Polite Dir

Level 1

Wéi heescht Dir? (What is your name?) Kommt Dir aus Frankräich? (Do you come from France?) Use Dir with adults you don't know well.

How It Works

1. When to use Dir
Use Dir with adults you do not know, in shops, in offices and with people you want to show respect to. Use du with friends, family and children. See Du or Dir.

2. The verb form
Dir always takes the dir form of the verb, even for one person:

  • Dir sidd (you are), Dir hutt (you have)
  • Dir heescht (you are called), Dir wunnt (you live), Dir kommt (you come)

In a question the verb comes first: Hutt Dir Zäit? Schwätzt Dir Lëtzebuergesch? (see yes/no questions).

3. The other polite forms

  • Iech: you or to you. Kann ech Iech hëllefen? Wéi geet et Iech? (see wéi geet et)
  • Är, Ären, Äert: your. Ären Numm, Är Adress (see ären/är/äert)
  • Der: the short unstressed form of Dir, also capitalized.

4. Capital letters
In speech, Dir and dir sound the same. In writing, the capital shows politeness, and the official spelling always capitalizes Dir, Der, Iech and Är, even in the middle of a sentence.

Examples (6)

  1. Wéi heescht Dir?

    What is your name?

    Heescht is the dir form of heeschen.

  2. Kommt Dir aus Frankräich?

    Do you come from France?

  3. Schwätzt Dir Lëtzebuergesch?

    Do you speak Luxembourgish?

  4. Kann ech Iech hëllefen?

    Can I help you?

    Iech is the polite object form.

  5. Dir musst Ären Numm an Är Adress uginn.

    You have to give your name and your address.

    Ären and Är are the polite possessives.

  6. Wéi geet et Iech?

    How are you?

    The polite version of Wéi geet et dir?

Common Mistakes

  • Using the du verb form with Dir.

    Wéi heeschs Dir?
    Wéi heescht Dir?

    Dir always takes the dir form of the verb, even when you speak to one person.

  • Writing polite Dir in lowercase.

    Hutt dir Zäit, Madame Weber?
    Hutt Dir Zäit, Madame Weber?

    Polite Dir is always capitalized. Lowercase dir means you to several people you know well.

  • Using a singular verb form because Dir is one person.

    Dir bass ganz léif.
    Dir sidd ganz léif.

    The verb for Dir is always the plural form sidd.

How It Connects

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Polite DirLevel 1

Learn This First

Before Polite Dir, learn Subject Pronouns: Plural.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

IechÄr