How to ask questions in Luxembourgish: wat, wien, wéini, wou, wéi, firwat
Wat, wien, wéini, wou, wéi, firwat — the Luxembourgish question words, how to ask a yes/no question, the polite form for strangers, and twenty real questions from the LOD dictionary with native recordings.
Updated · 3 min read
Asking is how you keep a conversation going when your vocabulary runs out — and in the Sproochentest or a job interview, understanding the question is half the answer. Luxembourgish questions follow two patterns, and the question words are short and regular. Everything below comes from the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire (LOD); every example is an LOD sentence read by a native speaker.
Yes/no questions: start with the verb
Put the conjugated verb first, then the subject. With du, the pronoun usually shrinks to de after the verb: *gees de*, *bass de*, *riffs de* (see pronouns).
Riffs de vun doheem aus un oder bass de ënnerwee?
Literally: Are you calling from home, or are you out?
Meaning: A separable verb: riffs … un (uruffen).
Hutt Dir d'Rechnung scho kritt?
Literally: Have you received the bill yet?
Meaning: Polite Dir with hutt (hunn) — the form to use with customers and officials.
The question words
| Luxembourgish | English | LOD example |
|---|---|---|
| wat | what | Wat ass geschitt? |
| wien / wie | who / whom | Wien huet gewonnen? |
| wéini | when | Wéini bass de erëm? |
| wou | where | Wou ass d'Biischt? |
| vu wou | where from | Vu wou bléist de Wand? |
| wouhin | where to | Wouhi gi mer? |
| wéi | how | Wéi geet et? |
| wéi vill | how much, how many | Wéi vill Auer ass et? |
| firwat | why | Firwat gees de net mat? |
| wat fir (en, eng) | what kind of, which | Wat fir eng Apdikt…? |
After the question word comes the verb, then the subject — the same verb-second rule as in every main clause.
Wat ass wärend menger Absence geschitt?
Literally: What happened while I was away?
Wéini bass de erëm?
Literally: When are you back?
De Buedem läit voller Grimmelen, wou ass d'Biischt?
Literally: The floor is covered in crumbs — where's the brush?
Vu wou bléist de Wand?
Literally: Where is the wind blowing from?
Wouhi gi mer de Mëtteg iessen?
Literally: Where are we going for lunch?
Meaning: wouhin → wouhi, ginn → gi: the n-rule.
Wéi kann ech Iech hëllefen?
Literally: How can I help you?
Firwat gees de net mat an de Kino?
Literally: Why aren't you coming to the cinema?
Meaning: net before *mat* — see negation.
Firwat fiers de muer op Paräis?
Literally: Why are you going to Paris tomorrow?
Meaning: Present for the future, with fueren (*du fiers*).
Wat fir eng Apdikt huet haut den Owend Déngscht?
Literally: Which pharmacy is on duty tonight?
Meaning: A question worth knowing in Luxembourg, where pharmacies take turns staying open at night.
Questions you will need in your first week
Wéi heeschs du?
Literally: What's your name?
Meaning: heeschen = to be called. The polite form is *Wéi heescht Dir?*
Wat heescht dat do?
Literally: What does that mean?
Wéi vill Auer ass et, wannechgelift?
Literally: What time is it, please?
Wësst Dir, wou heierëmmer eng Apdikt ass?
Literally: Do you know where there's a pharmacy around here?
Meaning: An indirect question: inside *Wësst Dir, …?* the verb ass moves to the end. wëssen = to know.
Add the greetings around them — hello, how are you, excuse me, thank you — and you can already ask your way through a day in Luxembourg.
Indirect questions: verb last
When a question sits inside another sentence — *I don't know why…*, *Tell us when…* — it becomes a subordinate clause and its verb goes to the end. ob (whether) does the job of a yes/no question. Rules and more examples: Luxembourgish word order.
Ech weess net, firwat eise Chef granzeg ass.
Literally: I don't know why our boss is grumpy.
Meaning: wëssen: *ech weess*.
Deelt eis wannechgelift mat, wéini Der an d'Vakanz fuert!
Literally: Please let us know when you're going on holiday!
Meaning: Der = the short polite Dir; fuert (fueren) at the end.
Answering
Jo (yes), neen (no), and dach to contradict a negative: *Gees de net mat? — Dach!* (Aren't you coming? — Yes I am!). See negation for *dach*, and answer in full sentences with the same verb — *Jo, ech gi mat* — the habit that earns marks in the Sproochentest speaking part.
Practise questions in real dialogues
16Word's Dialogues track plays the other person's line and asks for yours — questions and answers, with native recordings, 16 scenes at a time. The first page is free.
Keep learning
- Word order and indirect questions
- Personal pronouns: du, Dir and de
- Negation and dach
- The present tense
- Irregular verbs and modals
- The past tense
- The n-rule
- Greetings and everyday phrases
- All Luxembourgish phrase pages
- How to learn Luxembourgish online
- 100 common Luxembourgish verbs
- The Sproochentest, explained
- All Luxembourgish verb tables
- Phrase pages: hello · nice to meet you
Questions about questions in Luxembourgish
How do you ask a yes/no question in Luxembourgish?
Put the verb first: Gees de mat? Sinn d'Kiischte schonn zeideg? With du, the pronoun usually becomes de after the verb.
What are the question words in Luxembourgish?
wat (what), wien/wie (who/whom), wéini (when), wou (where), vu wou (where from), wouhin (where to), wéi (how), wéi vill (how much/many), firwat (why) and wat fir (what kind of).
How do you ask someone's name in Luxembourgish?
Wéi heeschs du? to a friend; Wéi heescht Dir? politely.
Where does the verb go in an indirect question?
To the end: Ech weess net, firwat eise Chef granzeg ass. Use ob for whether.
Official sources
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