Luxembourg Standard German
German (Luxembourgish)
Germanic
German in Luxembourg (locale de-LU) is Standard German as used within Luxembourg’s multilingual public life; it is distinct from Luxembourgish, a related West Germanic language and the country’s national language. Under the 1984 Languages Law, German, French, or Luxembourgish may be used in administrative and judicial matters, while legislation is drafted in French. German has a central role in literacy schooling and remains an important medium in general secondary education, newspapers, broadcasting, and religious practice. Written usage follows Standard German orthography, including ß, although vocabulary, pronunciation, and code-switching reflect contact with Luxembourgish and French. Luxembourg German is therefore better understood as a national usage of Standard German than as a separate language with a fully independent standard.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in German (Luxembourgish)
Water
Wasser
/vasɐ/
Fire
Feuer
/fɔɪ̯ɐ/
Sun
Sonne
/zɔnə/
Moon
Mond
/moːnt/
Star
Stern
/ʃtɛʁn/
Mother
Mutter
/mʊtɐ/
Father
Vater
/faːtɐ/
I
ich
/ɪç/
You
du
/duː/
Name
Name
/ˈnaːmə/
Eye
Auge
/aʊ̯ɡə/
Hand
Hand
/hant/
Heart
Herz
/hɛʁts/
Love
Liebe
/liːbə/
Tree
Baum
/baʊ̯m/
House
Haus
/haʊ̯s/
Dog
Hund
/hʊnt/
Cat
Katze
/katsə/
Eat
essen
/ɛsn̩/
Drink
trinken
/tʁɪŋkn̩/
One
eins
/aɪ̯ns/
Two
zwei
/tsvaɪ/
Hello
Hallo
/haloː/
Thank you
danke
/daŋkə/
Good
gut
/ɡuːt/
Cuckoo
Kuckuck
/ˈkʊkʊk/
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | German (Luxembourgish) | German | German (Austrian) | German (Swiss) | Early New High German (Luther-era) | Pennsylvania German | Kölsch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /ˈvasər/ | Wasser /ˈvasːər/ | Wasser /vasər/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ |
| Fire | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪɐ/ | Feuer /ˈfɔɪ̯ər/ | Fewr /foɪ̯r/ | Feier /faɪər/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ |
| Sun | Sonne /zɔnə/ | Sonne /zɔnə/ | Sonne /sɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈsɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈzɔnə/ | Sunn /sʊn/ | Sonn /zɔn/ |
| Moon | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Muun /muːn/ | Mond /moːnt/ |
| Star | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Schteern /ʃteːrn/ | Stään /ʃtɛːn/ |
| Mother | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Mudder /mʊdər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ |
| Father | Vater /faːtɐ/ | Vater /faːtɐ/ | Vater /fɑːtɐ/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Daadi /daːdi/ | Vatter /fatɐ/ |
| I | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪx/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪç/ | ich /ɪɕ/ |
| You | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /duː/ | du /du/ | do /doː/ |
| Name | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Naame /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ |
| Eye | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ | Auge /aːɡə/ | Auge /ˈaʊɡə/ | Aug /aʊk/ | Aag /aːk/ | Auch /aʊx/ |
| Hand | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hɑnt/ | Hand /hant/ | Handt /hant/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hant/ |
| Heart | Herz /hɛʁts/ | Herz /hɛʁts/ | Herz /hɛɐts/ | Herz /hɛrts/ | Hertz /hɛrts/ | Hatz /hats/ | Hätz /hɛts/ |
| Love | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | liewe /liːvə/ | Leev /leːf/ |
| Tree | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Baum /baːm/ | Baum /baʊm/ | Bawm /baʊm/ | Baam /baːm/ | Boum /baʊm/ |
| House | Haus /haʊ̯s/ | Haus /haʊ̯s/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Hauß /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Huus /huːs/ |
| Dog | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hongk /hoŋk/ |
| Cat | Katze /katsə/ | Katze /katsə/ | Katze /kɑtsə/ | Katze /ˈkɑtːsə/ | Katze /ˈkatsə/ | Katz /kats/ | Katz /kats/ |
| Eat | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ˈɛsn̩/ | essen /ˈɛsːən/ | esse /ɛsə/ | esse /ɛsə/ |
| Drink | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkŋ/ | trinken /ˈtrɪŋkn̩/ | trincken /ˈtrɪŋkən/ | drinke /dɾɪŋkə/ | drinke /dʁɪŋkə/ |
| One | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | oans /ɑːns/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | eyn /aɪ̯n/ | eens /eːns/ | ein /aɪn/ |
| Two | zwei /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvaɪ/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwey /tsvaɪ/ | zwee /tsveː/ | zwei /tsvai/ |
| Hello | Hallo /haloː/ | Hallo /haloː/ | Servus /zɛɐvʊs/ | Hallo /haˈloː/ | Gott zum Gruß /ɡɔt tsʊm ɡruːs/ | Hallo /haloː/ | Tach /tax/ |
| Thank you | danke /daŋkə/ | danke /daŋkə/ | Danke /daŋkə/ | danke /ˈdaŋkə/ | Danck /daŋk/ | Denki /dɛŋki/ | Dankeschön /daŋkəʃøːn/ |
| Good | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | joot /joːt/ |
| Cuckoo | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | gukuk /ˈɡukuk/ | — | — |
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