Orcish is the language spoken by the orcs and is used as the official language of the New Horde. Orcish is a coarser language than Common, and many words lack the subtlety of Common. Orcs rely on context, repetition and volume to add emphasis or meaning. There are many orc dialects, examples include one spoken by the majority of the Horde, and another by orcs living near Durnholde. Even separate tribes had variations of dialect that differed so much that orcs could not understand each other unless they spoke the common tongue. The main form of the Orcish language used by all the tribes is known as common Orcish.
Primer[]
- "Aka'Magosh" = "A blessing on you and yours"
- "Bin mog g'thazag cha" = "I will protect you"
- "Dabu" = "I obey"
- "Dae'mon" = "Twisted soul" or "demon"; appears to be used in the same way as Man'ari in Draenei.
- "Dranosh" = "Heart of Draenor"
- "Garrosh" = "Warrior's Heart"
- "Gar'mak" = "Anguish"
- "Gol'Kosh" = "By my axe"
- "Grombolar" = "Bowels of the giant"
- "Grommash" = "The Giant's Heart"
- "Kagh!" = "Run!"
- "Lak'tuk" = "Suffering"
- "Lohn'goron" = "Hero's Sojourn"
- "Lok-Narash" = "Arm yourselves"
- "Lok-Regar" = "Ready for orders"
- "Lok-tar!" = "Victory!" (A war cry. Also a greeting while in combat.)
- Despite it being seen with apostrophe (game) and a hyphen (publications), the hyphen is the canonical spelling of "Lok-tar!".
- "Lok-tar ogar" = "Victory or death" (A war cry)
- "Lok'amon" = Traditional orcish song sung about starting a family.
- "Lok'tra" = Traditional orcish song sung about a battle.
- "Lok'vadnod" = Traditional orcish song sung about the life of a hero.
- "Mag'har" = "Uncorrupted" , brown-skinned orcs based in Garadar in Nagrand.
- "Mak'gora" = "Duel of honor". A challenge for leadership of a group. Under Thrall, the duel is generally a non-lethal combat, but under the old ways, it was to the death.
- "Mak'Rogahn" (or mak'rogahn) = "Duel of will" An honorable duel between two fighters when one's honor has been questioned. So long as the loser does not surrender, and fights until passing out or the bell is rung, both fighters are considered winners and get to drink the rest of the night. If the loser does surrender, s/he is exiled from the clan.
- "Mok'nathal" = "The Sons of Nath" (honorable title)
- "Mok-thorin ka!" = "Engage the enemy!"
- "Nagrand" = "Land of Winds"
- "Nok-Karosh" = "Warrior's Death"
- "Oshu'Gun" = "Mountain of Spirits"
- "Swobu" = "As you command"
- "Throm-Ka" = "Well met" (A greeting.)
- "Trk'hsk" = "Bloodshed in battle" (some orcs in the Durnholde area use the word with a different meaning, namely "that sacrificed to the earth" in order to make crops grow.)
- "Wor'gol" = "Wolf Home"
- "Zug-zug" or "Zug zug" = Acknowledgment and agreement; roughly the equivalent of "okay".