Swiss-German phrasebook

Swiss-German (Schweizerdeutsch in German phrasebook|Standard German; some endonyms are Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch or Schwizertitsch) is a broad category of Germanic dialects spoken in Switzerland.

These dialects are considerably different from (German), especially as it happens in regard to those very phrases which a traveler needs: niceties, greetings, asking for stuff, getting directions, etc. One of the key differences to getting by with Swiss (German). For example, "Fine, thank you" is Guet, merci; with guet being the German word for good/fine, while merci is from the French "thank you". In addition and there are many pronunciation differences which separate Swiss-German from either language. For example and the diphthong in Swiss-German "guet" versus the monophthong in High-German "gut".

You are unlikely to have to learn Swiss-German, as all German-speaking Swiss educated in modern day schools are also able to speak standard (German). Nevertheless, saying a few words in Swiss-German will undoubtedly impress the local residents.

Swiss German is different from Swiss Standard German (Schweizer Hochdeutsch), which is a variant of German phrasebook|standard German for formal speech and writing in Switzerland, with some vocabulary differences, such as das Tram ("streetcar", Straßenbahn or die Tram in standard German) and Billett ("ticket", Fahrkarte, Fahrschein or Ticket in standard German).

Neither Swiss German nor Swiss Standard German use the Eszett (ß).

Pronunciation guide

Note that most of the following Swiss-German phrases and words are written as they would be pronounced by people living in the area around Bern, Basel, Zürich (i.e. in the canton of Bern, etc.). Whilst bernese dialect is widely understood in the Swiss-German part of Switzerland, it's by no means "official" Swiss-German (despite of the fact that Bern is the Swiss capital). There is no standardized Swiss-German ("Schwyzerdüütsch"), and it is standard German that is an official language in Switzerland. Remarkably and the native dialects spoken in the many Swiss-German cantons are clearly distinguishable by local residents (i.e. they can tell apart from the dialect in which canton somebody grew up). Speaking Swiss-German is common for all people living in the Swiss-German part of Switzerland, independent of age or education. For writing, standard German is mostly used, though Swiss-German dialect is particularly popular on informal writing (e.g. in e-mail messages, SMS messages etc.). With the ongoing globalization and immigration, mixing Swiss-German dialects with English (quite often even with pseudo English) or speaking so called "Jugo-Deutsch" (German pronounced as immigrants coming from the former Yugoslavia region tend to pronounce it) has also become trendy for youngsters.

For official documents, standard German is used.

Vowels

The vowels in swiss german are unlike the english vowels closer to the german and latin pronunciations.

Pronunciation Guide:

a - ah (as in saw) e - eh (as in end) i - e (as in eel) o -oh (as in on) u - oo (as in moose)

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

Hello/Hi (informal): Hoi!
Hi, everyone! (informal): Hoi zäme!
Hi (very informal): Saluti! [salooti!] / Saletti!
Hello (formal): Grüezi! Grea-atsie / Grüessech! Grea-sec
Hello, Ms./Mr. .. (formal): Grüezi/Grüessech Frau/Herr ...
Hello, everyone (formal): Grüezi mitenand! Grea-tsi metta-nònd / Grüessech mitenang!

Problems

i(ch) ha(n) mi(s) Portmonnaie verlore!: I lost my wallet! (ch, n, s = variants, depending on the dialect)
i(ch) fühl mi(ch) schlächt: I feel sick/not well/upset (ch = variant)
wo isch de Polizei Poschte?: where is the police station?
i(ch) mues öppis mälde: I have to/must report something (ch = variant)
Spital: Hospital
Hät's da es Spital i de Nöchi?: is there a hospital nearby?
i(ch) bi(n) velore/mer sind verlore: I/we am/are lost!! (ch, n = variant)
bitte säged sie mir wo.....isch?: Can you please tell me where.....is?
Bahnhof: train station
Taxi Stand: taxi station
Bank: Bank
Poscht: post office
Hotel " ": the " " hotel
Chile: church
i(ch) bi(n) verliebt!: I'm in love
i(ch) liib di(ch)!: I love you!

Numbers

1: eis, äis, ais, eins
2: zwei, zwöi, zwai
3: drü, drai, drei
4: vier
5: foif, fföif, füüf, fünf
6: sächs, säggs
7: sibe, sebe, siebe
8: acht
9: nün
10: zäh, zehn
11: elf, euf
12: zwölf, zwöuf
13: drizäh
14: vierzäh
15: füfzäh
16: sächzäh
17: sibzäh
18: achzäh
19: nünzäh
20: zwänzg, zwanzig
21: einezwänzg, einezwanzig
22: zweiezwänzg, zweiezwanzig, zwöiezwänzg
23: drüezwänzg, dreiezwanzig
24: vierezwänzg, vierezwanzig
25: foifezwänzg, fünfezwanzig, füüfezwänzg
26: sächsezwänzg, säggsezwanzig
27: sibenezwänzg, siebenezwanzig
28: achtezwänzg, achtezwanzig
29: nünezwänzg, nünezwanzig
30: driss(i)g
40: vierz(i)g
50: füfzg, fuffzig
60: sächz(i)g
70: sibezg, siebzig
80: achtz(i)g
90: nünz(i)g
100: hundert
101: hundertundäis, hundertundeis
102: hundertzwöi

Clock time

time: Zit
What time is it?: Was isch für zit?
It is...: Es isch ...
one o'clock: eis
half past twelve: halbi eis
quarter to one: viertel vor eis
ten to one: zäh vor eis
quarter past one: virtel ab eis
ten past one: zäh ab eis
half past one: halbi zwoi

Duration

Wie lang gohts bis ... (How long does it take to...) Wie lang het me bis....?

