A phosphor is disclosed. In an embodiment the phosphor includes an inorganic compound having at least one activator E and N and/or O in its empirical formula, wherein E is selected from the group consisting of Mn, Cr, Ni, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Tm, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs and combinations thereof, and wherein the inorganic compound crystallizes in a crystal structure with the same atomic sequence as in K2Zn6O7.