Feeling Expressions: Honger / Duuscht / Angscht / hunn

Hunger, Thirst and Fear with Hunn

Level 1

Say Ech hunn Honger (I have hunger) for "I'm hungry", and Ech hunn Duuscht for "I'm thirsty".

How It Works

In English you are hungry. In Luxembourgish you have hunger. The feeling is a noun, and the verb is hunn:

  • Honger (hunger): Ech hunn Honger. I'm hungry.
  • Duuscht (thirst): Ech hunn Duuscht. I'm thirsty.
  • Angscht (fear): Ech hunn Angscht. I'm afraid.

A few other everyday phrases work the same way: Ech hu Recht (I'm right), Ech hu Kappwéi (I have a headache) and Ech hu keng Loscht (I don't feel like it).

Saying no. These words are nouns, so you say "no hunger" with keen or keng, not with net. Honger and Duuscht are masculine and take keen. Angscht is feminine and takes keng: Ech hu keen Honger. Ech hu keng Angscht. See net vs keen.

Hunn or hu? Watch the n-rule. The n stays before h, d and vowels, so you write Ech hunn Honger, Ech hunn Duuscht and Ech hunn Angscht. Before keen and keng it drops: Ech hu keen Honger.

To say what you are afraid of, add virun: Ech hu keng Angscht viru Spannen. (I'm not afraid of spiders.) Feeling cold uses a different pattern. See et ass mer kal.

Examples (6)

  1. Ech hunn Honger.

    I'm hungry.

    Word by Word: I have hunger.

  2. Hues du Duuscht?

    Are you thirsty?

    Word by Word: Have you thirst?

  3. D'Kanner hunn Angscht.

    The children are scared.

    Word by Word: The children have fear.

  4. Ech hu keen Honger.

    I'm not hungry.

    Word by Word: I have no hunger.

    Honger is a masculine noun, so it is negated with keen.

  5. Ech hu keng Angscht viru Spannen.

    I'm not afraid of spiders.

    Angscht is feminine, so it takes keng. Virun names what you fear.

  6. Du hues Recht.

    You're right.

    Word by Word: You have right.

    Another phrase with hunn and a noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Using sinn, as in English "I am thirsty".

    Ech sinn Duuscht.
    Ech hunn Duuscht.

    Duuscht is a noun, and Luxembourgish says you have it. Use hunn.

  • Dropping the n of hunn before h.

    Ech hu Honger.
    Ech hunn Honger.

    H is one of the letters that keep the n, so you write hunn.

  • Negating the feeling with net.

    Ech hunn net Honger.
    Ech hu keen Honger.

    Honger is a noun without an article, so you negate it with keen, just like Ech hu keen Auto.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Feeling Expressions: Honger / Duuscht / Angscht / hunnLevel 1Hunger, Thirst and Fear with Hunn

Learn This First

Before Hunger, Thirst and Fear With Hunn, learn To Have: Hunn and Negative Article: Keen and Keng.

Words in This Pattern

hunnHongerDuuschtAngscht