Money and work in Luxembourgish proverbs: what Luxembourgers say about earning and spending
A country of farmers, steelworkers and bankers has a lot to say about work and money. Sixteen Luxembourgish sayings — on price and value, effort and practice — each read by a native speaker.
Updated · 3 min read
If you work in Luxembourg, these are the sayings you will hear in the office and the workshop. The words behind them are on our work and office and banking and finance vocabulary pages; for the languages each job needs, see which language to learn in Luxembourg and working for the Luxembourg government.
Price and value
Deemno Geld, deemno Wuer.
Literally: Such money, such goods.
Meaning: Cheap things are usually of poor quality; you get what you pay for. The price decides the goods — you get what you pay for. The verb kaschten means “to cost”.
Wat näischt kascht, dat ass näischt!
Literally: What costs nothing is nothing!
Meaning: Good things cost a lot of money. What costs nothing is worth nothing.
Ëmsoss ass der Doud, mee dee kascht d'Liewen!
Literally: Death is free, but it costs your life!
Meaning: Nothing is really given to you for free. Death is free — but it costs you your life: nothing is really free.
Dat maachen ech fir kee Geld a kee Präis!
Literally: I will not do that for any money or any price!
Meaning: I will not do that under any circumstances. Not for any money or any price.
Am Liewe kritt ee keng Kaddoe gemaach.
Literally: In life one is given no presents.
Meaning: In life you have to work hard for what you get.
Rich and poor
Si schwammen am Geld.
Literally: They swim in money.
Meaning: They are very rich. Swimming in money — the verb is schwammen.
Wien et laang huet, léisst et laang hänken!
Literally: Whoever has it long lets it hang long!
Meaning: Whoever has a lot of money shows it. Whoever has it long lets it hang long: people with money show it.
Den Aarmut ass e Sträitmécher.
Literally: Poverty is a quarrel-maker.
Meaning: Money problems often lead to quarrels. Poverty is a quarrel-maker.
Et muss een sech der Decken no strecken.
Literally: One must stretch oneself according to the blanket.
Meaning: You have to live within your means. Stretch yourself by your blanket: live within your means.
Work, effort and practice
Alles ass en Handwierk!
Literally: Everything is a craft!
Meaning: Everything has to be learned. Everything is a craft — everything has to be learned. A good motto for language learners.
Probéiere geet iwwer studéieren!
Literally: Trying goes above studying!
Meaning: Practice often brings better results than theory. Trying beats studying. Both verbs have tables: probéieren and studéieren.
An d'Hänn gespaut a lass!
Literally: Spat into the hands and off we go!
Meaning: Let's get started on the hard work. Spit into the hands and go: let’s get to work.
Wou gehuwwelt gëtt, do fale Spéin.
Literally: Where planing is done, shavings fall.
Meaning: If you do something, you have to accept its drawbacks. Where you plane wood, shavings fall — every job has its mess.
Wien näischt mécht, deen näischt brécht!
Literally: Whoever does nothing breaks nothing!
Meaning: Someone who does nothing cannot do anything wrong either. Whoever does nothing breaks nothing — the verb is briechen.
Wie gutt schmiert, dee gutt fiert.
Literally: Whoever greases well drives well.
Meaning: Whoever organises things well runs into no problems. Whoever greases well drives well — good preparation (or a little help) makes things run.
Words you will need at work
The sayings are built on everyday work verbs. Learn them with their full tables: schaffen (to work), bezuelen (to pay), verkafen (to sell), kafen (to buy), verléieren (to lose), gewannen (to win) and hëllefen (to help). For sectors, see business and trade, retail and sales and office and administration.
- Talking about money: prices and numbers are on our numbers page, with native audio.
- Polite requests at work: most workplaces use Dir with clients and du with colleagues — see du and Dir.
- Talking about what you did: the perfect tense with hunn and sinn — the Luxembourgish past tense.
- Questions at work: how to ask questions in Luxembourgish.
Related sayings: hard workers “work like a horse” in animal idioms, and the lucky and unlucky farmers are in village life in sayings.
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 practise the conversations your job needs — with native speakers and professionals from many fields. Book a trial lesson; if your first lesson isn’t right for you, you get a full refund.
Learn the sayings — and the work words
16Word teaches Luxembourgish 16 words at a time, with job categories for many professions and 196 proverbs and idioms with native audio.
Keep learning
- 16 Luxembourgish proverbs everyone knows
- Where Luxembourgish proverbs come from
- 30 everyday Luxembourgish idioms
- Animal idioms and proverbs
- Idioms about the body
- Food and drink sayings
- Love, friends and family in sayings
- Sayings about time, patience and luck
- Kiermes, priests and Prussians: village life in sayings
- The same proverb in English, French and Luxembourgish
- Tongue twisters and sound drills
- Working for the Luxembourg government
- Work and office words with audio
- How to say hello · thank you · how are you
- Cheers in Luxembourgish · good luck
- How to learn Luxembourgish online
- Is Luxembourgish hard to learn?
- Every Luxembourgish verb table, with audio
- All free Luxembourgish resources
- Free Luxembourgish level test
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “you get what you pay for” in Luxembourgish?
Deemno Geld, deemno Wuer — “according to the money, the goods”.
What does “Alles ass en Handwierk” mean?
Everything is a craft: anything can be learned, but it has to be learned.
How do you say someone is very rich?
Si schwammen am Geld — they swim in money.
What is the Luxembourgish for “let’s get to work”?
An d’Hänn gespaut a lass! — spit into the hands and off we go.
Do I need Luxembourgish at work in Luxembourg?
It depends on the job: many workplaces run in French or English, while the public sector, healthcare and childcare often need Luxembourgish. Our guide to which language to learn first goes through it by sector.
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