Verbs

In Klingon, verbs are usually stressed (spoken with more emphasis) on the last syllable of the verb stem. The first suffix after the verb stem is not stressed.

However, if there are any suffixes that end in an apostrophe ('), those do get stressed. If there are several suffixes with a ', then each one is stressed.

There is one exception:

Sometimes a speaker wants to emphasize a specific suffix - this often happens with suffixes that ask questions, show negation, or add emphasis. In that case, stress can shift to that important suffix, and the rest of the word may not be stressed as strongly.

Adjectival verbs (verbs that act like adjectives) follow the same stress rules as regular verbs.

Nouns

For nouns, the stress usually goes on the last syllable of the noun stem.

But if the noun (or any of its suffixes) includes a syllable that ends in an apostrophe ('), that syllable gets the stress instead. If there's more than one syllable with a ', each one is stressed.

Also, nouns formed from a verb plus -wI' or -ghach follow these same rules and are stressed like other nouns.