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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 you very much" and it was understood as an expression of love. We still use this expression but have also adopted the German one. Nowadays, younger people may even say "I love you" in English - just because it's a cool thing to do.

How to Say "I Love you" in Swiss German

There are slight variations of "I love you" in Swiss German - depending on the region and dialect. Here are the most common versions:

Ich lieb dich (Zurich)
Ech lieb dech (Aargau)
I lieb di (St. Gallen)
Ee liebe di (Berne)
I liab di (Grisons)
I liäbe di (Basel)

If you want to be truly Swiss, you should use "I like you" and say:

Ich han dich gern (I like you)
Ich han dich fescht gern (I like you very much)
Ich han dich ganz fescht gern (I like you ver very much)

Other phrases you could use to express your affection include:

Du gsehsch hübsch uus (you look nice)
Du bisch mega schön (you are beautiful)
Ich bin gern bi dir (I like to be with you)
Danke für d'Iiladig (thanks for the invitation)
Danke, dass du bi mir bisch (thanks for being with me)
Es isch schön mit dir zämezsii (it's nice to be with you)
Du bisch super (you are great)
Du bisch wunderbar (you are awesome)
Love - Oliver Thaler  / pixelio.de





© 2016 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Comments

  1. hoot hootFebruary 17, 2021 at 12:23 AM

    Hello! What does the "han" in "Ich han dich gern" mean, please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Irene WyrschFebruary 18, 2021 at 11:25 PM

      Generally, "han" means "have". The phrase you mention would best be translated "I have you dear" which of course means "I like you". Hope that helps!

      Delete
    2. hoot hootFebruary 19, 2021 at 2:33 AM

      Oh that's so beautiful!
      Vielen danke :)

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 24, 2024 at 2:28 PM

    The Swiss way of saying I love you is “wotsch en Kaffi” 😂

    ReplyDelete

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