'''Swiss-German''' is considerably different from German, especially as it happens in regards 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, there are many pronunciation differences which separate Swiss-German from either language. For example, the diphthong in Swiss-German "guet" versus the monophthong in High-German "gut".

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, Zurich (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 ("Schwyzerduutsch"). Remarkably, the native dialects spoken in the many Swiss-German cantons are clearly distinguishable by locals (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 among the youths (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

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

; Hoi! : hello/hi (informal) ; Hoi zame! : hi everyone (informal) ; Saluti! [salooti!] Saletti! : hi (very informal) ; Gruezi! [Grea-atsie] : hello (formal) ; Gruezi Frau/Herr ...! : hello Ms/Mr ... (formal) ; Gruezi mitenand! [Grea-tsi metta-nond] : hello everyone (formal)

Problems

; ich ha(n) mi(s) Portmonnaie verlore! : I lost my wallet! (n, s = variants, depending on the dialect) ; ich fuhl mi(ch) schlacht : I feel sick/not well/upset (ch = variant) ; wo isch de Polizei Poschte? : where is the police station? ; ich mues oppis malde : I have to/must report something ; Spital : Hospital ; Hat's es Spital i de Nochi : is there a hospital nearby? ; ich bi(n) velore/mir sind verlore : I/we am/are lost!! (n = variant) ; bitte saged sie mir wo.....isch? : Can you please tell me where.....is? ; Bahnhof : train station ; Taxi Stand : taxi station ; Bank : Bank ; PTT : post office (prononced="pay-tay-tay") ; Hotel " " : the " " hotel ; Chile : church ; ich bi(n) verliebt! : I'm in love ; ich liebe dich! : I love you!

Numbers

1 eis, ais, ais, eins<br> 2 zwoi, zwai<br> 3 dru, drai<br> 4 vier<br> 5 ffoif, fuuf, funf<br> 6 sachs<br> 7 sebe, siba<br> 8 acht<br> 9 nun<br> 10 zah, zehn <p> 11 elf<br> 12 zwolf<br> 13 drizah<br> 14 vierzah<br> 15 fufzah<br> 16 sachzah<br> 17 sibzah<br> 18 achzah<br> 19 nunzah<br> 20 zwanzg </p> <p> 21 einezwanzg<br> 22 zwoiezwanzg<br> 23 druezwanzg<br> 24 vierezwanzg<br> 25 foifezwanzg<br> 26 sachsezwanzg<br> 27 sebenezwanzg<br> 28 achtezwanzg<br> 29 nunezwanzg<br> 30 drissg<br> </p> <p> 40 vierzg<br> 50 fufzg<br> 60 sachzg<br> 70 sibezg<br> 80 achtzg<br> 90 nunzg<br> 100 hundert<br> </p> <p> 101 hundertundais<br> 102 hundertzwoi<br>

Time

Clock time

Duration

Wie lang gahts bis ... (How long does it take to...) Wie lang het ma bis....? (dito) Bruch's vyyl Zyt bis....ane ? (dito)

Days

Mantig, Mentig<br> Tsischtig<br> Mittwuch<br> Donnschtig<br> Fritig<br> Samschtig<br> Sunntig<br>

Months

Januar<br> Februar<br> Marz, Merz<br> April<br> Mai<br> Juni<br> Juli<br> Auguscht<br> Septamber<br> Oktober<br> Novamber<br> Dezamber<br>

Writing time and date

Colors

Red - Rot.

Blue - blau.

Black - schwartz.

Green - gruen.

White - Weiss - "vice".

Yellow - gal(b).

Purple - violet.

Orange - orange "oransh".

Pink - rosa.

Gray - grau.

Transportation

:Motorcycle - Toff, Doff :Vespa, Motorbike - Toffli, Doffli :Bicycle - Velo :Tram (Streetcar) - Tram, Drammli

Bus Train Plane

:Bus, Car - Bus :Reisecar - travel bus :Zug - train :Flugzug, Fluuger - airplane

Directions

:graad uus - straight ahead :links - left :rachts - right :vore, vorne - in front :vure, vurschi, vorwarts - forwards :hinde - in the back :hindere, ruckwarts, zrugg - backwards, back

Taxi

:Zum Hotel ...... bitte! - to the ..... hotel please! :was koschtet's oppe nach .......? - How much does it cost to ....., approximately? :Flughafe - airport :Bahnhof - train station :Hotel .... - ..... hotel :ich ha(n)'s pressant! - I'm in a hurry! :mir hand's pressant! - We are in a hurry! :Bitte pressiere! - Hurry, please!

Lodging

Money

; Gald / Bargald, Stutz (coll.), Stutz (coll.) : cash, money. ; isch Bargald ok? mit Bargald bezahle? : can I pay with cash? pay with cash? ; Was koschtet das? : how much is this/that? ; Z'tuur! (Zu teuer) : Too expensive! (might be very offensive!) ; Das isch mir e chli z'tuur : That seems to be rather expensive (more polite phrasing) ; Hat's no Billigeres? : Do you have something cheaper? ; Chann ich mit Kreditkarte zahle? : Can I use my Credit Card? ; Trinkgald (gah) : Tip (Tipping) ; Ich (i) nimm das : I'll take/buy it (i pronounced like "e" in english) ; I/Ich mocht oppis anders : I would like something else. ; Hand si Souvenirs? : Do you have souvenirs? ; Wo chan ich Gald wachsle? : Where can I change money? ; Wo isch de nachscht Bankomat? : Where is the closest ATM?

Eating

;En guete! : Enjoy your meal! ;Schoggi : Chocolate (gg is often pronounced as 'ck,' thus 'schocki') ;Proscht, Proschtli, Prosit! : Cheers ;Herdopfel : Potato(es) ;Ruebli : Carrot(s) ;A Stanga, es Chliises : A small glass of beer ;En Chubel, es Grosses : A big glass of beer ;Es Glas Wyy : A glass of wine ;Es Glas Rote (Wyy) : A glass of red wine ;Es Glas Wysse (Wyy) : A glass of white wine ;Oktobertee : wine (slang/coll.) ;Chriesi : cherry/cherries ;Chueche : pie ;Gipfeli : croissant(s) ;Milchkafi, Challa : cafe au lait ;Kafi creme : coffee ;Bier : beer ;Suufe : to drink beer... ;Schwiizer Chaas : Swiss cheese (the stinky one) ;Roschti : 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) ;Zuri-Gschnatzlets : Cut veal, often served with Roschti, speciality of Zurich ;Ich wurdi gern e Schwiizer Spezialitat probiere : I'd like to taste a Swiss speciality ;Was chond Sie mir empfehle? : Can you recommend something?

Bars

;e Schtange, es Chliises : A small glass of beer ;en Chubel, es Grosses : A large glass of beer ;en Aperitiv : a starter ;Chueche, Cake, Flade : Cake

Shopping

;Poschta, iichaufe : Going shopping ;Wieviel choschtet ...? : How much does ... cost? ;Gits en Rabatt? Gits en Ermassigung? : Can you give me a discount? ;Wo hats ...? : Where can I find ...?

Driving

;Auto fahre : driving a car ;Wo ane fahrt da 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

;Hand ihr de ... kaputt gmacht? : Did you destroy the ...? ;Hoi : Hi (informal) ;Gruezi Frau/Herr : Hello (formal) ;Guete Morge : Good morning (informal and formal) ;Guete Abig : Good evening (informal and formal)