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📕 Swiss German Dictionary

English → Swiss German Dictionary

Search 218+ words with Zürich, Bern and Basel spelling variants, plus example sentences.

⚠️ Swiss German has no official written spelling standard. The Zürich, Bern and Basel columns below show common phonetic spellings for each region — you may see these words spelled differently elsewhere, and that's normal. See our dialects guide for more on regional variation.
📖 218 words 📝 106 nouns ✎️ 25 verbs
Category
All time 37 society 23 verbs 21 grammar 19 travel 17 adjectives 16 food 14 family 13 home 12 shopping 11 greetings 9 people 8 weather 8 work 8 opinions 2
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
← Standard German dictionary
forty
noun time
Zürich vierzg
Bern vierzg
Basel vierzg
EnglishForty francs.
Zürich GermanVierzg Franke.
francs (currency)
noun shopping
Zürich Franke
Bern Franke
Basel Franke
EnglishThat costs three francs fifty.
Zürich GermanDas choschtet drü Franke fünfzg.
💡 Switzerland's currency — comes up constantly in everyday shopping conversation.
Friday
noun time
Zürich Friitig
Bern Fritig
Basel Friitig
EnglishFriday night plans?
Zürich GermanPlän für Friitig Abig?
friend (female)
noun family
Zürich Kollegin
Bern Kollegin
Basel Kollegin
EnglishShe's my best friend.
Zürich GermanSi isch mini beschti Kollegin.
friend (male)
noun family
Zürich Kollege
Bern Kollege
Basel Kollege
EnglishHe's a good friend.
Zürich GermanÄr isch en guete Kollege.
girl
noun people
Zürich Meitli
Bern Modi
Basel Maitli
EnglishThe girl is reading.
Zürich Germans'Meitli list.
good
adjective adjectives
Zürich guet
Bern guet
Basel guet
EnglishThat tastes good.
Zürich GermanDas schmöckt guet.
good evening
phrase greetings
Zürich Guete Abig
Bern Guete Abig
Basel Guete Abig
EnglishGood evening, would you like a coffee?
Zürich GermanGuete Abig, wötsch ä Kafi?
good morning
phrase greetings
Zürich Guete Morge
Bern Guete Morge
Basel Guete Morge
EnglishGood morning, everyone.
Zürich GermanGuete Morge zäme.
goodbye (formal)
phrase greetings
Zürich Adieu
Bern Adieu
Basel Adieu
EnglishGoodbye, have a nice day.
Zürich GermanAdieu, schöne Tag noch.
💡 Borrowed from French — more formal than Tschau.
grandfather
noun family
Zürich Grossvater
Bern Grossvatter
Basel Grossvatter
EnglishGrandfather tells great stories.
Zürich GermanDr Grossvater erzellt gueti Gschichte.
grandmother
noun family
Zürich Grossmueter
Bern Grossmueter
Basel Grossmueter
EnglishWe're visiting grandmother on Sunday.
Zürich GermanMer besueche d'Grossmueter am Sunntig.
💡 Often shortened informally; see 'Omi'.
grandmother (informal)
noun family
Zürich Omi
Bern Grosi
Basel Omi
EnglishOmi makes the best Rösti.
Zürich GermanD'Omi macht dr beschti Rösti.
💡 Casual/affectionate term, varies more by family than region.
happy
adjective adjectives
Zürich froh
Bern froh
Basel froh
EnglishI'm happy to be here.
Zürich GermanIch bi froh da z'si.
hello (formal)
phrase greetings
Zürich Grüezi
Bern Grüezi
Basel Grüezi
EnglishHello, how are you?
Zürich GermanGrüezi, wie gaht's?
💡 The safe, polite default greeting almost everywhere in German-speaking Switzerland.
here
adverb grammar
Zürich da / hie
Bern hie
Basel do
EnglishI'm here.
Zürich GermanIch bi da.
hi (informal)
phrase greetings
Zürich Hoi
Bern Hoi
Basel Hoi
EnglishHi, nice to see you.
Zürich GermanHoi, schön dich z'gseh.
💡 Casual greeting for friends and peers — using it with strangers can feel overly familiar.
hospital
noun society
Zürich Spital
Bern Spital
Basel Spital
EnglishWhere is the hospital?
Zürich GermanWo isch s'Spital?
house
noun home
Zürich Huus
Bern Huus
Basel Huus
EnglishThat's a nice house.
Zürich GermanDas isch en schöne Huus.
how are you
phrase greetings
Zürich wie gaht's
Bern wie geit's
Basel wie goht's
EnglishHow's it going?
Zürich GermanWie gaht's?
how much does it cost
phrase shopping
Zürich was choschtet das
Bern was choschtets
Basel was koschtet das
EnglishHow much does that cost?
Zürich GermanWas choschtet das?
how's the family?
phrase society
Zürich wie gahts dr Familie
Bern wie geits dr Familie
Basel wie goots dr Familie
EnglishHow's the family doing?
Zürich GermanWie gahts dr Familie?
hundred
noun time
Zürich hundert
Bern hundert
Basel hundert
EnglishA hundred francs.
Zürich GermanEs hundert Franke.
hungry
phrase food
Zürich Hunger ha
Bern Hunger ha
Basel Hunger haa
EnglishI'm hungry.
Zürich GermanIch han Hunger.
💡 Literally "to have hunger", a phrase rather than a single adjective.
husband / wife
noun family
Zürich Maa / Frau
Bern Maa / Frau
Basel Maa / Frau
EnglishMy husband is German.
Zürich GermanMin Maa isch Dütsche.
I don't understand
phrase society
Zürich ich verstah nid
Bern ich verstaa nid
Basel ich verstand nit
EnglishI don't understand, sorry.
Zürich GermanIch verstah nid, sorry.
I need help
phrase society
Zürich ich bruuche Hilf
Bern ich bruuche Hilf
Basel ich bruuch Hilf
EnglishI need help.
Zürich GermanIch bruuche Hilf.
I think so
phrase society
Zürich ich glaub scho
Bern ich glaub scho
Basel ich glaub scho
EnglishI think so, yes.
Zürich GermanIch glaub scho, ja.
I'm Australian
phrase society
Zürich ich bi Australier
Bern ich bi Australier
Basel ich bi Australier
EnglishI'm Australian, visiting Switzerland.
Zürich GermanIch bi Australier, bi z'Bsuech i dr Schwiiz.
i'm currently learning swiss german
phrase society
Zürich ich lern grad Schwiizerdütsch
Bern ich lern grad Schwiizertütsch
Basel ich lern grad Schwyzerdytsch
EnglishI'm currently learning Swiss German.
Zürich GermanIch lern grad Schwiizerdütsch.
💡 Telling a Swiss German speaker this directly almost always gets a warm, encouraging reaction.
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