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Swiss German Tongue Twisters

Swiss German can be a funny language. The most famous Swiss word 'Chuchichäschtli'  (phonetic: [ˈχʊχːiˌχæʃːtli] ) is a good example for a uniquely Swiss word. It even has its very own Wikipedia article! Thousands of foreigners have tried themselves at saying 'little kitchen cupboard' in Swiss German and many have failed to say it correctly.

Also the famous diminutive suffix '-li' is a well known character of Swiss German: Guetzli, Blüemli, Zügli and Chätzli are just a few examples. In fact, the '-li' is so famous that it made it into a German Rivella commercial a few years ago. I imagine some of these Swiss German words must sound quite funny to foreign ears.

Funny sounding Swiss German tongue twisters

There are also quite a few funny Swiss German phrases in various Swiss dialects. The more advanced speakers of Swiss German or those who are not afraid of a linguistic challenge can test their Swiss German skills with the following Swiss German tongue twisters:
  • De Pabscht hät z'Spiez s'Späck-Bschteck zspot bschtellt. (The pope ordered the bacon cutlery in Spiez too late)
  • Eusi Lüti lütat lütar weder Lütis Lüti lütät. (Our bell sounds louder than the bell of the Lüti family)
  • Hinder Hanses-Heiris Huus hani hundert Hase ghöre hueschte. ( I heard a hundred rabbits cough behind the house of Hans-Heiri)
  • Morn muess i mis Muneli metzge mit mim Metzgermesser. (Tomorrow I have to slaughter my cow with my butchers knife)
  • Under de alte Rhybrugg lieht e raui Rehläbere. (Under the old rhine bridge lies a raw deer liver)
  • Blitzt's zmitzt in Züri? (Is there lightening in the middle of Zurich?)
  • Us drü hohle lääre Röhrli lernt mer richtig rede. (You learn to talk correctly from three empty and hollow pipes)
For more words and phrases in Swiss German consult the Swiss German dictionary. A funny musical version of the story of the pope ordering cutlery in Spiez can be found on youtube.

Funny Swiss German Phrases - Rike  / pixelio.de

© 2012 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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  1. HermineNovember 20, 2012 at 2:14 AM

    Wow, I speak almost fluent German (it was my first language) and these are hard for me! With the Swiss dialect these sound a little bit more lilting than regular German and I must say the translations of these phrases are priceless; "Tomorrow I have to slaughter my cow with my butchers knife"... Oh dear.

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