Per ardua
“Through difficulties.”
Motto of the RAF Regiment
What does “Per ardua” mean?
Per ardua translates as “Through difficulties.”
Progress comes by facing hardship head on.
“Per ardua” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Per | through | a preposition that takes the accusative case |
| ardua | difficulties, steep things | accusative plural neuter of the adjective arduus, “steep, hard”, used as a noun (“hard things”); object of per |
How to pronounce “Per ardua”
Both pronunciations sound the same here. Stress falls on the first syllable of ardua; the u is a real vowel, so it has three syllables, ar-du-a.
The story behind it
Word for word the phrase says “through hard things”: per, “through”, and ardua, the neuter plural of arduus, “steep, difficult”. The adjective is used as a noun, as English does with “the impossible” or “the unknown”.
In its modern form the line is the motto of the RAF Regiment of the British Royal Air Force, and so it is closely tied to the military. Many readers know it as the first half of the longer Royal Air Force motto Per ardua ad astra, “through difficulties to the stars”.
Taken on its own, the phrase keeps the idea of effort and endurance but leaves the goal open, which makes it easy to apply to personal struggles as well as to service life.
How to use “Per ardua”
It suits a tattoo, a personal motto or a card message for someone going through a long, hard stretch, such as training, study, recovery or a career change. It is also a natural nod to military or RAF connections.
- Latin
- Per ardua
- English
- Through difficulties.
- Source
- Motto of the RAF Regiment
- Era
- Modern
- Theme
- Perseverance
Common mistakes
- Per ardua is not the full RAF motto. That is Per ardua ad astra, “through difficulties to the stars”; the RAF Regiment uses the shorter form.
- Ardua is neuter plural. Do not change it to arduus or arduam to suit a masculine or feminine reading, or the grammar breaks.
- It does not mean “to the stars”. That meaning belongs to the longer phrase ad astra.
- The spelling is ardua, not ardhua or arduea, which turn up in careless copies.
Questions about “Per ardua”
What does “Per ardua” mean literally?
“Through hard things” or “through difficulties”. Per means “through”, and ardua is the neuter plural of arduus, “steep, difficult”, used as a noun.
Who uses “Per ardua” as a motto?
It is the motto of the RAF Regiment of the British Royal Air Force. It is also the opening of the longer RAF motto Per ardua ad astra.
How do you pronounce “Per ardua”?
In both Classical and Church Latin it is “per AR-doo-ah”, with the stress on AR. The final -a is sounded as in “father”.
Is “Per ardua” correct Latin for a tattoo?
Yes. Per takes the accusative, and ardua is the accusative neuter plural, so the phrase is grammatically sound. If you want to include the goal, use the full Per ardua ad astra.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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