Embedded Files
The Lord of the Rings in Translation
©2025, John E. McLaughlin. Last updated 12 November 2025nuwitaivottsi@yahoo.com
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE, BUT DON'T: If you know of a language that I haven't included here with a published translation of LOTR, please don't hesitate to write me (nuwitaivottsi@yahoo.com) and remind me that I don't know everything. And when you write, put "LOTR" clearly in the subject line because sometimes it goes to the Spam folder and I have to be able to quickly notice it and retrieve it. If you do write me and I haven't responded in a day or two, try again using a different subject header, or send a private message at the Tolkien Collector's Guide to "Taivo". I'm also on Facebook in the Tolkien Collectors: Buy, Sell, Show Off and Trade group (as "John McLaughlin"), Reddit in the r/tolkienbooks group (as "Open_Huckleberry429"), and Wikipedia's "List of translations of The Lord of the Rings" page (as "TaivoLinguist").
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE, BUT DON'T: If you know of a language that I haven't included here with a published translation of LOTR, please don't hesitate to write me (nuwitaivottsi@yahoo.com) and remind me that I don't know everything. And when you write, put "LOTR" clearly in the subject line because sometimes it goes to the Spam folder and I have to be able to quickly notice it and retrieve it. If you do write me and I haven't responded in a day or two, try again using a different subject header, or send a private message at the Tolkien Collector's Guide to "Taivo". I'm also on Facebook in the Tolkien Collectors: Buy, Sell, Show Off and Trade group (as "John McLaughlin"), Reddit in the r/tolkienbooks group (as "Open_Huckleberry429"), and Wikipedia's "List of translations of The Lord of the Rings" page (as "TaivoLinguist").
[Nuwitaivottsi comes from the time I was doing fieldwork for my PhD dissertation on the Indigenous Timbisha (or Panamint) language of the Death Valley region. It's the name that my principal Timbisha consultant called me and means "traveling white person". The taivo part is the piece that means "white person".]
[Nuwitaivottsi comes from the time I was doing fieldwork for my PhD dissertation on the Indigenous Timbisha (or Panamint) language of the Death Valley region. It's the name that my principal Timbisha consultant called me and means "traveling white person". The taivo part is the piece that means "white person".]
Beginnings
Beginnings
Like many young people growing to adulthood in the early '70s in the United States, I read J.R.R. Tolkien's classic, The Lord of the Rings, until my three-volume set of paperbacks literally fell apart in my hands in the early '90s. (Many of you who first encountered LOTR in those years will recognize the distinctive Barbara Remington covers of the late '60s paperback edition from Ballantine above.) I replaced them with a good one-volume hardback in L.A. in 1992 (English A), but I didn't imagine collecting them at that time. It was simply a good reliable friend sitting in a place of honor on my bookshelf.
Like many young people growing to adulthood in the early '70s in the United States, I read J.R.R. Tolkien's classic, The Lord of the Rings, until my three-volume set of paperbacks literally fell apart in my hands in the early '90s. (Many of you who first encountered LOTR in those years will recognize the distinctive Barbara Remington covers of the late '60s paperback edition from Ballantine above.) I replaced them with a good one-volume hardback in L.A. in 1992 (English A), but I didn't imagine collecting them at that time. It was simply a good reliable friend sitting in a place of honor on my bookshelf.
My collection of LOTR in translation began inadvertently in 2005 in Kecskemét, Hungary at a bookstore where I saw a one-volume copy of A Gyűrűk Ura for sale and decided that it would be a great souvenir of my trip. Later, on another leg of the trip in Poznań, Poland, I picked up my first copy of Władca Pierścieni at a small bookstore on the old city square. That was how it began, thinking that I would collect translations into the local languages from the places I had visited.
My collection of LOTR in translation began inadvertently in 2005 in Kecskemét, Hungary at a bookstore where I saw a one-volume copy of A Gyűrűk Ura for sale and decided that it would be a great souvenir of my trip. Later, on another leg of the trip in Poznań, Poland, I picked up my first copy of Władca Pierścieni at a small bookstore on the old city square. That was how it began, thinking that I would collect translations into the local languages from the places I had visited.
