When viewers last saw Daenerys, she was being surrounded by a band of Dothraki warriors in the Game of Thrones season five finale. And judging by the trailers for the upcoming sixth season, the Mother of Dragons is going to be spending a significant amount of time with her former people.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Emilia Clarke revealed that she needed a refresher course on the Dothraki language before filming began. “Dothraki is this weird thing as it goes into your brain for as long as you need it to and then [whisper noise] – it disappears, gone,” she said. “It’s not like Pidgin French where it’s like, ‘Oh, I do need it,’ so it comes back.”
Clarke also revealed a few interesting tidbits about the different languages she has learned for the show. The 29-year-old actress’s favorite phrase in Dothraki is “Qoy Qoyi” which means, “blood of my blood,” while her favorite G.o.T. swear word comes from High Valyrian and was most notably said by Daenerys in season three’s “And Now His Watch Is Ended.”
Read More: Emilia Clarke Says Game of Thrones Isn’t Sexist
“Sometimes there are particular moments in life when only one word will do,” she said. “Some people get it and some people don’t, and that one word is: ‘Dracarys’ [‘dragonfire’]. You’re just like, ‘Dracarys’ – and it makes you feel better and the other person has no idea what you’re doing. But in your mind, you’re setting them on fire. So there’s something beautiful about that. And with the swearing, when you’re trying to get into a scene and you’re forgetting your Dothraki, swearing does come into that. You just make your swearing sound like Dothraki.”
Game of Thrones returns April 24 on HBO.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0
- How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker
- The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com