w Becomes f

W Becomes F: Du Schreifs

Level 2

Write w before a vowel and f before a consonant or at the end: mir schreiwen, but du schreifs, hie schreift, Schreif!

How It Works

Many verbs have a stem ending in w: schreiwen (to write), bleiwen (to stay), gleewen (to believe), liewen (to live). At the end of a syllable this sound is said like f, and Luxembourgish spells it that way.

The rule.

  • Before a vowel, write w: ech schreiwen, mir bleiwen, si gleewen.
  • Before a consonant ending (-s, -t), write f: du schreifs, hie schreift, dir bleift.
  • At the end of the word, write f: Schreif! Bleif hei! See commands to one friend.

A full example.

  • ech schreiwen
  • du schreifs
  • hien, si, et schreift
  • mir schreiwen
  • dir schreift
  • si schreiwen

The endings themselves are the normal ones from the present tense. Only the spelling of the stem changes.

Participles. The same rule applies. A participle ending in -t has f: gleewen → gegleeft, liewen → gelieft. A participle ending in -en keeps the w sound: geschriwwen, bliwwen. See regular participles and irregular participles.

Nouns and adjectives. You see the same change outside verbs: de Bréif (letter) but d'Bréiwer (letters); léif (dear) but e léiwe Frënd (a dear friend).

Only w changes. The consonants b and s keep their spelling: erlaben → hien erlaabt, liesen → du lies.

Examples (6)

  1. Du schreifs mir all Woch e Bréif.

    You write me a letter every week.

    Before -s, the w of schreiwen is written f.

  2. Schreif däin Numm hei!

    Write your name here!

    The du command ends in the stem, so it has f.

  3. Hie bleift haut doheem.

    He is staying at home today.

    Bleiwen: before -t, the w becomes f.

  4. Bleif hei, wannechgelift!

    Stay here, please!

  5. Gleefs du dat?

    Do you believe that?

    Gleewen: du gleefs.

  6. Si huet dräi Joer zu Paräis gelieft.

    She lived in Paris for three years.

    The participle of liewen ends in -t, so it has f: gelieft.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping w before -s or -t.

    Du schreiws ze kleng.
    Du schreifs ze kleng.

    Before a consonant ending, the w of the stem is written f: du schreifs, hie schreift.

  • Writing f before a vowel ending.

    Mir bleifen haut doheem.
    Mir bleiwen haut doheem.

    Before an ending that starts with a vowel, the stem keeps its w.

  • Keeping w at the end of a command.

    Schreiw mer muer!
    Schreif mer muer!

    The du command is the bare stem, so the w is at the end of the word and is written f.

How It Connects

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

w Becomes fLevel 2W Becomes F: Du Schreifs

Learn This First

Before W Becomes F: Du schreifs, learn Vowel Changes in the Du and Hien Forms.