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How to Say "World" in Swiss German


Earth - S. Hofschlaeger  / pixelio.de


More than ten years ago, I put together a small phrase list of Swiss German words and expressions that relate to holidays and traveling in general. There, you can find the Swiss German words for 'breakfast buffet', 'beach' or 'travel agency'. What you won't find, however, are the names of places and countries on our beautiful earth. 

Swiss German Place Names

Now, you need to understand that although people in Switzerland speak Swiss German in day to day life (or French or Italian if they don't live in the German speaking part of Switzerland), most written text will be in German (what we call High German or Standard German). The most notable exception would be personal messages, especially on apps like whatsapp or on social media. 

This means, the official names of places and regions in Switzerland are always in German. Nevertheless, we of course have a Swiss German equivalent for all of them that we use in speech. For example, in German the city of Zurich is written 'Zürich' but in Swiss German we say 'Züri'. And the city of St. Gallen we simply call 'Sangalle'. 

The Regions of the World in Swiss German

If we look at the world as a whole, the same principle applies. Here the names are usually recognizable in most language - certainly if they are germanic or romance languages. 'Africa' is similar in French, Italian, German, Dutch and possibly even more languages. Let's have a look how they SOUND in Swiss German then.

Wält (World)
Nordamerika (North America)
Südamerika (South America)
Afrika (Africa)
Oyropa (Europe, 'eu' is pronounced 'oy' in German and Swiss German)
Asie (Asia)
Ozeanie (Oceania)

(Some) Countries of the World in Swiss German

This list cannot and isn't meant to be complete but it gives you an idea about how we say different countries in Swiss German. It is ordered alphabetically to help find a specific country. I'm using this list of 50 most visited countries of the world for guidance. As you can see, most countries that in English end on '-ia' or '-ium' will end on '-ie' which is pronounced '-ee-eh' in Swiss German.

Ägypte (Egypt, pronounced 'Ägüpte')
Ängland (England)
Amerika (United States)
Argentinie (Argentina)
Auschtralie (Australia)
Belgie (Belgium)
Brasilie (Brazil)
Chile (Chile, pronounced 'Chee-leh')
China (China, pronounced '[x]ina')
Costa Rica (Costa Rica)
Dänemark (Denmark)
Dütschland (Germany)
Filippine (Phillipines)
Frankriich (France)
Griecheland (Greece, pronounced 'Gree-eh-[x]eh-lahnd')
Holland (Netherlands)
Indie (India)
Indonesie (Indonesia)
Irland (Ireland)
Israel (Israel)
Italie (Italy, pronounced 'Itali-e')
Japan (Japan, pronounced 'Yah-pahn')
Jordanie (Jordan, pronounced 'Yor-danee-eh')
Kanada (Canada)
Kolumbie (Colombia)
Kroatie (Croatia, pronounced 'Kroh-atsi-eh')
Maroko (Morocco, pronounced 'Mah-roggo')
Mexiko (Mexiko, pronounced 'Meksiko')
Nepal (Nepal)
Neuseeland (New Zealand, pronounced 'Noy-seh-land')
Öschtriich (Austria)
Peru (Peru)
Polen (Poland)
Portugal (Portugal)
Russland (Russia, pronounced 'Rooss-lahnd')
Schottland (Scotland)
Schpanie (Spain)
Schwiiz (Switzerland, pronounced 'Shweets')
Singapur (Singapore)
Südafrika (South Africa)
Südkorea (South Korea)
Thailand (Thailand)
Türkei (Turkey, pronounced 'Tür-kay')
Ungarn (Hungary)
Vietnam (Vietnam, pronounced 'Wee-at-nahm')


© 2025 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Comments

  1. RobinMarch 24, 2026 at 1:08 PM

    Hello Irene, thank you for your blog about Switzerland. Since I've created the platform suisseallemande.ch which aims to help the french-speaking people in their integration in the swiss-german part of Switzerland, I thought it would be interesting to exchange. Could you contact me via suisseallemande.ch ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. nbtourismJune 9, 2026 at 1:22 PM

    Really enjoyed this language guide. It’s fascinating to see how Swiss German place and country names differ from standard German while still feeling familiar. Learning local expressions always adds a deeper connection to travel experiences and helps travelers engage more meaningfully with local culture. Thanks for sharing such an informative and easy-to-follow post!

    ReplyDelete
  3. nbtourismJune 15, 2026 at 8:48 AM

    This was a fascinating read. It’s always interesting to see how place names change in everyday spoken language compared to their official written forms. The examples made Swiss German feel much more approachable, and I especially enjoyed learning the local pronunciations for different countries. Thanks for putting together such a clear and enjoyable guide.

    ReplyDelete

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