Luxembourgish idioms: 30 everyday expressions and what they really mean
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning you cannot work out from its words — “the ice is broken”, “a fifth wheel on the cart”. Here are thirty that Luxembourgers really use, each read by a native speaker, with the literal words and the actual meaning.
Updated · 4 min read
Idioms are shorter than proverbs and far more frequent: a proverb is a complete piece of advice, an idiom is a building block you drop into your own sentence. Many will look familiar if you know German or French — Luxembourgish shares a lot with both — but the words are Luxembourgish and so is the pronunciation. For the longer sayings, see 16 proverbs everyone knows and where they come from.
How to learn an idiom: say it out loud with the recording, then make one sentence of your own with it today. Idioms stick when you use them, not when you read them.
Reacting: feelings and moods
Ech sinn am siwenten Himmel!
Literally: I am in the seventh heaven!
Meaning: I am extremely happy. Seven heavens — the same image as English “cloud nine”, one number lower.
Elo ass d'Mooss voll!
Literally: Now the measure is full!
Meaning: That is enough now; my patience has run out. Say it when your patience has run out; the verb behind voll is just sinn.
Elo ass d'Äis gebrach!
Literally: Now the ice is broken!
Meaning: Now the atmosphere has relaxed. Use it after the first awkward minutes of a meeting or a party.
Du gees mer op de Geescht!
Literally: You go on my spirit!
Meaning: You are annoying me.
Dat gesäit dach e Blannen!
Literally: Even a blind man sees that!
Meaning: That is obvious!
Talking plainly — or not
Nenn d'Kand mam Numm!
Literally: Call the child by its name!
Meaning: Speak plainly! Name the child by its name: say what you mean. A good one to know at work.
Lee deng Kaarten op den Dësch!
Literally: Lay your cards on the table!
Meaning: Tell the whole truth.
Ech hunn de Beweis schwaarz op wäiss.
Literally: I have the proof black on white.
Meaning: I have written proof. Black on white — written proof, the same image as English “in black and white”.
Schwätz net ze fréi!
Literally: Do not talk too early!
Meaning: Do not speak before you are sure of your case. The verb is schwätzen, the everyday word for “to talk”.
Hal de Bak!
Literally: Hold your cheek!
Meaning: Stop talking! Rude: only with close friends, and with a smile.
Problems, mistakes and good solutions
Maach net aus all Méck en Elefant!
Literally: Do not make an elephant out of every fly!
Meaning: Do not get upset about every little thing. Making an elephant out of a fly — English uses a molehill and a mountain.
Dat ass en haarde Knuet!
Literally: That is a hard knot!
Meaning: That is a difficult problem!
Mir brauchen d'Rad net nei ze erfannen.
Literally: We do not need to invent the wheel anew.
Meaning: We do not need to invent something that already exists. Reinventing the wheel is as useless in Luxembourgish as in English.
Dat ass de Gëllene Mëttelwee.
Literally: That is the golden middle way.
Meaning: That is the best compromise.
Hien huet op déi falsch Kaart gesat.
Literally: He bet on the wrong card.
Meaning: He made a strategic mistake.
Si hunn Ueleg op d'Feier geschott.
Literally: They poured oil on the fire.
Meaning: They made the quarrel even worse. Pouring oil on the fire: making a quarrel worse.
Lee mer net ëmmer Steng an de Wee!
Literally: Do not always lay stones in my way!
Meaning: Do not always make things difficult for me.
People: who they are and how they behave
Ech wëll net dat fënneft Rad um Won sinn!
Literally: I do not want to be the fifth wheel on the cart!
Meaning: I do not want to be the one nobody needs. Nobody wants to be the fifth wheel on the cart — the one no one needs.
Virun deem muss een den Hutt ofdoen.
Literally: In front of him one must take off one's hat.
Meaning: He deserves respect. Taking off your hat in front of someone: they deserve respect.
Sief net méi helleg ewéi de Poopst!
Literally: Do not be holier than the Pope!
Meaning: Do not try to be perfect. More Catholic than the Pope — a reminder of how Catholic the country has been.
