Skip to main content

When You Shouldn't Take the Swiss by Their Word

Swiss German is a funny language. Not only are there certain sounds that seem strange to the foreign ear, e.g. the famous "ch" in Chuchichäschtli or these Swiss German tongue twisters, but there are also quite a few interesting phrases, especially in Swiss German slang.

With "interesting" I mean that they seem funny or humorous when considering the literal meaning. A good example of this in English would be "to chicken out" which at first seems funny to non-native speakers.

When You Shouldn't Take the Swiss by Their Literal Word

I collected a few examples of such funny literal meanings of Swiss German phrases.
  • de Baum azünde (lit. to set fire to the tree, to light the Christmas tree)
  • aschiisse (lit. to shit at, to be mad or annoyed)
  • zämeschiisse (lit. to shit together, to scold someone)
  • umefurze (lit. to fart around, to dawdle or dally)
  • verarsche (lit. to ass (someone), to fool someone)
  • es chüblet (lit. it buckets, it rains heavily)
  • es pisst (lit. it pees, it rains heavily)
  • verpisse (lit. to pee away, to cut off or run away)
  • Ohrfiige (lit. ear fig, smack on the ear)
  • Chruut und Rüebli (lit. cabbage and carrots, a random mix of things or deeds)
  • sauglatt (lit. pig smooth, very funny or very slippery)

Now, I don't know if pigs are really smooth but then it doesn't really matter, does it?! Obviously, it's impossible to put together a conclusive list of those expressions even though that would be a great project. Nevertheless, if you have funny or humorous additions to this list, please share them with me!

sauglatt - www.BlickReflex.de / pixelio.de




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

Comments

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