn this language, and a Warlock in a pact with a devil may find it very useful to know - particularly if they want to read the fine print on their contract.

Deep Speech

Aberrations, such as Mind Flayers and Beholders, speak the Deep Speech of the Far Realm. There is no written version of this language, though some species have created their own version as accurately as they can.

Primordial

All Elementals speak Primordial, but there are four core dialects, one for each elemental plane. These are:

• Auran - spoken by Air Elementals.
• Aquan - spoken by Water Elementals.
• Ignan - spoken by Fire Elementals.
• Terran - spoken by Earth Elementals.

The four dialects of Primordial are closely related and mutually comprehensible - so an elemental who speaks Aquan can still communicate with one who speaks Ignan, but they remain distinct.

Sylvan

Fairies, Eladrin, and other creatures that originate from the Feywild tend to speak Sylvan. It shares an alphabet with Elvish.

Undercommon

Creatures from the Underdark, such as Drow and Duergar, typically speak Undercommon. It's a common trade language, so many creatures beyond the Underdark make the effort to learn it.

Can my character speak exotic languages?

There are usually restrictions on which characters can speak rare DnD languages. The 2014 Players' Handbook suggests you should ask your DM for permission before you add one of these languages to your character sheet. The 2024 rules are even more extreme, as you can't choose a rare language at all during character creation.

Naturally, your DM can still give you permission to add whichever exotic language you fancy to your character sheet. Make sure you get their advice: depending on what awaits you in the adventure, you might end up picking a language you never get to use.

While imaginative players can find opportunities to use the standard D&D languages in pretty much any game, the rare languages are a bit more all-or-nothing. Many of them are hardly spoken outside particular far flung regions. They're very campaign-specific.

DnD alphabets

There are at least 21 different DnD alphabets. However, the vast majority of texts that characters will encounter in the Forgotten Realms are written in one of three main scripts:

• Thorass - used for Common and many of its dialects.
• Espruar - the most widely used Elvish alphabet.
• Dethek - the most widely used alphabet of Dwarvish runes.

Thorass

By far the most commonly used alphabet among humans on Faerûn is Thorass - it's the main script for Common, as well as many other regional human languages.

Espruar

The dominant form of Elvish script in Dungeons and Dragons' Forgotten Realms setting is Espruar, used widely by all types of Elves. It's also the script most often used by non-Aberrations to write in Deep Speech, which has no written form of its own.

Dethek

The most prevalent alphabet of Dwarvish runes on Faerûn is Dethek. Almost all Dwarves in the Forgotten Realms write using these runes - although a very similar runic alphabet, Davek, is also sometimes used. Davek is the dominant form of Dwarvish writing on the worlds of Nerath and Eberron, and probably originated on Nerath.

If you want to create handouts and materials for your campaign using the official DnD alphabets, fansite Candlekeep has created some excellent fonts for these main scripts.

How to learn DnD languages

All Dungeons and Dragons characters pick up a handful of languages during character creation. However, depending on which version of the Player's Handbook you use, these will come from different sources.

DnD 2024 languages

In the 2024 Player's Handbook, languages are not tied to any other character rules. When you create a character, they can automatically speak Common and two other languages of your choice. Crucially, these have to be from the 'standard' languages list.

The newer Player's Handbook doesn't include clear rules for learning new languages. However, several classes have features that can teach them new tongues:

• Ranger - Deft Explorer gives you two extra languages.
• Rogue - Thieves' Cant teaches you Thieves' Cant and one extra language.
• Druid - You know Druidic, and you always have the spell Speak With Animals prepared.
• Wizard - The Diviner subclass eventually gets the Third Eye feature, which means they can read any language.

Spells to speak or read DnD languages

If you need to use a language your character doesn't already know from their background, class, or another source, there are a couple of language-related spells that can help you out.

Comprehend Languages (1st level Divination)

The simplest, lowest-level magical hack for understanding languages is Comprehend Languages. This handy first-level spell lasts a whole hour, and lets you understand any spoken or written language (as long as you can hear it or touch the thing it's written on, and it's not a secret language).

Importantly, it doesn't teach you the language - after the hour is up, it's all gobbledegook again. Nor can you speak the language.

Here's the official stat block:

"For the duration, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written. It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text.

"This spell doesn't decode secret messages in a text or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn't part of a written language."

Tongues (3rd level Divination)

For the true magical linguist in the party, Tongues is the spell you want. Whichever creature you cast it on (which can be yourself) gets the ability to understand whatever language it hears for one hour. And whenever that target creature speaks, everyone (except creatures that speak no language at all) can understand what they say.

Why learn all those pesky languages when you can just magically invade people's brains and make them understand you?

The Tongues spell stat block looks like this:

"This spell grants the creature you touch the ability to understand any spoken language it hears. Moreover, when the target speaks, any creature that knows at least one language and can hear the target understands what it says."

DnD 2014 languages

In the 2014 rules, your character's race determines what languages they can speak. Everyone can speak Common, but they also learn at least one other language, which is usually tied to their heritage. Dragonborn speak Draconic, Gnomes speak Gnomish, and Humans can choose any extra language they like.