Deen do huet schonn e puer Läichen am Keller!
Literally: That one already has a few corpses in the cellar!
Meaning: He has done bad things that never came to light. Corpses in the cellar: the Luxembourgish version of skeletons in the cupboard.
Du hues eng Schrauf lass!
Literally: You have a screw loose!
Meaning: You are crazy!
Situations
Mir sëtzen all an engem Boot!
Literally: We all sit in one boat!
Meaning: We are all facing the same situation together. We are all sitting in one boat — useful in any team.
Ech sëtzen tëschent zwee Still.
Literally: I am sitting between two chairs.
Meaning: I cannot make up my mind. Sitting between two chairs: unable to decide.
Et läit eppes an der Loft!
Literally: There is something lying in the air!
Meaning: A change is coming.
Et ass en Ënnerscheed ewéi Dag an Nuecht!
Literally: It is a difference like day and night!
Meaning: It is a huge difference.
Et reent al Fraen.
Literally: It is raining old women.
Meaning: It is raining very hard. It is raining old women — Luxembourg’s answer to “raining cats and dogs”. Weather words are on our weather and environment page.
Do kanns de Gëft drop huelen!
Literally: You can take poison on that!
Meaning: You can be sure of that.
Elo hu mer d'Saach an der Täsch!
Literally: Now we have the matter in the bag!
Meaning: Now nothing can go wrong with this matter.
Kuck dech emol selwer an de Spigel!
Literally: Look at yourself in the mirror for once!
Meaning: Look at your own faults!
Ech kann e Liddchen dovu sangen!
Literally: I can sing a little song about that!
Meaning: I have had bad experiences with that. I can sing a little song about it: I know it from bad experience. The verb is sangen.
How to use them without sounding odd
- Imperatives are idioms too. Many of the phrases above are commands (Schlo der dat aus dem Kapp!, Looss de Kapp net hänken!). With people you say Dir to, they change form — see du and Dir and the present tense.
- Word order still applies. An idiom inside a longer sentence follows the normal rules — the verb moves to the end after datt or well. Revise Luxembourgish word order if that sounds new.
- The n-rule changes the sound. Ech huele kee Blat virun de Mond — the n of huelen drops before k. See the n-rule.
- Rude or not? Hal de Bak! and Du hues eng Schrauf lass! are for friends. In doubt, use the neutral meaning instead.
Many idioms are built on everyday verbs — huelen (to take), sëtzen (to sit), leeën (to lay), gesinn (to see), maachen (to make) — so each one you learn also trains a verb you need every day. Themed lists: animal idioms, body idioms, food sayings and sayings about time.
Reading a saying is one thing; using it at the right moment is another. For that, practise with a person: on Edluxio you can book 1-to-1 online lessons with independent teachers, native speakers among them, and try your new sayings in a real conversation. Book a trial lesson; if your first lesson isn’t right for you, you get a full refund.
Learn 196 sayings with native audio
The Proverbs & Idioms track on 16Word shows you the meaning, you type the Luxembourgish — and a Blocks game breaks it up so the words stick.
Keep learning
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a proverb and an idiom in Luxembourgish?
A proverb is a complete sentence of advice (Et ass net alles Gold, wat blénkt). An idiom is a fixed phrase you build into your own sentence (d’Äis ass gebrach — the ice is broken). LOD marks both as fixed expressions.
What does “Ech hunn d’Nues voll” mean?
Literally “I have my nose full”: I am fed up with something. It is common and not rude.
How do you say “raining cats and dogs” in Luxembourgish?
Et reent al Fraen — literally “it is raining old women”.
Are Luxembourgish idioms the same as German ones?
Many are close to German, some to French, and some are Luxembourgish only. Even the shared ones are said with Luxembourgish words, spelling and pronunciation.
Which idioms are rude?
Hal de Bak! (shut up) and Du hues eng Schrauf lass! (you have a screw loose) are for friends only. The others on this page are fine in normal conversation.
Where can I hear these idioms pronounced?
Each line above plays the recording from the official Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire (LOD). The same sayings are in 16Word’s Proverbs & Idioms track.
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