In the spring of 2008, I was in the last months of a Fulbright Fellowship in Ukraine and bought a copy of Володар Перстенів in a large bookstore south of Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. In the fall of that year I returned to Ukraine to accompany my wife back to the U.S. and she had purchased a copy of the Russian Властелин Колец. Хоббит, или Туда и Обратно in Dnipro as a gift. My collection had grown from three to five.
In the spring of 2008, I was in the last months of a Fulbright Fellowship in Ukraine and bought a copy of Володар Перстенів in a large bookstore south of Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv. In the fall of that year I returned to Ukraine to accompany my wife back to the U.S. and she had purchased a copy of the Russian Властелин Колец. Хоббит, или Туда и Обратно in Dnipro as a gift. My collection had grown from three to five.
Three years later in the summer of 2011 I was in Prague for a conference and added Pán Prstenů to the collection in Palác knih Luxor, a large bookstore on the Václavské náměstí. That was followed in 2013, when my wife was on an overnight layover in Vienna and found a copy of Der Herr der Ringe. (Not being a speaker of German, she had memorized the phrase "Der Herr der Ringe" just for that purpose.) In 2015, my sister-in-law in Antwerp got in on the act and sent me In de Ban van de Ring as a gift. I justified adding this and the German translation as "countries I had visited" because of brief layovers at the airports in Munich and Amsterdam in 2005 and 2008. Five had become eight.
Three years later in the summer of 2011 I was in Prague for a conference and added Pán Prstenů to the collection in Palác knih Luxor, a large bookstore on the Václavské náměstí. That was followed in 2013, when my wife was on an overnight layover in Vienna and found a copy of Der Herr der Ringe. (Not being a speaker of German, she had memorized the phrase "Der Herr der Ringe" just for that purpose.) In 2015, my sister-in-law in Antwerp got in on the act and sent me In de Ban van de Ring as a gift. I justified adding this and the German translation as "countries I had visited" because of brief layovers at the airports in Munich and Amsterdam in 2005 and 2008. Five had become eight.
Expansion
Expansion
About this time I discovered the website Elrond's Library (which is archived at the Tolkien Collector's Guide as of April 2023) and the spark turned into a serious flame for collecting translations of LOTR whether I had actually visited countries or not. One of the most useful features of that site was the list of links to acquiring the translations. I have included my own list here to many sites where I have successfully acquired volumes for my collection. At the present time there are:
About this time I discovered the website Elrond's Library (which is archived at the Tolkien Collector's Guide as of April 2023) and the spark turned into a serious flame for collecting translations of LOTR whether I had actually visited countries or not. One of the most useful features of that site was the list of links to acquiring the translations. I have included my own list here to many sites where I have successfully acquired volumes for my collection. At the present time there are:
LOTR: 598 volumes, 57 languages
LOTR: 598 volumes, 57 languages
Hobbit: 93 volumes, 49 languages
Hobbit: 93 volumes, 49 languages
Silmarillion: 51 volumes, 24 languages
Silmarillion: 51 volumes, 24 languages
Unfinished Tales: 3 volumes, 3 languages
Unfinished Tales: 3 volumes, 3 languages
One of the most important skills that must be mastered when moving into collection beyond personal visits to physical bookstores, is learning to use Google Translate. While it's always possible to make fun of early GT, when used properly it's an indispensable tool for international business. The chat with a Bengali speaker in Bangladesh on the right is a classic example. The key to writing English text that is easily translated into another language? It's simple. That's it--make the sentences simple and don't use idioms or informal, colloquial expressions. If you want to check the process, then translate the translation back into English. It should be very close to what you wrote. If it isn't then try again and simplify the sentences that seemed to be in error.
One of the most important skills that must be mastered when moving into collection beyond personal visits to physical bookstores, is learning to use Google Translate. While it's always possible to make fun of early GT, when used properly it's an indispensable tool for international business. The chat with a Bengali speaker in Bangladesh on the right is a classic example. The key to writing English text that is easily translated into another language? It's simple. That's it--make the sentences simple and don't use idioms or informal, colloquial expressions. If you want to check the process, then translate the translation back into English. It should be very close to what you wrote. If it isn't then try again and simplify the sentences that seemed to be in error.