Additionally, some backgrounds give your character an extra language. An Acolyte can speak two additional DnD languages, while Nobles, Hermits, and Outlanders have one extra.

A handful of classes also naturally know a secret language that's specific to their community. The Rogue can communicate in Thieves' Cant, while only the Druid knows how to speak Druidic. In a more unique case, the Ranger's Favored Enemy ability lets them learn one language spoken by their preferred monster targets (though only in the 2014 rules).

If you want to learn a new language during your campaign, you must pay an instructor one GP per day to teach you for 250 days. After this, you gain proficiency with the language of your choice.

Best DnD languages

The best DnD languages for your character will depend entirely on the campaign you're playing in. Sylvan is a top-tier pick if you're about to start a Feywild campaign like The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, but it's useless if you never meet a Fey. Apart from Common (which every player-character can speak), the value of a language is situational.

Even so, we recommend some D&D languages above others:

S Tier

• Common - Everyone speaks it, and you automatically learn it.

A Tier

• Draconic - You'll rarely meet a dragon that can't speak Common, but this language is also used often for magic.
• Giant - A common enemy type you might interact with, and some of them might not speak Common.
• Undercommon - Everyone in the Underdark speaks this, and many other unusual monsters share this language. Plus it has utility as a trade language.

B Tier

• Dwarvish - Most Dwarves speak Common, and there are few utility reasons to choose this language, but you'll meet Dwarves very often and might be able to impress them with your language skills. Plus, many other languages use the Dwarvish alphabet.
• Elvish - Ditto Dwarvish.
• Goblin - Another common enemy you're likely to meet, though not so much at higher levels of the campaign.
• Sylvan - You're fairly likely to encounter a Fey creature that speaks Sylvan, though this rare language is still quite situational.

C Tier

• Gnomish - Most Gnomes speak Common, and the main use of this will be to converse in secret with others who share this language.
• Halfling - Ditto Gnomish.
• Orc - Ditto Gnomish and Halfling.
• Common Sign Language - Incredibly useful, but only if your group encounters Deaf characters regularly, or needs to communicate silently without using magic.
• Abyssal - Only useful if you encounter demons, and many of them speak Common anyway.
• Infernal - Ditto Abyssal.
• Primordial - Only really spoken by elementals, a fairly rare monster to encounter. However, they're less likely to be able to speak Common than other monsters, so this can be a life-saver in the right scenario.

D Tier

• Celestial - Meeting a celestial is an incredibly rare occurrence, and they might well be able to speak Common anyway.
• Deep Speech - You might meet a Mind Flayer, but they probably don't want to chat. Beholders also speak this language, but they're likely to know several more common languages, too.

Other DnD languages

There are a huge number of obscure languages in the various books and settings. Many of these are specific to unusual player character species - Aarakocra and Minotaurs have their own languages, for example. Many monsters have their own individual languages, though these are difficult to learn without a special ability (such as the Ranger's Favored Enemy).

Other DnD languages exist on entirely different planes and planets from Faerûn. Generally, there's no reason to pick one of these languages for your character unless you know you are going to go plane-hopping or visiting new planets in a Spelljammer.

There are so many possible languages that we aren't able to list all of them here. However, we have listed the most common ones you might want to speak if your character belongs to a certain species, culture, or campaign. We've also pointed out which sourcebooks they come from.

Here are some of the other languages you might encounter in 5e:

Theros languages

Found in: Mythic Odysseys of Theros

Ravnica languages

Found in: Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica

Krynn languages

Found in: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen

Eberron languages

Found in: Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

Wildspace languages

Found in: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space

Found in: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Forgotten Realms languages

Found in: Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

These languages are optional Human languages your campaign could use instead of assuming that everyone speaks Common. Check if your DM is using these languages before having your character learn them!

Critical Role languages

Found in: Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting

Exandria, the original setting for Critical Role's various actual play Dungeons and Dragons adventures (not to mention the Legend of Vox Machina animated series) includes many of the regular DnD languages, but also adds a fair few of its own creations to the mix.

Here are the nine Critical-Role-specific languages and who speaks them:

Monster languages

Found in: Monster Manual, Volo's Guide to Monsters, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Not all monsters are barely sentient beasts - many are highly sophisticated creatures with their own modes of communication, which characters can learn via special training, or using the Favored Enemy feat. Learning to speak to a Hook Horror is an extremely specialized skill, sure, but who knows - in your game, it could make the difference between life and death!

In addition to some mentioned above, there are at least 21 other monster languages listed in the three main 5e bestiaries:

• Blink Dog
• Bullywug
• Giant Eagle
• Giant Elk
• Giant Owl
• Gnoll
• Grell
• Grung
• Hook Horror
• Kruthik
• Modron
• Otyugh
• Sahuagin
• Slaad
• Tlincalli
• Troglodyte
• Umber Hulk
• Vegepygmy
• Winter Wolf
• Worg
• Yeti

That's your complete guide to DnD languages all wrapped up. Need some more rules refreshers? We can walk you through the entire DnD character creator process.