There are a total of 20 dragon shouts in the vanilla Skyrim, and a total of 27 dragon shouts with add-ons. You can use dragon shouts only after completing Dragon Rising in the Main Quest, from which point you can absorb a dragon's soul after slaying it. Player as the Dovahkiin( Dragonborn), a mortal with the soul of a dragon, you were born with this power.
Dragon shouts are phrases of dragon language, consisting of three separate words of power, that can be used to unleash varied powerful effects.
