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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.
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📖 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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← Standard German dictionary
beer
noun food
Zürich Bier
Bern Bier
Basel Bier
EnglishA beer, please.
Zürich GermanÄ Bier, bitte.
bread
noun food
Zürich Brot
Bern Brot
Basel Brot
EnglishA loaf of bread, please.
Zürich GermanEs Brot, bitte.
breakfast
noun food
Zürich Zmorge
Bern Zmorge
Basel Zmorge
EnglishWhat do you usually have for breakfast?
Zürich GermanWas isch z'Zmorge?
💡 No obvious resemblance to Standard German "Frühstück" — one of the words that catches confident Standard German speakers off guard.
cheese
noun food
Zürich Chäs
Bern Chäs
Basel Chees
EnglishSwiss cheese is excellent.
Zürich GermanSchwiizer Chäs isch ausgezeichnet.
chocolate
noun food
Zürich Schoggi
Bern Schoggi
Basel Schoggi
EnglishSwiss chocolate is famous worldwide.
Zürich GermanSchwiizer Schoggi isch wältberühmt.
💡 One of the most universally recognised Swiss German words, even by non-speakers.
coffee
noun food
Zürich Kafi
Bern Kafi
Basel Kafi
EnglishA coffee, please.
Zürich GermanÄ Kafi, bitte.
croissant
noun food
Zürich Gipfeli
Bern Gipfeli
Basel Gipfeli
EnglishA croissant and a coffee, please.
Zürich GermanÄ Gipfeli und ä Kafi, bitte.
💡 A specifically Swiss take on the French pastry name.
dinner
noun food
Zürich Znacht
Bern Znacht
Basel Znacht
EnglishDinner is ready.
Zürich GermanZNacht isch parat.
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.
lunch
noun food
Zürich Zmittag
Bern Zmittag
Basel Zmittag
EnglishWhat's for lunch?
Zürich GermanWas git's zMittag?
milk
noun food
Zürich Milch
Bern Milch
Basel Milch
EnglishDo you have milk?
Zürich GermanHesch Milch?
the bill
noun food
Zürich d'Rächnung
Bern d'Rächnig
Basel d'Rechnung
EnglishThe bill, please.
Zürich GermanD'Rächnung, bitte.
thirsty
phrase food
Zürich Durscht ha
Bern Durscht ha
Basel Durscht haa
EnglishI'm thirsty.
Zürich GermanIch han Durscht.
💡 Literally "to have thirst".
water
noun food
Zürich Wasser
Bern Wasser
Basel Wasser
EnglishCan I have some water?
Zürich GermanChan ich Wasser ha?
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