wéi een / wéi eng
Which: Wéi Een and Wéi Eng
Ask which with wéi een or wéi en before masculine and neuter nouns, and wéi eng before feminine and plural nouns.
How It Works
On its own, wéi means how. Put en or eng after it, and you get a question word that means which or what in front of a noun:
- Masculine and neuter: wéi een Auto, wéi e Buch
- Feminine: wéi eng Faarf
- Plural: wéi eng Sproochen
It is the same choice as with the article en and eng, so check the gender of the noun. Unlike the article, wéi eng also works with plurals.
Een, en or e? The dictionary lists this word as wéi en, and you will often see it written wéi een. Both are correct. By the n-rule, the n drops before most consonants: Wéi e Bus hëls du? It stays before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z: wéi en Hotel, wéi een Auto.
Which or what kind? Wéi een asks which one. To ask what kind of thing, people also use wat fir en: Wat fir en Auto hues du? In everyday speech the two overlap a lot.
Don't mix it up. Wéi een can also mean "how you" or "how one", with een as the subject: Weess du, wéi een dat mécht? (Do you know how you do that?) When a noun follows, it means which.
Examples (6)
- Wéi een Auto fiers du?
Which car do you drive?
Auto is masculine.
- Wéi e Bus hëls du?
Which bus do you take?
The n drops before b.
- Wéi e Buch lies du?
Which book are you reading?
Buch is neuter.
- Wéi eng Faarf hues du gär?
Which colour do you like?
Faarf is feminine.
- Wéi eng Sprooche schwätz du?
Which languages do you speak?
Plural nouns take wéi eng. Sproochen loses its n before sch.
- Wéi eng Musek lauschters du am Auto?
What music do you listen to in the car?
Common Mistakes
Using wéi eng with a masculine noun.
Wéi eng Auto fiers du?Wéi een Auto fiers du?Auto is masculine, so it takes wéi een or wéi en, like en Auto.
Using wéi en or wéi e with a feminine noun.
Wéi e Faarf hues du gär?Wéi eng Faarf hues du gär?Faarf is feminine, so it takes wéi eng, like eng Faarf.
Keeping the n before a consonant that drops it.
Wéi en Bus hëls du?Wéi e Bus hëls du?B is not one of d, h, n, t or z, so wéi en becomes wéi e.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Which: Wéi een and Wéi eng, learn Indefinite Article: En and Eng and What and Who: Wat and Wien.
Related Patterns
- wat fir enWhat Kind of: Wat Fir En
Wat fir en asks what kind of, and often overlaps with wéi een.
Level 2 - The N-Rule (Eifeler Regel)
Wéi en becomes wéi e before most consonants.
Level 1 - Three Noun Genders
The gender of the noun decides between wéi een and wéi eng.
Level 1 - deen / déi / dat (That One)That One: Deen, Déi and Dat
A natural answer to which: deen, déi or dat.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice wéi een / wéi eng in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Luxembourgish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
