Every Al Bhed Primer in Final Fantasy X

Updated 2026-10-10

Full spoilers.

The Al Bhed speak their own language, and Tidus learns it one letter at a time. Each Al Bhed Primer is a small brown book that teaches one letter; from then on, that letter appears translated wherever Al Bhed is spoken. With all 26, Rikku’s people talk plain English.

The primers come in alphabetical order — Vol. I teaches A, Vol. XXVI teaches Z — and the game sorts them under Key Items, so a gap in the list tells you exactly which one you are missing.

What you get for them:

Speaking in Tongues — the achievement for picking up any primer.
Master Linguist — the achievement for all 26.
Underdog’s Secret x99 — talk to Rin on the airship with all 26 and he hands them over.
Readable Al Bhed, which matters most at Home and on the airship.

Only once: XIX, XX, XXI and XXII

Four primers have no second copy and no way back. Three are in Home on Bikanel and one is in Bevelle. Miss any of them and Master Linguist and Rin’s reward are gone for that file.

XIX — outside Home, before you go through the door.
XX and XXI — inside Home, before you take the doorway beside the Save Sphere in the main corridor.
XXII — in Bevelle, on the floor of the passage you walk after the scene at the top of the tower, before the trial.

Everything else can be picked up later, or comes with a spare.

All 26

Vol.	Letter	Area	Where it lies	Can it be lost?
I	A → E	Al Bhed Salvage Ship	On the deck in the back corner, near the deckhand	Spare in the Sanubia Desert
II	B → P	Besaid Island	Crusaders’ lodge, the big tent second on the left, on the floor by the desk left of the door	Recoverable (see below)
III	C → S	S.S. Liki	Power Room through the door beside O’aka, where chocobos turn the wheel; bottom-right of the screen	Spare in the Sanubia Desert
IV	D → T	Kilika Island	On the bar counter in the tavern, the hut at the top of the village	No
V	E → I	S.S. Winno	On the bridge, on the carpet behind the helmsman	Spare in the Sanubia Desert
VI	F → W	Luca	Stadium Basement B, the locker corridor opposite the Aurochs’, behind the player in green	No
VII	G → K	Luca	Theatre reception, on the carpet in front of the stairs by the big flower pot	No
VIII	H → N	Mi’ihen Highroad	Rin hands it to you at his travel agency	No
IX	I → U	Mi’ihen Highroad	On the ground beside a post at the side of the curving road, a little past the agency	No
X	J → V	Mushroom Rock Road	Dead end of a thin trail that curls off west from the main path near the lifts	No
XI	K → G	Djose Highroad	Behind a rock pillar on the north side of the road, past the first chest	No
XII	L → C	Moonflow	North Wharf, by the shoopuf landing, right after the crossing	No
XIII	M → L	Guadosalam	The house on the far left, beside the tree-root pillar	No
XIV	N → R	Thunder Plains	Rin gives it at the agency if you answer “Okay”	Spare in the Sanubia Desert
XV	O → Y	Macalania Woods	Right-hand path past O’aka, in the foliage at a dead end	No
XVI	P → B	Lake Macalania	On the snow left of the travel agency	No
XVII	Q → X	Bikanel Island	Sanubia Central, the western ruins by a half-buried building	No
XVIII	R → H	Bikanel Island	Sanubia Central, on the right beneath a signpost before the northern paths	No
XIX	S → M	Home	Outside the entrance, left side, near the fallen soldiers	Yes — gone once you enter Home
XX	T → D	Home	Living quarters, the room at the top of the stairs; win the fight, then it is on the bed	Yes
XXI	U → O	Home	Main corridor, the end of the right-hand path where it forks three ways	Yes
XXII	V → F	Bevelle	The passage after the tower scene, before the Save Sphere and the trial	Yes — Bevelle never reopens
XXIII	W → Z	The Calm Lands	Tip of the westernmost peninsula, due west of the agency	No
XXIV	X → Q	Remiem Temple	West side of the temple (reach it by chocobo)	No
XXV	Y → A	Cavern of the Stolen Fayth	Short dead end on the left at the last junction before the Save Sphere	No
XXVI	Z → J	Omega Ruins	By the left-hand torch behind the four chests set in an X	No

The letter column reads “Al Bhed letter → what it means”. Vol. I, for example, tells you that an Al Bhed A is an English E.

Notes on the tricky ones

II, Besaid. A Crusader can stand on it during your first visit; walk round him. If you sail off without it, you can come back by ferry — Luca to Kilika, Kilika to Besaid — until the events at Macalania Temple. After that the only way into the village is through Dark Valefor, once you have the airship.

III and V, the ferries. The S.S. Liki and S.S. Winno only carry you once in the story, so these are easy to sail past. That is why they have spares.

VIII and XIV, Rin. VIII is automatic. XIV is not: at the Thunder Plains agency, after you save and talk to Rikku, Rin asks how your Al Bhed is coming along. Answer “Okay.” That is the answer that gets you the book. The book on the agency counter is a storybook, not a primer.

IX, the Highroad. Small and easy to ride past on a chocobo. It is on the ground a little beyond the agency where the new road bends; if you overshoot, walk back.

X, Mushroom Rock Road. The rock texture hides the trail. Watch the minimap for the side path just before the last lifts.

XV, Macalania Woods. Hard to see in the undergrowth. Run along the dead end pressing the action button.

XX, Home. The room is a forced fight — a guard and two Dual Horns — and the primer is on the bed afterwards. Do it before you take the doorway beside the Save Sphere, because that doorway ends your time in Home.

XXII, Bevelle. You are sprinting through a sequence and the save sphere is right there; the primer is on the floor just before it. It is the last one you can lose.

The spare copies in the Sanubia Desert

If you missed I, III, V or XIV, a second copy waits on Bikanel during the story — but only if you missed the first one. If you already have it, the spare simply is not there.

Vol.	Spare copy
I	North-east part of the oasis, the screen Tidus wakes up on
III	Under the tent where you find Wakka
V	By the rubble near where you find Kimahri
XIV	The small dead end shortly after you find Rikku

Pick a spare up while you are in the desert during the story rather than counting on a later trip.

Collecting the last four

XXIII to XXVI all sit in places that never close: the Calm Lands, Remiem Temple, the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and the Omega Ruins. XXVI is the only one that needs the airship. Once you have it, check your Key Items, mop up, and fly to Rin.