Here are two of the most productive ways to find international booksellers who have LOTR in their catalogs.
Here are two of the most productive ways to find international booksellers who have LOTR in their catalogs.
•Search by ISBN number if you know it. Mixed in with random phone numbers that happen to match an ISBN number are websites for booksellers that have the translation you're looking for.
•Search by ISBN number if you know it. Mixed in with random phone numbers that happen to match an ISBN number are websites for booksellers that have the translation you're looking for.
•Search by the translation's title in the script of the title, such as "Władca Pierścieni" or "स्वामी मुद्रिकांचा". (You can find many native names at the Wikipedia artcle here or on the pages of this website). If you're really bold and know the difference between alphabets, abjads, abugidas/alphasyllabaries, syllabaries, and logographic systems, then you can type your own search names at Lexilogos. (Since I have a PhD in Linguistics I tend to use Lexilogos as a point of pride.) Otherwise, copy and paste from Wikipedia or here.
•Search by the translation's title in the script of the title, such as "Władca Pierścieni" or "स्वामी मुद्रिकांचा". (You can find many native names at the Wikipedia artcle here or on the pages of this website). If you're really bold and know the difference between alphabets, abjads, abugidas/alphasyllabaries, syllabaries, and logographic systems, then you can type your own search names at Lexilogos. (Since I have a PhD in Linguistics I tend to use Lexilogos as a point of pride.) Otherwise, copy and paste from Wikipedia or here.
Once you've found a potential on-line source, find the search box (almost always marked with that little magnifying glass) and type "Tolkien" there. A liberal use of Google Translate can usually take you from there.
Once you've found a potential on-line source, find the search box (almost always marked with that little magnifying glass) and type "Tolkien" there. A liberal use of Google Translate can usually take you from there.
The collection in late July of 2025. The collection "starts" at the top of the bookcase on the right and "ends" at the bottom of the bookcase on the left. Why? Because I built the one on the right first. My apologies for the poor job of stitching together three photos.
The collection in late July of 2025. The collection "starts" at the top of the bookcase on the right and "ends" at the bottom of the bookcase on the left. Why? Because I built the one on the right first. My apologies for the poor job of stitching together three photos.
The Collection
The Collection
The volumes are arranged here by alphabetical order of title and by Unicode order for languages that do not use the Roman alphabet. The "Next" buttons take you to the next title in that order. Within languages the volumes are arranged by the order in which they were published. The Table of Contents contains lists by language name in alphabetical order and by language family in addition to the ordering by titles. The Table of Contents is especially helpful for finding copies of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion since these are interspersed with LOTR by language and publisher.
The volumes are arranged here by alphabetical order of title and by Unicode order for languages that do not use the Roman alphabet. The "Next" buttons take you to the next title in that order. Within languages the volumes are arranged by the order in which they were published. The Table of Contents contains lists by language name in alphabetical order and by language family in addition to the ordering by titles. The Table of Contents is especially helpful for finding copies of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion since these are interspersed with LOTR by language and publisher.
The collection is by no means complete and not every translation in every language is represented here. As of 17 October 2025, the day that a DHL driver put the Kazakh translation into my hands on my front porch, I now have at least one copy of LOTR in every language into which all or part of it has been translated and published (at least that I know about).
The collection is by no means complete and not every translation in every language is represented here. As of 17 October 2025, the day that a DHL driver put the Kazakh translation into my hands on my front porch, I now have at least one copy of LOTR in every language into which all or part of it has been translated and published (at least that I know about).
One of the special treasures in my collection is a copy of the first published edition of the first translation (from 1957 into Dutch). Only 3000 copies of the first edition were printed and it was never printed in that form again. While the dust jackets are not in good condition (thus halving its value on the collector market), this is still a treasure to me.
