Quenya is the Elvish language Tolkien described as the principal language of the Elves in Valinor. It is one of the best-developed languages in his legendarium and draws heavily on the sound patterns and structures of Finnish, Latin, and Greek.
Quenya was associated especially with the Noldor and Vanyar, two Elven groups connected with Aman. After the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, Quenya became an ancient or formal language there, while Sindarin was more widely used in daily communication among many Elves.
The language’s name is related to the Quendi, Tolkien’s term for the Elves as a people. Quenya vocabulary and grammar appear throughout his writings, songs, poems, and linguistic notes.
Quenya and Sindarin are sometimes treated as interchangeable because both are Elvish languages, but they have different histories and roles. Sindarin developed from the same broader linguistic family but became the dominant spoken Elven language in much of later Middle-earth.