There are four official languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian, and Romansch (Rhaeto-Romanic). They are spoken in four different regions of the country with German being the predominant language spoken in Switzerland. Although standard German is the official language taught in schools, the Swiss have their own variation of the language known as Swiss German. It is the spoken everyday language of all social levels throughout Switzerland. 
Swiss German is not a written language and all German-speaking Swiss educated in modern day schools are also able to speak standard German. Nevertheless it is useful to learn a few Swiss German words before visiting Switzerland. The Swiss German dialects can vary depending on what region of Switzerland you may be in, but we have put together some common phrases that canbe used throughout the German speaking area of Switzerland. If you want to join Alpenwild on one of our guided tours, you can impress the locals by using a few common Swiss German words.
| English | Swiss German | Standard German |
| Hello | Grüezi | Guten Tag |
| Hello (to more than one person) | Grüezi mitenand | Guten Tag |
| Good morning | Guete Morge | Guten Morgen |
| Good evening | Gueten abig | Guten Abend |
| Goodbye | Uf Widerluege / Ciao | Auf Wiedersehen/Tschüss |
| Excuse me | Entschuldigung / Exgüüsi | entschuldigen Sie mich |
| Thank you | Merci, Merci vilmal, Dangge | Danke, Vielen Dank |
| Yeah, right | Äbä, genau | Eben, ja |
| Where’s the toilet? | Wo isch d'Toilette? | wo ist die Toilette |
| Breakfast | Z’Morge | Frühstück |
| Lunch | Z’Mittag | Mittagessen |
| Dinner | Z’Nacht | Abendessen |
| Chocolate | Schoggi | Scholkolade |
| Train Station | Bahnhof | Bahnhof |
| Train | Zug | Bahn |
Swiss German pronunciation guide: Vowels (Doubled vowels are pronounced longer than single ones.)
- ä- as in bear or in paid
- a- as in master or far
- e- as inend or pen
- i- as ineel or machine
- ö - eu as in fleur
- u -as in boot
- ü- eu as in fleur, with rounded lips
Diphthongs -- (two different vowels next to each other in the same syllable) are pronounced with emphasis on the first vowel.
- äi,ou,ie,ue,üeare pronounced as written.
- euis pronounced likeä+u
- öiis somewhere betweeno+iandö+i
Consonants (Like with vowels, double consonants are pronounced longer.)
- b,d,f,g,h,l,m,n,ng,s: same as in English
- ch- as in loch
- d - t as in pat when in final position
- gg- as in scale
- j- as inyet
- k- likegg+ch
- p- as in spit (not as inpit)
- sch- as in cash or sheep
- st,sp- usuallyscht,schp
- t- as in stack (not as intack)
- v- same asf
- w- as invane
- z - ts as in cats