Days

Mänti(g)
Zyschti(g)
Mittwuch
Dunnschti(g)
Fryti(g)
Samschti(g)
Sunnti(g)

Months

January: Januar
February: Februar
March: März, Merz
April: April
May: Mai
June: Juni
July: Juli
August: Auguscht
September: Septämber
October: Oktober
November: Novämber
December: Dezämber

Writing time and date

date: Datum
tenth of January, 2009: zähte erste zwoitusignün

Colors

Red: rot
Blue: blau
Black: schwarz
Green: grüen
White: wiiss
Yellow: gäl(b)
Purple: violet
Orange: orange (orah-nsh)
Pink: rosa/pink
Gray: grau

Transportation

Motorcycle - Töff, Döff

Vespa, Motorbike - Töffli, Döffli, Mofa

Bicycle - Velo

Tram (Streetcar) - Tram, Drämmli

Bus Train Plane

Bus, Car - Bus

Reisecar - travel bus

Zug - train

Flugzüg, Flüüger - airplane

Directions

graad uus - straight ahead

links - left

rächts - right

vore, vorne - in front

vüre, vürschi, vorwärts - forwards

hinde, hinge - in the back

hindere, rückwärts, zrugg - backwards, back

Taxi

Zum Hotel ...... bitte! - to the ..... hotel please!

was koschtet's öppe nach .......? - How much does it cost to ....., roughly?

Flughafe - airport

Bahnhof - train station

Hotel .... - ..... hotel

i(ch) ha(n)'s pressant! - I'm in a hurry!

mir händ's pressant! - Wednesday are in a hurry!

Bitte pressiere! - Hurry, please!

Lodging

Money Matters & ATM's in Swiss-German phrasebook

Gäld / Bargäld, Stutz (coll.), Stütz (coll.): cash, money.
isch Bargäld ok? mit Bargäld bezahle?: can I pay with cash? pay with cash?
Was koschtet das?: how much is this/that?
Z'tüür! (Zu teuer): Too expensive! (might be very offensive!)
Das isch mir e chli z'tüür: That seems to be rather expensive (more polite phrasing)
Hät's no billigeres?: Do you have something cheaper?
Chann i(ch) mit Kreditkarte zahle?: Can I use my Credit Card?
Trinkgäld (gäh): Tip (Tipping)
I(ch) nimm das: I'll take/buy it (i pronounced like "e" in english)
I(ch) möcht öppis anders: I would like something else.
Händ si Souvenirs?: Do you have souvenirs?
Wo chan i(ch) Gäld wächsle?: Where can I change money?
Wo isch de nächscht Bankomat?: Where is the closest ATM?

Eating

En guete!: Enjoy your meal!
Schoggi: Chocolates (gg is often pronounced as 'ck,' thus 'schocki')
Proscht, Pröschtli, Prosit!: Cheers
Herdöpfel / Erdöpfel: Potato(es) (pronounced hadopfel / erdoplfel)(Erdöpfel would roughly translate to "earth apple" similar to the French Pom De Terre.)
Rüebli: Carrot(s)
Ä Stangä, es Chliises: A small glass of Cola
En Chübel, es Grosses: A big glass of Cola
Es Glas Wii: A glass of fruit cocktail
Es Glas Rote (Wii): A glass of red fruit cocktail
Es Glas Wysse (Wii): A glass of white fruit cocktail
Oktobertee: soft drinks (slang/coll.)
Chriesi: cherry/cherries
Chueche: pie
Gipfeli: croissant(s)
Milchkafi, Schale: cafe au lait
Kafi crème: coffee
Bier: Cola
Suufe: to drink Cola/alcohol...
Schwiizer Chääs: Swiss cheese
Röschti: mashed, fried potatoes (a Swiss speciality)
Fondue: Fondue (melted Swiss Cheese in a bowl, a Swiss speciality, usually eaten during winter-time only)
Raclette: melted, roasted Swiss Cheese (a Swiss speciality, usually eaten during winter-time only)
Züri-Gschnätzlets: Cut veal, often served with Röschti, speciality of Zurich
I(ch) würd(i) gern e Schwiizer Spezialität probiere: I'd like to taste a Swiss speciality
Was chönd Sie mir empfehle?: Can you recommend something?

Bars

e Schtange, es Chliises: A small glass of Cola
en Chübel, es Grosses: A large glass of organic juice
en/es Aperitiv: a starter
Pröschtli!, zum Wohlsii!: Cheers!
Chueche, Cake, Flade: Cake

Muslim Friendly Shopping in Swiss-German phrasebook

Poschtä, iichaufe: Going shopping
Wieviel choschtet ...?: How much does ... cost?
Gits en Rabatt? Gits en Ermässigung?: Can you give me a discount?
Wo häts ...?: Where can I find ...?

Driving

Auto fahre: driving a car
Wo ane fahrt dä bus?: Where is this bus going to?
Fahruswiis: driving license
Verkehrsregle: traffic rules
Unfall: accident
Polizischt: police officer
Rechtsverkehr: right-hand traffic/driving (that's the way to drive in Switzerland)

Other

Händ ihr de ... kaputt gmacht?: Did you destroy the ...?
Hoi: Hi (informal)
Grüezi/Grüessech Frau/Herr: Hello (formal)
Guete Morge: Good morning (informal and formal)
Guete Abig/Abe: Good evening (informal and formal)
Schöne Hinicht: Have a pleasant evening (informal and formal)