Luxembourg's languages, and which one you'll need

It’s easily the most searched question about Luxembourg, and the short answer is three languages. The long answer is more interesting, because each has its own territory. Luxembourgish is the language of home and radio, French that of shops and laws, German that of many newspapers, and English, without being official, is spoken by the vast majority. For a British visitor that means you’ll rarely struggle to make yourself understood.

Three official languages, each with its job

The legal basis is simple. A 1984 law declared Luxembourgish the national language and allowed French, German or Luxembourgish to be used in the administration and the courts. Laws, however, are drafted in French, and only that text is binding. In 2023 Luxembourgish went up another step. Article 4 of the revised constitution, in force since 1 July that year, states that the language of the Grand Duchy is Luxembourgish.

Day to day, the split is different. The government’s portal explains that French is the main language of commerce and hospitality, German dominates the written press and Luxembourgish is the language of radio, television and political debate. At the cinema, films are shown in the original with subtitles or dubbed into German or French, so English-language films are usually in English.

How many people speak each language?

An Education Ministry survey measured it in 2018. 98% of residents spoke French, 80% English, 78% German and 77% used Luxembourgish. It’s striking that the national language comes last, but there’s a reason. On 1 January 2026, 46.6% of residents were foreign nationals, rising to 70.8% in the capital. Many don’t speak Luxembourgish, and French is the common ground. Where that mix comes from is in Luxembourg population.

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So what is Luxembourgish?

It’s the country’s own language, the one of radio, television and political debate. Since 2018 a law has promoted it, with a commissioner and a dedicated centre, the Zenter fir d’Lëtzebuerger Sprooch. You’ll see it on signs, in place names (Vianden is Veianen; Clervaux, Klierf) and hear it on the radio. The country itself is Lëtzebuerg, and the story behind it is in Luxembourg name meaning. Its history and a few useful phrases are in the Luxembourgish language.

Languages on the street, beyond the official three

With around 180 nationalities living in the country, what you hear on a bus or in a market goes well beyond the three official languages. Portuguese is the clearest case, since the Portuguese make up 12.8% of the population, 88,300 people. You’ll hear Italian and plenty of English too.

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Which language you’ll be served in

In practice, visitors are served in French. It’s the language of waiters, shop assistants and plenty of signs. If you don’t speak it, English works almost everywhere, above all in the capital, in hotels, museums and restaurants. German is mostly useful for reading the papers.

My tip is to learn to say hello and thank you in Luxembourgish. You don’t need it for anything practical, but it’s the national language, the one the constitution protects, and a greeting in it is a small courtesy to whoever’s serving you.

Even the head of state switches

If you want a sense of how normal multilingualism is here, look at the top. According to the Cour grand-ducale, Grand Duke Guillaume speaks Luxembourgish, French, German, English and Spanish, and he trained at Sandhurst in 2001-2002. In a country where the head of state speaks five languages and four out of five residents speak English, nobody is going to think twice about a visitor who only speaks English. Spanish, for the record, isn’t a language of the country, though 10,300 Spaniards live there.

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Why Luxembourg speaks the way it does

The explanation lies in the map and in history. The country sits between France, Germany and Belgium, and over the centuries it passed through Spanish, French, Austrian and Dutch hands. Language also had its moment of resistance. After the 1940 invasion the occupiers banned French, and in the census of 10 October 1941 many people answered «Luxembourgish». That date, 10 October, is now a day of national remembrance. So when someone asks whether Luxembourgish is just a dialect, the law’s answer is clear and history’s is clearer still. To see how it all fits on the continent, carry on to where is Luxembourg and is Luxembourg a country.

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