25 Luxembourgish Phrases for Talking About Office Tasks

IN Business, Level B1

This is Part 2 of our Essential Workplace Luxembourgish series.

If you listened to Episode 128, you’ll remember that we covered the language you need for everyday office conversations:

greeting your colleagues in the morning
talking about your priorities
managing emails, and
collaborating with your team.

Today, we’ll cover problem-solving, deadlines, workload management, giving updates to your manager, and wrapping up your workday.

Not say in podcast For example:

Maybe your computer freezes just before an important meeting. The printer suddenly stops working. You can’t access the file you need. Or a technical issue is causing delays.

(And) imagine how different it feels when you can handle (these) everyday situations in Luxembourgish: speak confidently with your colleagues, solve problems together and feel like a real part of the conversation.

Prett?

And of course, at work, not everything always goes smoothly.

Maybe the printer suddenly doesn’t work. The computer freezes just when you need it. The system is down, or you can’t access an important file. And of course, the internet always seems to get slow at exactly the wrong moment — for example, just before an online meeting!

So, what can you say in Luxembourgish when something goes wrong?

Here are a few really useful phrases:

Den Drécker huet kee Pabeier méi. – The printer is out of paper.

De System ass ausgefall / down. – The system is down.

Ech kann net op de Fichier zougräifen. – I can’t access the file.

Mäi Computer ass ofgestierzt / huet sech opgehaangen – My computer froze.

Literally, this means something like “my computer crashed.” In Luxembourgish, we don’t really have a direct, everyday translation for “my computer froze” or “I’m frozen.”

So if your computer suddenly stops responding, you can simply say: Mäi Computer huet sech opgehaangen.

And, if you need to restart your computer you can say:

Ech muss de Computer nei starten. – I need to restart the computer.

These are simple sentences, but they’re exactly the kind of phrases you might need in a real work situation.

Now, let’s talk about deadlines

This is a very common office topic. Do you know the word for deadline in Luxembourgish? This is: Delai, en Delai or a synonym is en Termin.

So how would you ask someone: What’s the deadline?

Wat ass den Delai? – What’s the deadline?

Den Delai ass e Freideg. – The deadline is Friday.

Mir mussen den Delai anhalen. – We need to meet the deadline.

So to meet a deadline is: en Delai anhalen.

Or you’ll sometimes need to talk about making sure you finish something on time. You might say:

Ech probéieren, matzäit fäerdeg ze ginn. – I’m trying to finish this on time.

Or maybe you may need more time:

Ech brauch méi Zäit. – I need more time

Ech sinn hannendran. – I’m running behind.

Kënne mir den Delai verlängeren? – Can we extend the deadline

And It is always better to say something early than to stay silent. If you speak early, your team can help or they can adjust the plan.

Ech si leider e bëssen hannendran. Kënne mir den Delai ëm een Dag verlängeren? – I’m a little bit behind unfortunately . Can we extend the deadline by one day?

Before we continue, a quick message for you.

Do you want to practise these real-life conversations yourself? That’s exactly what we do inside my B1 Speaking Practice Group

This is a safe place to practise, get feedback, and build real confidence speaking Luxembourgish. Step by step, you’ll feel yourself becoming more confident, more fluent, and more comfortable speaking Luxembourgish at work and also in everyday life

If that sounds like the kind of practice you need right now, come and join us in the Speaking Practice Group B1.

And when you’re dealing with problems at work, sometimes, the challenge is simply having too much to do and figuring out how to organise your workload.

So, what can you say in Luxembourgish when you want to organise your work better, plan your tasks or talk about your progress?

Here are a few useful phrases you can use.

Ech maachen eng Lëscht mat den Tâchen. – I’ll create a task list.

Kommt mir deelen dat an e puer Etappen op. – Let’s break this into smaller steps.

Mir mussen en Zäitplang festleeën. – We have to set a timeline.

And here’s another very useful phrase when you’re talking about deadlines:

Komm mir probéieren, dat bis véier Auer fäerdeg ze kréien. Ech ginn dir virum Feierowend nach en Update. – Let’s aim to complete this by 4 and I’ll send you an update before the end of the day.”

So, virum Feierowend means before the end of the working day. It’s a very useful expression to know when you’re talking about work and deadlines.

Another phrase you’ll hear quite often in a professional context is as soon as possible.In Luxembourgish, you can say: sou séier wéi méiglech

Now, let’s imagine you’re in the middle of your workday. You’ve just finished one task, and you’re ready to move on to the next one. What could you say in Luxembourgish?

Beispiller:

Wat steet als Nächstes un?– What’s due next?

Kommt mir maachen do weider, wou mir opgehalen hunn. – Let’s continue where we left off.

Ech muss {de Budget} nach eng Kéier nokucken. – I still need to review {the budget}.

And before we finish, let’s look at another situation you’ll often have at work: giving an update on your progress:

For example to your manager or a colleague. What can you say when someone asks you how things are going?

You can say:

Ech si bal fäerdeg. – I’m almost done.

De Client huet säin Accord / Ok ginn. Mir musse just nach eng Kéier driwwer kucken – The client approved everything. We just need one more review.

Or, if there’s a problem:

Et gëtt ee Problem, dee mir nach musse léisen. – There is one issue we need to solve.

These are simple phrases, but clear updates like these can save a lot of time. You can also say:

Alles leeft nom Zäitplang. – Everything is on schedule.

nom Zäitplang is a useful phrase to remember.

And if things aren’t going quite as planned:

Et kéint zu enger Verspéidung kommen. – We may face a delay.

And now we’re getting towards the end of the workday.. People start wrapping things up and getting ready to leave. Then around five o’clock, you might say:

Kommt mir schléissen dat nach of. – Let’s wrap this up.

Ofschléissen means to bring something to an end or complete it. You can also use „fäerdeg maachen“ when you simply mean to finish something.

Ech wëll dat nach fäerdeg maachen, ier ech ginn. – I want to finish this before I leave.

And of course, before you head off for the day, you’ll want to say goodbye to your colleagues:

Bis muer! An e schéinen Owend! – See you tomorrow! And have a good evening!

And don’t underestimate these little phrases. They’re simple, but they make everyday communication at work easier — and they can make the office feel a little friendlier, too.