Have you ever given a project update in Luxembourgish and then realized afterward that your words didn’t reflect what you really meant?
Maybe you sounded too formal. Or too vague. Or just… not like yourself.
In this lesson, you’ll learn powerful Luxembourgish language chunks – group of words that often go together – and phrases for giving updates in meetings that will help you sound confident, natural, and clear.
Whether you’re starting your update, describing progress, sharing a delay, or wrapping up, these phrases will help you communicate effectively and professionally.
Verbs / Chunks for Starting Your Update and Asking about Progress
duerchgoen – go over
We use „duerchgoen“ to say “to go over” something — for example, when reviewing a report, checking a document, or discussing key points in a meeting.
- Loosst eis déi wichtegst Punkten aus dem Rapport duerchgoen. – Let’s go over the key findings from the report.
- Mir mussen de Budget nach eng Kéier duerchgoen, éier mir en der Direktioun presentéieren. – We need to go over the budget one more time, before we present it to the board of directors
uschwätzen / abordéieren – to bring up
We use „uschwätzen“ or „abordéieren“ to “to bring up” a topic — for example, when introducing an issue, raising a point, or starting a discussion during meetings or conversations.
- Mir abordéiere fir d’éischt d’Problemer, déi dir mam Prestataire hutt. We’ll first bring up the issues, you’re encountering with the service provider.
- Ech géif gären dem Client säi Feedback uschwätzen / abordéieren.I’d like to bring up the client feedback we received.
Wéi leeft …? How is ….. Going?
The word „leeft“ is the conjugated form of the verb „lafen“. Literally it means to run, but in this context, it’s used idiomatically to ask how something is going or progressing.
- Wéi leeft de Projet? – How is the project going?
- Wéi leeft et mam neie System? – How’s it going with the new system?
- Wéi leeft d’Zesummenaarbecht mam neie Fournisseur? – How is the collaboration with the new supplier going?
Wéi wäit sidd dir mat ….? How far along are you with….
- Wéi wäit sidd dir / bass du mat der Tâche? How far along are you (plural/singular) with the task?
- Wéi wäit sidd Dir mat der Dokumentatioun? – How far along are you with the documentation?
- Wéi wäit sidd Dir mam Ofschloss vum Dossier? – How far along are you with finalizing the file?
Before moving on with verbs for describing progress at work, let me ask you the following question, as I am curious:
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Verbs / Chunks for Describing Progress at Work
Weiderkommen / weidermaachen – to carry on with
We use „weiderkommen“ or „weidermaachen“ to say “to carry on with” something — for example, when continuing a task, project, or discussion.
- Mir si gutt am Delai a komme gutt weider mam Dossier. – We’re on schedule and making good progress with the file
- Mir komme just lues weider, well nach Informatioune feelen. – We’re only making slow progress because some information is still missing.
- Et gesäit gutt aus – mir kënne wéi geplangt weidermaachen. – Things are looking good – we can carry on as planned.
gutt virugoen / gutt virukommen – progressing well
- Kommt dir gutt mam Dossier virun? Are you progressing well with the case / dossier?
- D’Entwécklung vum neie System geet gutt virun. – The development of the new system is progressing well.
nokucken, sech informéieren iwwer … – to check in on
- Ech hunn nogekuckt, wéi wäit den Team ass. – I checked in on the team’s progress.
Or Ech hunn mech iwwer de Progrès vum Team informéiert.
nofroen, sech (nach eng Kéier) ëm eppes këmmern – to follow up on
We use expressions like „nofroen“ or „sech nach eng Kéier ëm eppes këmmern“ to “to follow up on” something — for example, when checking the status of a task, problem, or request.
- Ech hunn nogefrot, wéinst dem Problem mam Prestataire. Or: Ech hu mech nach eng Kéier ëm de Problem mam Prestataire gekëmmert. – I followed up on the supplier issue.
Weiderverfollegen – to keep up with
weiderverfollegen“ means “to keep up with” something It’s used when continuing to monitor, pursue, or track progress on a task, issue, or project to ensure it moves forward or is resolved.
- Mir mussen d’Entwécklungen am Projet weiderverfollegen. – We need to keep up with the developments in the project.
- D’Equipe soll de Feedback vum Client weiderverfollegen, fir d’Qualitéit ze verbesseren. – The team should keep up with the client’s feedback to improve quality.
Verbs / Chunks for explaining Delays or Challenges Without Sounding Defensive
Even skilled professionals struggle here. But these verbs can help you stay calm and clear:
opschaffen – to catch up on
The idea is that you’re behind on work and need to get up to date
- Mir hunn nach eng Rei Dossieren opzeschaffen. – We still have a several files to catch up on .
- Et huet sech e bëssen Aarbecht ugesammelt, mee ech sinn dobäi, alles no an no opzeschaffen. A bit of work has piled up, but I’m in the process of catching up step by step.
op eppes stoussen / op Problemer stoussen – to run into
is commonly used in Luxembourgish to express unexpectedly encountering a difficulty or issue
- Mir si beim Feedback-Prozess op e puer Problemer gestouss. – We ran into some issues with the feedback process.
- Beim Teste vun der neier Software si mir op technesch Problemer gestouss. – While testing the new software, we ran into technical issues.
eppes verréckelen / verleeën – to push back
means to postpone or move something (like a deadline or event) to a later time
- Mir wollte de Produit den 1. Juli lancéieren, mee mir hunn den Datum ëm zwou Woche verréckelt. – We wanted to launch the product on July 1st, but we’ve pushed the date back by two weeks.
klären – to sort out
The verb “klären” is commonly used to express clarifying, resolving, or sorting out details or issues. It fits well in professional contexts like contract discussions.
- Mir schaffen drun, déi lescht Detailer vum Kontrakt ze klären. – We’re working to sort out the final contract details
- Mir sinn eis nach net eens, wéi mir dee leschte Paragraph vum Budget kläre sollen. – We have not yet agreed on how to sort out the last paragraph of the budget.
ophalen – to delay (to hold up)
Has several meanings but we use it here to say that sth is stopping or delaying a project, deadline,
- Den definitven Accord vum Ministère hält eisen Zäitplang op. – The final approval is holding up our timeline.
- Eng Schwieregkeet an der Logistik huet d’Liwwerung opgehalen. – A logistics issue has delayed the delivery.
If you’re ready to go deeper and learn how to speak confidently and appropriately in formal or business settings, check out my self-study course “Formal and Business Luxembourgish Language.” It’s designed for professionals who want practical language, to express themselves clearly and correctly at work.
