This language, also called « Luish », is closely related to Hittite.

It differs in the use of -nzi to form the plural of nouns, pronouns and adjectives rather than -es as it Hittite. The dependence of one noun on another is not indicated by a genitive case but by a suffix « sas » added to the dependent noun meaning « his or its ».

This explains many place names in the Aegean region ending in « assos » from the Greek period, eg Knossos, Tylisos etc. In the Hittite texts passages in Luwian are introduced by the adverb « luwili ». The language also differs from Hittite in its inherited (non Indo-European ?) sub strata.

Luwian was apparently spoken in the southern Hittite provinces, along the Aegean coasts, in Cappadocia and later, northern Syria. It seems to have preceded Hittite and to have survived the fall of the Hittite empire.