One of the special treasures in my collection is a copy of the first published edition of the first translation (from 1957 into Dutch). Only 3000 copies of the first edition were printed and it was never printed in that form again. While the dust jackets are not in good condition (thus halving its value on the collector market), this is still a treasure to me.
Never Ignore Serendipity
Never Ignore Serendipity
The principle of serendipity is simple: You must be looking for something to find something.
The principle of serendipity is simple: You must be looking for something to find something.
Until my retirement in 2025, I taught the course "History of the English Language" at my university. One day I was doing a general google search for books on the various Germanic languages that might be useful for my course. Right near the front of my search for "Frisian language", the Frisian translation of FR popped up for sale at the Tolkien Shop. It was the first of many orders I've placed with the Tolkien Shop in Leiden over the years that I've been collecting.
Until my retirement in 2025, I taught the course "History of the English Language" at my university. One day I was doing a general google search for books on the various Germanic languages that might be useful for my course. Right near the front of my search for "Frisian language", the Frisian translation of FR popped up for sale at the Tolkien Shop. It was the first of many orders I've placed with the Tolkien Shop in Leiden over the years that I've been collecting.
One of the two most popular pages on my website from the very beginning has been Icelandic. When I later posted the Sinhala page, it supplanted the Icelandic page in first place. These two are always in the top five in terms of clicks through to this site. In early October 2023, I was running through some of my links to bookstores not looking for anything in particular, just monitoring anything that caught my eye. Suddenly, there was Sinhala B, a new edition of FR and a new translation of TT. I didn't even leave the site before I had sent my money and placed an order. On the very same day, less than an hour after completing my transaction in Sri Lanka, I was updating my watchlist on ebay when the AI suggestions at the bottom of the page presented me with Icelandic B, an edition that I had not seen before (even though it was twenty years old). I ordered it even faster than I had ordered the volumes from Sri Lanka (mainly because ebay is in English and I have to use Google Translate for Sinhala). On one day I doubled my holdings in the two most-searched-for translations. They arrived on Friday and Monday surrounding a single weekend a little over a week later (Sri Lanka beat Iceland).
One of the two most popular pages on my website from the very beginning has been Icelandic. When I later posted the Sinhala page, it supplanted the Icelandic page in first place. These two are always in the top five in terms of clicks through to this site. In early October 2023, I was running through some of my links to bookstores not looking for anything in particular, just monitoring anything that caught my eye. Suddenly, there was Sinhala B, a new edition of FR and a new translation of TT. I didn't even leave the site before I had sent my money and placed an order. On the very same day, less than an hour after completing my transaction in Sri Lanka, I was updating my watchlist on ebay when the AI suggestions at the bottom of the page presented me with Icelandic B, an edition that I had not seen before (even though it was twenty years old). I ordered it even faster than I had ordered the volumes from Sri Lanka (mainly because ebay is in English and I have to use Google Translate for Sinhala). On one day I doubled my holdings in the two most-searched-for translations. They arrived on Friday and Monday surrounding a single weekend a little over a week later (Sri Lanka beat Iceland).
I taught at a university in Utah and on my personal introduction webpage for every class I mention my Tolkien translation collection (with a link to this site, of course). I even mentioned the translations that were missing at the time. Utah, of course, is the home of the LDS (Mormon) church and many of my students had served LDS missions in countries around the world. A couple of years ago, one of my students mentioned that she had served her mission in Georgia and one of her friends there could get me a Georgian translation if I was interested. Thus Georgian A came into my life.
I taught at a university in Utah and on my personal introduction webpage for every class I mention my Tolkien translation collection (with a link to this site, of course). I even mentioned the translations that were missing at the time. Utah, of course, is the home of the LDS (Mormon) church and many of my students had served LDS missions in countries around the world. A couple of years ago, one of my students mentioned that she had served her mission in Georgia and one of her friends there could get me a Georgian translation if I was interested. Thus Georgian A came into my life.
