jo / nee
Yes and No: Jo and Nee
Jo means yes and nee means no.
How It Works
A question that starts with the verb, like Bass du midd?, expects jo or nee. See yes/no questions.
- Bass du midd? – Jo. (Are you tired? Yes.)
- Hues du Honger? – Nee, merci. (Are you hungry? No, thanks.)
Friendly short answers. A bare jo or nee can sound short, so people often add a word:
- Jo, gär! Yes, gladly! This is how you accept an offer.
- Jo, wannechgelift. Yes, please.
- Nee, merci. No, thank you.
Saying yes to a negative question. Sometimes the question already has net or keen in it: Hues du keen Honger? (Aren't you hungry?) If you are hungry, answer with dach: Dach, ech hunn Honger! A plain jo would not make this clear. If you agree that you are not hungry, say Nee, ech hu keen Honger.
Spelling. The standard spellings are jo and nee. The dictionary also accepts neen as a variant. Jo can also be a small, unstressed word in the middle of a sentence, as in Du hues jo Recht (You're right, after all). See modal particles.
Examples (6)
- Bass du midd? – Jo.
Are you tired? – Yes.
- Hues du Honger? – Nee, merci.
Are you hungry? – No, thanks.
- Wëlls du e Kaffi? – Jo, gär!
Would you like a coffee? – Yes, please!
Word by Word: Want you a coffee? – Yes, gladly!
Jo, gär accepts an offer warmly.
- Kënns du muer? – Nee, ech kann net.
Are you coming tomorrow? – No, I can't.
- Hues du keen Honger? – Dach, ech hunn Honger!
Aren't you hungry? – Yes, I am!
The question has keen in it, so yes is dach.
- Jo, du hues Recht!
Yes, you're right!
Common Mistakes
Answering a bare jo when you mean yes to a question with keen or net.
Hues du keen Honger? – Jo.Hues du keen Honger? – Dach!You want to say that you are hungry. After a question with keen or net, a bare jo is unclear: it can sound as if you agree that you are not hungry. Dach clearly means "yes, I am".
Writing the German word ja.
Ja, ech si midd.Jo, ech si midd.Ja is German. In Luxembourgish, yes is spelled jo.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Yes and No: Jo and Nee, learn Yes or No Questions.
Related Patterns
- netNegation with Net
A question with net is answered yes with dach.
Level 1 - keen / kengNegative Article: Keen and Keng
A question with keen is answered yes with dach too.
Level 1 - merci / wannechgeliftThank You and Please
Nee, merci and Jo, wannechgelift are the polite short answers.
Level 1 - Small Words That Add Feeling: dach / jo / molSmall Words That Add Feeling: Dach, Jo, Mol
Jo and dach also work as small unstressed words inside a sentence.
Level 4 - Question Tags: gell? and oder?Checking Questions: Gell? and Oder?
Oder? and gell? invite a jo from the listener.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice jo / nee in Bubblegum
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