Counting in Luxembourgish

Language overview

Forty-two in Luxembourgish Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch) is an Indo-European, West Central German language, which belongs to the group of Moselle Franconian dialects. Co-official language in Luxembourg with French and German, but also spoken in the surounding areas in Belgium, France and Germany, it counts about 390,000 speakers.

Luxembourgish numbers list

  • 1 – eent
  • 2 – zwee
  • 3 – dräi
  • 4 – véier
  • 5 – fënnef
  • 6 – sechs
  • 7 – siwen
  • 8 – aacht
  • 9 – néng
  • 10 – zéng
  • 11 – eelef
  • 12 – zwielef
  • 13 – dräizéng
  • 14 – véierzéng
  • 15 – fofzéng
  • 16 – siechzéng
  • 17 – siwwenzéng
  • 18 – uechtzéng
  • 19 – nonzéng
  • 20 – zwanzeg
  • 30 – drësseg
  • 40 – véierzeg
  • 50 – fofzeg
  • 60 – sechzeg
  • 70 – siwwenzeg
  • 80 – achtzeg
  • 90 – nonzeg
  • 100 – honnert
  • 1,000 – dausend
  • one million – eng Millioun
  • one billion – eng Milliard
  • one trillion – eng Billion

Luxembourgish numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

  • Digits and numbers from zero to twelve are specific words: null [0], eent [1], zwee [2], dräi [3], véier [4], fënnef [5], sechs [6], siwen [7], aacht [8], néng [9], zéng [10], eelef [11], and zwielef [12].
  • From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the matching digits, adding the -zéng (ten) suffix at the end: dräizéng [13], véierzéng [14], fofzéng [15], siechzéng [16], siwwenzéng [17], uechtzéng [18], and nonzéng [19].
  • The tens are formed by adding the -zeg suffix at the end of the multiplier digit root, with the exception of ten, quite obviously: zéng [10], zwanzeg [20], drësseg [30], véierzeg [40], fofzeg [50], sechzeg (or siechzeg) [60], siwwenzeg [70], achtzeg [80], and nonzeg [90].
  • From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with the an (and) word, but the unit is said before the ten, and with no space (e.g.: eenandrësseg [31], fënnefandrësseg [35]).
  • The n-Regel, also known as the Eifel rule (“Eifeler Regel” or “Äifler Regel”) or the n-apocope rule, states that final n and nn are dropped both in oral and written form before another consonant, except before n, d, t, z, or h. Compound numbers are often affected as they are linked with the word an. Following this grammatical rule, 51 is said (and written) eenafofzeg, and not eenanfofzeg, but 35 (fënnefandrësseg) keeps its n.
  • Hundred (honnert) and thousand (dausend) are not separated from the other numbers by a space (eg. honnerteenanzwanzeg [121], dausendzweehonnertnonzéng [1,219]). They also share the fact that they are both adjectives, so their first letter is not uppercased, and they do not imply the declension of their multiplier if any.
  • The digit one, invariable under its form eent, is declined before a nominal group. It thus becomes een before a masculine or neuter noun, and eng before a feminine noun (e.g.: eng Millioun [1 million]). Two, as well invariable under its form zwéin, is declined in zwou before a feminine noun (e.g.: zwou Milliounen [2 million]), and in zwee before a neuter noun.
  • The Luxemburgish language alternates between the -illio(u)n and -illiard suffixes to name its big numbers, as it follows the long scale naming convention: Millioun (106, million), Milliard (109, billion), Billion (1012, trillion), Billiard (1015, quadrillion)… It is to be noted that big scale numbers from one billion (109) are all feminine.

Write a number in full in Luxembourgish

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Luxembourgish. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Books

West Germanic languages

Afrikaans, Alsatian, Bavarian, English, German, Gottscheerish, Hunsrik, Luxembourgish, North Frisian, Pennsylvania German, Plautdietsch, Saterland Frisian, Scots, Swiss German, West Frisian, Wymysorys, and Yiddish.

Other supported languages

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