What Are the Differences between Standard German and Swiss German?

Are you planning to learn German or live in either Germany or Switzerland, but are not sure of which kind of German dialect to learn?

This all depends on where you want to live as Standard German is spoken in Germany and Swiss German is spoken in Switzerland, but what are the differences?

What Is Swiss German?

First, let's begin with what Swiss German is. The term Swiss German goes by different names and is also written differently, depending on who and where. It is part of four official languages in Switzerland, alongside, French, Italian, and Romansh.

Swiss German isn’t a way to describe one language but rather it is a collective term for all Alemannic dialects that are spoken.

Spelling and Pronunciation

There are many differences between Standard and Swiss German when it comes to spelling and pronunciation. In Swiss German, they tend to shorten their words and sounds, like “lut” (Standard German “laut”) Loud in English, or “Hüt” (Standard German “Heute”) meaning Today in English.

Swiss German has longer constants and harder pronunciations than Standard German - “Choch” (Standard German “Koch”) meaning cook and “chaufe” (Standard German “Kaufen”) or “to buy” in English.

Another great example of this is “fast” meaning “almost” becomes “fascht” in Swiss German.

Interestingly enough the ß (“ss” - sharp s) is not used in Swiss German as it is in Standard, instead of “Straße” it will become “Strasse” in Swiss German.

Grammar Usages

There are a few grammatical differences between both Swiss and Standard German.

In Verb tenses, which can be complicated in Standard German, Swiss German makes it easier. As there are only 2 verb tenses in Swiss German, while in Standard German there are 6 different verb tenses.

There are many occasions where the gender of a noun changes in Swiss German from Standard German. For example “das E-mail” (the e-mail) becomes “die E-mail” in Swiss German.

Vocabulary

With influence from both Italian and French as well as the Swiss dialect, many words in Swiss German are different from those you find in a Standard or High German vocabulary.

Instead of “danke” (thank you), Swiss German tends to use the French word “merci” as a way to say “thank you”, or “Merci Vimal” for thanks a lot.

Other differences in vocabulary are, “Kartoffel” (Potato) in Swiss German “Herdöpfel”, “Schokolade” (Chocolate) becomes “Schoggi”. The same goes for “Personalausweis” (ID or Identity Card) “Identiötskarte”, Karotte (Carrot) “Rüebli”, and so on.

Colloquialism and Idioms

There are many different words and idioms in Swiss German that you may not come across in Standard German, like this tongue twister “Chuchichäschtli” (meaning kitchen cupboard) or words to describe the weather “Bise” cold winds and “Föhn” for warm breeze (also the word for a hairdryer).

Greetings in Swiss German are “Grüezi” which comes from the Swiss “Gott grüez-i” (may good greet you). This is a one-of-a-kind word that Swiss German has.

Instead of “Prost!” in Standard German when you are out having a drink with your friends, Swiss German says either “Proscht” or “Pröschtli”

There are many idioms and ways to express something in Swiss German, and these may be different from those in Standard German.

Conclusion

There are many differences that you will come across if you are learning either Standard or Swiss German. A lot of native German speakers get intimidated and feel like a foreigner when they come across Swiss German, so don’t worry! It may take some time to get used to the more you surround yourself with it.

It is often said to learn Standard German as it is the basis for learning Swiss German, but this is entirely up to you.