Luxembourgish tongue twisters: 15 real sentences to train the hardest sounds

The best tongue twister is a real sentence you will actually need. Fifteen Luxembourgish sentences that trip the tongue — ë and é, the soft and the hard ch, sch and z — each read by a native speaker for you to copy, slowly and then fast.

Updated · 4 min read

16Word: a Luxembourgish sentence card — read it in your language, say it in Luxembourgish

Luxembourgish has a word for it — Zongebriecher, the tongue breaker — and the dictionary even has a sentence to go with it:

Wéi dacks kanns du dësen Zongebriecher opsoen, ouni dech ze vertuddelen?

Literally: How often can you say this tongue twister without getting tangled?

Meaning: Vertuddelen — to get tangled up — is exactly what the sentences below will make you do.

Where tongue twisters come from

Tongue twisters are as old as nursery rhymes and exist in almost every language: English has Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, German has Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische, and Luxembourg’s schoolchildren meet the German ones in their German lessons. They are passed on by children and teachers rather than written down, which is why they are hard to trace.

An honest note. We looked for a published collection of traditional Luxembourgish tongue twisters and did not find one we could check. Rather than invent “traditional” lines, this page uses real example sentences from the Lëtzebuerger Online Dictionnaire (LOD) that happen to be hard to say fast — and each comes with LOD’s native recording, so you hear how it should sound. (16Word’s Tongue Twisters track has its own short practice lines.)

If the letters themselves are new, read how to pronounce Luxembourgish and Luxembourgish spelling first. Then work through the sounds below: slowly three times, then at normal speed, then as fast as you can.

ë, é and ä

Three letters, three different sounds: ë is a short, neutral “uh” (as in Mëllech), é is a closed “ay” sound (as in Schnéi), and ä is an open “a” like in English cat (as in Äppel).

D’Mamm wiermt d’Mëllech fir de Bëbee

Literally: Mum warms the milk for the baby.

Meaning: m, ë and a soft ch in a row — wiermen means to warm. Say it slowly first.

Ech fäerten, et gëtt hënt Schnéi

Literally: I’m afraid it will snow tonight.

Meaning: ä, ë and é in one breath. Hënt means tonight.

D’Kanner sinn de Foussspueren am Schnéi nogaangen

Literally: The children followed the footprints in the snow.

Meaning: Foussspueren has three s in a row — keep them as one long s.

The two ch sounds

After e, i, ä, ë, é and consonants, ch is soft, close to the hissing sound at the start of English huge said with a smile. After a, o, u and the diphthongs ue and ou, it is hard and throaty, as in Scottish loch. Many words switch between the two in their forms — practise both.

Mir iessen all Dag an der Kichen

Literally: We eat in the kitchen every day.

Meaning: Soft ch in Kichen. The verb is iessen.

Ech konnt déi ganz Nuecht net schlofen

Literally: I couldn’t sleep the whole night.

Meaning: Hard ch in Nuecht, then sch in schlofen.

Wann s du séngs, geet d’Mëllech ëm!

Literally: When you sing, the milk turns sour!

Meaning: A joke for someone who sings badly — soft ch, ë and é. The verb is sangen.

Op der Kiermes iessen ech ëmmer Gromperekichelcher mat Äppelkompott

Literally: At the fair I always eat potato fritters with apple sauce.

Meaning: Gromperekichelcher has four syllables of ch and r — the national snack and a national tongue twister.

sch, schl and schw

Wann e Schlëssel bannen um Schlass ass, kritt een d’Dier vu baussen net opgespaart

Literally: When a key is in the lock on the inside, you can’t unlock the door from outside.

Meaning: Schlëssel (key) and Schlass (lock) side by side — the best real tongue twister in the dictionary.

Beim Tauchen hu mer riseg Schwäerm Fësch gesinn

Literally: When diving we saw huge shoals of fish.

Meaning: schw, sch and the ë of Fësch. The verb is gesinn.

De Kach schéngt verléift ze sinn, d’Zopp ass versalzt

Literally: The cook seems to be in love — the soup is too salty.

Meaning: A saying for oversalted food — hard ch in Kach, sch and the ts of Zopp.

z = ts

In Luxembourgish z always sounds like ts in English cats, even at the start of a word. And w sounds like an English v.

D’Leit stinn um Quai, op den Zuch ze waarden

Literally: People are standing on the platform, waiting for the train.

Meaning: z, w and the n-rule: den Zuch keeps its n before z. The verb is waarden.

Mir hunn all Joer e puer Reien Zwiwwele gesat

Literally: Every year we plant a few rows of onions.

Meaning: Zwiwwel — ts, v and v in one word.

Et gëtt keng Zopp esou waarm giess, wéi se gekacht gëtt!

Literally: No soup is eaten as hot as it is cooked!

Meaning: A proverb: in the end things are never as bad as they first look.

Long words

Hien ass flénk ewéi e Kaweechelchen

Literally: He is as quick as a squirrel.

Meaning: Kaweechelchen (squirrel): a long word with two soft ch sounds — the ideal test of everything above.

D’Kaweechelche klëmmt de Bamstamm mam Kapp no ënnen erof, andeem et sech mat den hënneschte Patte festkrallt

Literally: The squirrel climbs down the tree trunk head first, holding on with its hind paws.

Meaning: The final challenge: one breath, no stopping.

How to practise

  1. Listen first. Play the recording two or three times before you say anything.
  2. Say it slowly, syllable by syllable, then join the syllables up.
  3. Mind the n-rule. ech gi geschwë schlofen, not ech ginn geschwënn schlofen — the final n drops before most consonants. See the n-rule.
  4. Record yourself on your phone and compare with the native recording.
  5. Speed up only when it sounds right slowly.

The words in these sentences have their own recordings on our vocabulary pages: animals (Kaweechelchen), vegetables (Zwiwwel), transport (Zuch, Quai), the home (Kichen, Schlass, Dier) and weather (Schnéi).

Pronunciation is easier when you hear the words in context every day: our greetings guide and the phrase pages for hello, good morning and thank you all have native recordings. For vocabulary with audio, try the most common words and food words.

A recording cannot tell you what you are doing wrong — a teacher can. On Edluxio you can book 1-to-1 online lessons with independent teachers, native speakers among them, and get live feedback on the sounds you find hardest. Book a trial lesson; if your first lesson isn’t right for you, you get a full refund.

Practise tongue twisters on 16Word

The Tongue Twisters track gives you short lines to say aloud and compare with a model — and pays you blocks for every line you get right.

Keep learning

Frequently asked questions

What is the Luxembourgish word for tongue twister?

Zongebriecher — literally “tongue breaker”.

Are there traditional Luxembourgish tongue twisters?

They are shared orally, mostly among children, and we could not find a published collection to check. German tongue twisters such as “Fischers Fritz fischt frische Fische” are well known in Luxembourg because German is taught at school.

Which Luxembourgish sounds are hardest for learners?

Usually ë and é, the two ch sounds (soft after e and i, hard after a, o and u), z pronounced as ts, and the n that disappears before most consonants.

How do you say squirrel in Luxembourgish?

Kaweechelchen — a long word with two soft ch sounds. Listen to the recording above and repeat it slowly, syllable by syllable.

How can I get feedback on my pronunciation?

Record yourself and compare with the LOD recordings, and for live feedback practise with a native teacher.

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