Notes on the Details
Notes on the Details
While I own many of Tolkien's other works besides LOTR, both on Middle Earth and Middle English, they're overwhelmingly in English. I've included The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales here just because I have translations in a few languages, but I'm not systematically collecting translations of either. If you see an [H], [S], or [UT] following a language name, that indicates a translation of The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or Unfinished Tales and not LOTR. If you're interested in collecting The Hobbit, there is no better English language site than The Hobbithunter in the Netherlands. Another excellent Hobbit site in Spanish is De Imladris a Oxford. An exceptional site for LOTR, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in Italian is Tolkieniano Collection. (Please don't hesitate to point me to similar sites that you know of.)
While I own many of Tolkien's other works besides LOTR, both on Middle Earth and Middle English, they're overwhelmingly in English. I've included The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales here just because I have translations in a few languages, but I'm not systematically collecting translations of either. If you see an [H], [S], or [UT] following a language name, that indicates a translation of The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or Unfinished Tales and not LOTR. If you're interested in collecting The Hobbit, there is no better English language site than The Hobbithunter in the Netherlands. Another excellent Hobbit site in Spanish is De Imladris a Oxford. An exceptional site for LOTR, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in Italian is Tolkieniano Collection. (Please don't hesitate to point me to similar sites that you know of.)
Throughout the site I have referred to FR (The Fellowship of the Ring), TT (The Two Towers), and RK (The Return of the King). Tolkien did not think of his work as a trilogy, but as a single work divided into 6 numbered Books. When needed, I have referred to these six Books as "Books" (with a capital B). Some Japanese and Korean editions follow this pattern and publish each of Tolkien's Books as separate volumes rather than following the earliest English publication which put two Books into each of three volumes (for purely business reasons). This three-volume pattern is the most common publishing standard, followed by the one-volume pattern. Some early Eastern European editions, such as the first Bulgarian and Russian editions, as well as French N, divided the six Books into two volumes. This pattern is not followed in 21st century editions, however. Some editions, such as Georgian B, have FR broken into two volumes. The Appendices are not always present, but when they are they are most commonly bound with RK. In some editions, such as Dutch E, German A, German F, and Japanese B, they are bound as a separate volume, but this is not common. A particularly interesting pattern is found in Russian L, where the Appendices are published as the Prologue to FR in the first of two volumes. In some of the latest volumes of the first Swedish translation, such as Swedish C, the Appendices are bound with three of Tolkien's minor works. At the bottom of the Table of Contents is a chart to illustrate the different publishing formats found in my collection.
Throughout the site I have referred to FR (The Fellowship of the Ring), TT (The Two Towers), and RK (The Return of the King). Tolkien did not think of his work as a trilogy, but as a single work divided into 6 numbered Books. When needed, I have referred to these six Books as "Books" (with a capital B). Some Japanese and Korean editions follow this pattern and publish each of Tolkien's Books as separate volumes rather than following the earliest English publication which put two Books into each of three volumes (for purely business reasons). This three-volume pattern is the most common publishing standard, followed by the one-volume pattern. Some early Eastern European editions, such as the first Bulgarian and Russian editions, as well as French N, divided the six Books into two volumes. This pattern is not followed in 21st century editions, however. Some editions, such as Georgian B, have FR broken into two volumes. The Appendices are not always present, but when they are they are most commonly bound with RK. In some editions, such as Dutch E, German A, German F, and Japanese B, they are bound as a separate volume, but this is not common. A particularly interesting pattern is found in Russian L, where the Appendices are published as the Prologue to FR in the first of two volumes. In some of the latest volumes of the first Swedish translation, such as Swedish C, the Appendices are bound with three of Tolkien's minor works. At the bottom of the Table of Contents is a chart to illustrate the different publishing formats found in my collection.
When needed, I refer to the number of "volumes" as being the number of physical, individually-bound units in a particular edition. I use the term "edition" to refer to a single volume or set of volumes (from two through nine) that comprise a single published product.
When needed, I refer to the number of "volumes" as being the number of physical, individually-bound units in a particular edition. I use the term "edition" to refer to a single volume or set of volumes (from two through nine) that comprise a single published product.
I hope you enjoy your visit to my site.
I hope you enjoy your visit to my site.
