Moien

Luxembourgish A1

The alphabet and sounds D'Alphabet

Learn the letters from A to Z by ear, and the spellings whose sounds an English reader does not expect.

By the end of this lesson you can

30 words and phrases

d'Alphabet
the alphabet
de Buschtaf
letter (of the alphabet) Plural: d'Buschtawen.
buschtawéieren
to spell (letter by letter)
A
the letter A
B
the letter B
C
the letter C
D
the letter D
E
the letter E
F
the letter F
G
the letter G
H
the letter H
I
the letter I
J
the letter J
K
the letter K
L
the letter L
M
the letter M
N
the letter N
O
the letter O
P
the letter P
Q
the letter Q
R
the letter R
S
the letter S
T
the letter T
U
the letter U
V
the letter V
W
the letter W
X
the letter X
Y
the letter Y
Z
the letter Z
schreiwen
to write

Grammar

The alphabet, and capital letters

Luxembourgish is written with the Latin alphabet, which the LOD counts as 26 letters. Besides them you will meet ä, ë and é inside ordinary words, such as Äddi, Mëtteg and Bréif.

Some letters are not tied to one sound: the LOD says that the E, and the J, are pronounced in different ways depending on the word. So learn the sound with the word, and use the recordings.

Every noun is written with a capital letter, in the middle of a sentence too.

  • Eist Alphabet huet 26 Buschtawen. — Our alphabet has 26 letters.
  • Am Lëtzebuergesche ginn all d'Substantive mat engem Grousse Buschtaf geschriwwen. — In Luxembourgish all nouns are written with a capital letter.

Spellings that surprise an English reader

The sounds below are written as the LOD gives them in the International Phonetic Alphabet (stress marks left out). Listen to each word, then say it.

ch is not always the same sound: [χ] in Woch, [ɕ] in Nuecht. An s before a vowel at the start of a word is [z], not [s].

  • schwaarz — black, [ʃwaːʀts]: sch is [ʃ], z is [ts]
  • wäiss — white, [væːɪs]: w is [v]
  • zéng — ten, [tseŋ]: ng is [ŋ], the sound at the end of "sing"
  • Jong — boy, [joŋ]: j is [j]
  • siwen — seven, [ziːvən]: s is [z]
  • d'Woch — week, [voχ]
  • Nuecht — night, [nuəɕt]

Vowels and vowel pairs

Several pairs of letters make one sound, and ë is a short, soft vowel. Say the words aloud with the recordings: the IPA shows what you should hear.

The final -n that comes and goes in Gudde Moien and Gudden Owend is the Eifel rule from the first lesson.

  • Schwëster — sister, [ʃwəstɐ]: ë is [ə]
  • Äddi — goodbye, [ædiː]: ä is [æ]
  • d'Brout — bread, [bʀəʊt]: ou is [əʊ]
  • dräi — three, [dʀæːɪ]: äi is [æːɪ]
  • de Kéis — cheese, [kɜɪs]: éi is [ɜɪ]
  • Nuecht — night, [nuəɕt]: ue is [uə]

Practice

17 exercises: multiple choice, typing, matching pairs and word order.