Skip to main content

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

Comments

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like

Panache, a Swiss Mixed Beer

Next to our daily coffee fix , we Swiss really enjoy our ' Feierabendbier '. This literally means 'quitting time beer' and refers to a beer drunk in the after-work hours. Maybe we're not quite like the Irish who are said to go straight to the pub after work but many of us still like to enjoy a good cold beer when we get home. Much like with coffee , where people usually like it either strong or not, there are Swiss people who don't like their beers to be strong. Especially so after a long day of work. This is when we usually opt for a typical Swiss mixed beer called ' Panache '. Panache Beer - KFM  / pixelio.de Mixed beers or beer drinks are a great alternative to 'real' beers. I'm not talking about pre-mixed beer that is sold in supermarkets. Those suck! Good mixed beer is made on the spot with beer and a soft drink, syrup, liquor or other interesting ingredients. The most famous of all Swiss mixed beers is the Panache, pronounce