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In the original Star Wars trilogy, Han Solo and Chewbacca appear to communicate with one another without effort, but it’s not clear how the Rebel smuggler learned to understand Wookiees. With trillions of alien species who all speak their own language, Star Wars truly feels like a galaxy far, far away. Fortunately, most of these languages are automatically translated and understood by all. There is, however, a tendency for some of these languages not to be translated, such as Shyriiwook.
Han Solo’s loyal companion, Chewbacca, speaks only in Shyriiwook, the main trade language of the Wookiees. Every phrase sounds nearly the same, with most of it consisting of animalistic barks, howls, growls, roars, and even moans to convey emotion. It’s not necessarily considered a truly constructed language like Galactic Basic – another form of English in Star Wars – but more so a collection of half-random sounds. C-3PO often doesn’t translate Shyriiwook on-screen, with Han simply replying, and viewers are expected to figure out what Chewbacca said. But realistically speaking, how did Han manage to understand this rather complicated and strange Star Wars language?
Han Solo’s Past Helps Him Understand Wookiees
According to the Legends book Star Wars: Most Wanted, “Han knew a little about Wookiees; he’d encountered some while running errands for Lady Proxima, had even picked up a few words of Shyriiwook. But not enough to be useful.” As an orphan, Han Solo’s early life was very complicated; he bounced gangs and learned the art of scamming and pick-pocketing. He’d been found by Garris Shrike took him in as a member of his band of vagabonds. Taking place before the events in Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s likely that Han simply interacted with Wookiees more and more on Corellia to develop his understanding of Shyriiwook.
A non-canon answer points to a nine-year-old Solo actually learning the language straight from female Wookiee Dewlannamapia, a cook aboard Shrike’s ship, Trader’s Luck. During his tenure with Shrike, Han met Dewlannamapia, who raised him as her own and even taught him Shyriiwook, a language he’d never forget. It’s important to note that Star Wars‘ Han Solo can understand the Wookiee language more than he can speak it. This would make sense given that Wookiees possessed entirely different vocal cords compared to the human characters in Star Wars, making it an almost-impossible language to speak for most non-Wookiees.
Other Languages That Han Solo Knows
While not gifted in the Force or with a lightsaber, Han Solo’s got it where it counts as far as knowing other languages. Aside from Shyriiwook and Galactic Basic, Han also knows Huttese, the language spoken by the Hutts. In A New Hope, as Han prepares the Millennium Falcon to leave Mos Eisley, he’s stopped by the renowned gangster and crime lord Jabba the Hutt, who lectures Han only in Huttese. Although the language seems too difficult for Han or any other human to speak, Solo can still easily understand whatever Jabba is saying to him.
During Han Solo’s confrontation with Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina beforehand, the Rebel smuggler appears to know Rodese as well. Solo appears to understand everything Greedo is saying, but like Huttese or Shyriiwook, he can’t speak it himself. Even though Han Solo can’t fluently speak any of the Star Wars languages he knows, he doesn’t let that get in the way of his wonderful partnership with Wookiee Chewbacca.
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