Grammar
What makes Zurich German hard to follow for somebody who already reads German — first the things a sentence fails on outright, then the things you will understand but would never say yourself.
The sentence does not survive these
Without them the listening does not start. You wait for a form that never comes, or read a word as something else entirely — and the rest of the sentence is gone.
No simple past
Spoken Zurich German has no preterite at all: everything past is said with the perfect.
Ich bi geschter hei gange.
Ich ging gestern nach Hause.wo instead of der, die, das
Relative clauses almost always start with wo, unchanging, whatever the gender or case.
De Maa, wo dört staht.
Der Mann, der dort steht.One verb form for the whole plural
We, you and they all take the same form of the verb: «mir händ», «ihr händ», «si händ».
Mir händ, ihr händ, si händ.
Wir haben, ihr habt, sie haben.Possession the other way round
There is no genitive: possession is built from the dative plus a possessive, or with vo.
Em Peter sis Auto.
Peters Auto.Question words — and the trap among them
wänn, wo, was, wie, weer. Most are recognisable; one is not.
Wänn chunt d Abfuhr?
Wann kommt die Abfuhr?en, e, es — the indefinite article
«en» with a masculine word, «e» with a feminine one, «es» with a neuter one.
Bruuched Sie es Säckli?
Brauchen Sie ein Tütchen?hett, wär, chönnt — the subjunctive is alive
Wishes, polite requests and anything hypothetical use the subjunctive: hett (would have), wär (would be), chönnt (could), sött (should), wett (would like, wanted) — or würd plus the infinitive. You will often hear them with -i as well: hetti, wäri.
Ich hett gern es Kafi.
Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee.en, em, ere — pronouns that look like articles
Unstressed pronouns shrink: ihn → en, ihm → em, dative ihr → ere, es → s. They lean on the verb before them: «Ich han en gsee», «Säg em», «Wie gaht s ere?».
Ich han en geschter gsee.
Ich habe ihn gestern gesehen.gsi, gha, cho — participles with barely a ge-
ge- becomes g-: gmacht, gseit, gsi (gewesen, been), gha (gehabt, had). Before k/ch, p, t and g it disappears: cho (gekommen), kauft (gekauft), trunke (getrunken), gange (gegangen).
Ich ha kei Ziit gha.
Ich hatte keine Zeit.cha, mues, wott — the modal verbs
Short, and ich and er share one form, as in German: ich cha, du chasch, er cha, mir chönd (können) · ich mues, du muesch, mir müend (müssen) · ich wott, du wotsch, mir wänd (wollen) · ich darf, mir dörfed (dürfen) · ich söll, mir sölled (sollen). One plural form serves mir, ihr and si. In the past the modal stays an infinitive: «Ich ha nöd chönne cho».
Ich cha hüt nöd cho.
Ich kann heute nicht kommen.am vieri, halbi drüü — telling the time
«am» means «at», «ab» means «past»: am viertel ab achti = at quarter past eight. The full hour usually takes an -i: am vieri, am achti, am zwölfi. «Halbi drüü» is half past two, 2:30 — counted towards three, as in German.
Mir träffed eus am halbi drüü.
Wir treffen uns um halb drei.
You follow these — you would never say them
These give you no trouble when listening. Never using them yourself is what keeps somebody sounding like Standard German with Zurich words in it.
de, d, s — that is the whole set
Three articles and no others: «de» for masculine, «d» for feminine, «s» for neuter. «der», «die» and «das» do not occur.
De Maa, d Frau, s Huus.
Der Mann, die Frau, das Haus.Commands and requests: the polite form ends in -ed
With du it is the bare stem: «Chumm». With Sie it takes -ed: «Chömed Sie».
Chömed Sie doch ine.
Kommen Sie doch herein.-li: the diminutive — and words that simply are that way
-li goes on the noun, the vowel takes an umlaut where it can, and the word is always neuter: s Huus → s Hüüsli, s Brot → s Brötli, d Chatz → s Chätzli. The plural does not change: zwei Brötli. It means small, or makes something more familiar — like German -chen, only far more often.
D Chatz hät es Chätzli.
Die Katze hat ein Kätzchen.«am» plus the verb — in the middle of it
What is happening right now is said as «bi/isch/sind am» plus the plain verb: «Ich bi am schaffe».
Ich bi am schaffe.
Ich arbeite gerade.«go» and «cho» before the second verb
Going somewhere to do something puts a «go» in front of it, coming puts a «cho»: «Ich gang go poschte».
Ich gang go poschte.
Ich gehe einkaufen.«gäll», «halt», «äbe» — where the speaker stands
These small words change no fact, only the position behind it: «gäll» asks you to agree, «halt» means nothing can be done, «äbe» says that is exactly the point.
Das isch halt so.
Das ist eben so, da kann man nichts machen.isch gange, hät gmacht — which auxiliary
The past is always auxiliary plus participle, and the auxiliary is si or ha. Movement and change take si: isch gange, isch cho, isch gfahre, isch worde. So do sitting and standing — isch ghocket, isch gstande — where German in Germany says «hat gesessen». Nearly everything else takes ha: hät gmacht, hät gseit, hät gschlafe.
Ich bi im Tram ghocket.
Ich bin im Tram gesessen.chönne cho — the final verbs the other way round
When several verbs stack up at the end, the auxiliary or modal comes first and the verb carrying the meaning comes last: «Ich ha nöd chönne cho», where German says «… kommen können». The same in a subordinate clause: «…, dass si hät müesse schaffe».
Ich ha nöd chönne cho.
Ich habe nicht kommen können.ine, use, ufe, abe — no hin or her
Direction words end in -e: ine (in), use (out), ufe (up), abe (down), ume (over, around). One word serves both directions.
Chömed Sie ine!
Kommen Sie herein!de Peter, d Anna — the article before a name
First names almost always take an article: de Peter, d Anna, em Luca (to Luca). It is the normal, neutral form.
Das isch d Anna.
Das ist Anna.