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The Krypton Glossary

The Planet Krypton   |   Illustrated Map   |   Fauna   |   Flora   |   Civilization   |   Government   |   Science and Technology   |   Travel   |   Daily Life   |   Family Names   |   Tradition   |   The End   |   In Memorium   |   Kryptonian Languages   |   Glossary   |   Grammar   |   Alphabet   |   Calendar of Events   |   Comics of Krypton   |   Rao

The following terms have been transcribed and translated as well as possible from the Kryptonese.  This is not always easy, as that alphabet contains 118 letters, each representing a particular sound.

Action Comics 489, 1978, by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, & Frank Chiaramonte

Plurals are formed by adding an O to a word.

A double letter indicates a strong emphasis on the sound.

Kryptonian men use hyphenated names, like Jor-El, the last part being the family name - as with the El family.  Except in the case of orphans, women take their father's full names as last names, as with Lara Lor-Van, daughter of Lor-Van.

There are 11 characters used for the numerical system.  Their zero is used only for the purpose of indicating a zero, while 10 has a special character of its own.  Using the Roman X to stand for it, we could say that X=10, 1X=20, 2X=30, and so on. 100 is 9X, 101=X1, 110=XX, and 111 is the first three-digit number.

The calendar is quite different from our own, since 18 Kryptonian years equals 25 Earth years.  As the aging process was the same there, a Kryptonian was fully grown at the age of 15.

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KRYPTONIAN LANGUAGES

KRYPTON


Source: The Krypton Chronicles, © DC Comics, 1981.  Writer: E. Nelson Bridwell, Penciller: Curt Swan, Editor: Julius Schwartz

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