Lessons
Pick a lesson, read each phrase out loud using the pronunciation guide, and press Say it to hear it.
Voice box upgrade in progress. We're fitting our protocol droid with a brand new voice box, and properly recorded Gungan is arriving in the next few days. Until then it's doing its best with the old one, so trust the spelling over the sound.
Field guide
How to sound like you grew up in Otoh Gunga, and what you should know about the people who live there.
Talking Gungan
- -saAdd -sa to make the pronouns: mesa (I), yousa (you), wesa (we).
- th → d"That" becomes dat, "this" becomes dis, "the" becomes da, "there" becomes dare.
- -in'Drop the g: goin, tinkin, dyin.
- r → wSometimes the r goes soft. "How rude!" becomes How wude!
- bombadMeans great, terrible, or a military rank. Your tone decides which.
Otoh Gunga
A city of bubbles. Otoh Gunga sits beneath Lake Paonga on Naboo. From a distance it looks like a cluster of glittering jewels in dark water.
Walls you can swim through. Each bubble is a force field that holds air in and keeps water out, but Gungans can pass straight through it.
Grown, not built. Gungans grow their buildings and vehicles, which is why everything is curved and organic.
Who are the Gungans?
Built for water. Gungans are amphibious. They hold their breath for a long time, their nostrils seal shut underwater, and their fin-like ears help them swim.
Bendy by design. Their skeletons are cartilage rather than bone, which makes them flexible and gives them very expressive faces.
A grand army. Scouts ride fast kaadu, huge fambaas carry shield generators, and soldiers hurl glowing energy balls called boomas.
Old grudges. Gungans and the human Naboo distrusted each other for generations, until Queen Amidala knelt before Boss Nass and asked for help.
Real-world roots. Jar Jar was performed by Ahmed Best and was one of the first fully computer-generated main characters in a live-action film.
Survival scenes
Play out a real conversation. Each line arrives in the chat and you pick the right Gungan reply. Every line is spelled the way it sounds, with the written Gungan underneath. Switch on Show meanings if you need the English.
These are practice conversations built from the phrases on this page. Some lines borrow Jar Jar and Boss Nass's own words from The Phantom Menace, and the rest are stitched together from Gungan words, so treat them as practice rather than script.
Boss Nass corner
Short on patience, huge on volume, and a softie underneath. Boss Nass rules Otoh Gunga from the High Board Room, and every Gungan learns to talk carefully around him.
At the celebration after the battle for Naboo, Boss Nass raises a glowing orb above his head and bellows one word to the crowd. Nobody has ever said "peace" louder.
Use it when an argument is finally over, preferably one you won.
"You don't think you're greater than the Gungans?" His question when Queen Amidala kneels before him and asks for help.
Use it when someone is getting a little too big for their boots.
"I like this. Maybe we'll be friends." The moment the old grudge between the Gungans and the Naboo finally starts to melt.
Use it when a deal finally goes your way.
"The Naboo think they're so smart." Boss Nass's opinion of his human neighbours, before he changed his mind.
Lines are spelled the way fans usually transcribe The Phantom Menace, so you'll see small spelling differences between sources.
Flashcards
Tap the card to flip it. Mark the ones you know; the rest come back around.
The Boss Nass Test
Ten questions. Score well and the Boss lets you keep your bongo.
Phrasebook
| Gungan | Say it like | Meaning | Lesson |
|---|
Send a bubble to the Boss
Leave us a review the only way that counts: in Gungan. Tap words to build your message, rate us in bubbles, and send it down to Otoh Gunga.