At this point some of us may be sick of talking about… well, sickness. But to make sure that you get all the help you need we've prepared this lesson.

With most of our language lessons, we encourage you to go out and put the phrases and vocab into practice. A lot of the topics so far have been about recurring situations, such as small talk about the weather, scheduling meetings, and asking for directions, while others focused on generally quite pleasurable activities, like ordering a coffee at a bakery or going to a restaurant.

Regarding the topic of this lesson, however, we hope that you won't have to make use of these phrases and terms too often, as our subject of the day is illness, injuries, and emergencies. While not exactly a "fun" topic, we think we can all agree that, if something goes south, knowing how to ask for help and how to explain what exactly is wrong can be essential.

As we've done before, we tried to focus more on the phrases in the actual lesson, seeing as there is quite a lot of vocabulary to go through. For your convenience, you can check the entire list, which includes terms of basic ailments, pharmaceuticals, and body parts, right here. By clicking on the link, you'll also be able to find Language Basics 9, this time featuring a grammar deep-dive into the verb "to have".

Useful Phrases

Down below are some useful phrases to express what happened and what you might need.

While the focus of this lesson is naturally on language, you can check out this article for more information on how to find (English speaking) GPs or specialists in Luxembourg.

Calling for help / Signalling that something is wrong

Help! -> Hëllef!

Call an ambulance! -> Ruff eng Ambulanz! / Ruff den 112!

I need a doctor -> Ech brauch en Dokter.

I am not feeling well -> Mir ass net gutt.

I am feeling nauseous -> Mir ass schlecht.

I am sick -> Ech si krank.

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Describing symptoms

to faint (ex: I / she / he fainted) -> schwaachfalen (ex: Ech sinn / Hien / Hatt ass schwaach gefall)

I am bleeding -> Ech bludden.

(I think) I hurt myself -> (Ech mengen) ech hu mir wéi gedoen.

I had to vomit. -> Ech hu mech missen iwwerginn.

I have diarrhea -> Ech hunn den Duerchfall

Good to know(?): Colloquially, people in Luxembourg refer to diarrhoea as de Schësser, which literally translates to "the shitter" – yes, we like to keep things direct here.

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My … hurts -> Mäi(n) / Meng … deet / di wéi

(I think) I have a cold / cough / etc -> (Ech mengen) ech hunn de Schnapp / den Houscht / etc (Note that in Luxembourgish, the definite article is used and not the indefinite article like in English)

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