Races of Arda

Aiunur
''Ainur were angelic spirits that were a direct off-shoot of the mind of Eru Illuvatar himself. There were two groups of Ainur: the Valar and the Maiar. These two groups differed in power, not in their essential nature.''

Valar
The Valar were the highest and most powerful of the Ainur in Arda and were analogous to Archangels in Abrahamicfaiths. They were the guardians of the world and its highest authority under Eru.

Maiar
The Maiar were angelic spirits like the Valar but of lesser degree and more numerous. They were sometimes referred to as the people of the Valar. Gandalf, Sheczar, Saruman, and Sauron were all Maia. They are analogous to Angels.

Dwarves
Dwarves were short, stocky, hairy humanoids, good at forging and mining. They were created by Aulë the Smith, had their own language, kept secret from others, and writing, though most, if not all, spoke and wrote the Common Tongue of Westron as well. Female Dwarves were rare, and looked so much like male Dwarves that many Men believed there are none.

The dwarves were often miners and preferred to live in mountains and caves. Dwarves in Middle-earth lived in Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, The Iron Hills, and the Blue Mountains, and once lived in Moria or Khazad-dum in the Misty Mountains. They mined and worked precious metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. The Dwarven language was created by Aulë, and was known as Khuzdul. The seven different groups of Dwarf-folk originated in the locations where the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves first awoke before the First Age.

Men
Men were a mortal race of people and were the Second Born of the Children of Ilúvatar. They awoke in the First Age and spread throughout Middle-earth. Most, but not all, became allies of the elves against the Dark Lord Morgoth. Men were the dominant race on Middle-earth by the time of the War of the Ring. The Men of Gondor came across the sea from Numenor but the other races of Men were already there. Under King Elessar, the Free Peoples of Gondor and Rohan united and conquered the Easterlings and Haradrim thus uniting all the races of Men. They spoke Westron in most cases, though some cultures maintained their own tongue, such as Rohirric.