John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin
If you're ever in northern Utah and would like to see the collection face-to-face and chat about Tolkien, collecting, or the Indigenous languages of the Great Basin, drop me an email and we'll get together.
If you're ever in northern Utah and would like to see the collection face-to-face and chat about Tolkien, collecting, or the Indigenous languages of the Great Basin, drop me an email and we'll get together.
Before sending you off, I must give a note of appreciation to The Tolkien Shop in Leiden, Netherlands. This was the very first international shop that I dealt with on-line, finding the Frisian translation there almost by accident. Rene van Rossenberg, the proprietor, has provided me outstanding service since then including special orders. If you love Tolkien and his life's work, give Rene's website a visit. He has much more than just books in his shop.
Before sending you off, I must give a note of appreciation to The Tolkien Shop in Leiden, Netherlands. This was the very first international shop that I dealt with on-line, finding the Frisian translation there almost by accident. Rene van Rossenberg, the proprietor, has provided me outstanding service since then including special orders. If you love Tolkien and his life's work, give Rene's website a visit. He has much more than just books in his shop.
A Note on Esperanto
A Note on Esperanto
There is one translation of LOTR into a language that I don't own a hard copy of. That is the Esperanto translation, La Mastro de l’ Ringoj, by William Auld. I don't count it because Esperanto is not a natural human language. Hard copies are not often available on the market and when they are they are quite expensive. There's a digital copy of the Esperanto translation (as well as an Esperanto translation of The Hobbit) on the Internet Archive website if you are interested in reading it.
There is one translation of LOTR into a language that I don't own a hard copy of. That is the Esperanto translation, La Mastro de l’ Ringoj, by William Auld. I don't count it because Esperanto is not a natural human language. Hard copies are not often available on the market and when they are they are quite expensive. There's a digital copy of the Esperanto translation (as well as an Esperanto translation of The Hobbit) on the Internet Archive website if you are interested in reading it.
If, however, an edition of LOTR "in the original Klingon" were to appear...*
If, however, an edition of LOTR "in the original Klingon" were to appear...*
Recent Acquisitions
Recent Acquisitions
Occitan [H], Slovenian [S] B, Slovenian C, German L, Lithuanian C, Kazakh, Kazakh [H], Mongolian [Cyrillic], Urdu [H], Icelandic [H], Saami [H], Dutch [S] B, Dutch [UT], Chinese [Simplified] [H] H, Chinese [Simplified] [H] G, Chinese [Simplified] S, Dutch M, Dutch [H] C, Russian Q, Russian [H] J, Russian [S] G, Thai E, Thai [H], Finnish [S], French N, French M, French L, Chinese [Simplified] R, Polish K
Occitan [H], Slovenian [S] B, Slovenian C, German L, Lithuanian C, Kazakh, Kazakh [H], Mongolian [Cyrillic], Urdu [H], Icelandic [H], Saami [H], Dutch [S] B, Dutch [UT], Chinese [Simplified] [H] H, Chinese [Simplified] [H] G, Chinese [Simplified] S, Dutch M, Dutch [H] C, Russian Q, Russian [H] J, Russian [S] G, Thai E, Thai [H], Finnish [S], French N, French M, French L, Chinese [Simplified] R, Polish K
OCCITAN [H]
SLOVENIAN [S]
SLOVENIAN
SLOVENIAN
SLOVENIAN
GERMAN
GERMAN
GERMAN
LITHUANIAN
KAZAKH
KAZAKH
KAZAKH
KAZAKH [H]
MONGOLIAN
URDU [H]
ICELANDIC [H]
SAAMI [H]
DUTCH [S]
DUTCH [UT]
CHINESE [H]
CHINESE [H]
CHINESE
CHINESE
CHINESE
DUTCH
DUTCH [H]
RUSSIAN
RUSSIAN
RUSSIAN
RUSSIAN [H]
RUSSIAN [S]
THAI
THAI [H]
FINNISH [S]
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
FRENCH
CHINESE
CHINESE
CHINESE
POLISH
SPANISH [H]
SPANISH [S]
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