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A

A

a,  indef. art.,

ein, eine, a; a Chue, a Bärg, as Hus; for m. and f. nouns the liaison is n: anElefant, anOrgele, for n. nouns it is s: asEi

 

aabändele, v.t.,

anzetteln, verleiten, to seduce, to entice, to plot

 

Aabee,  m.,

Abort, m., toilet

 

aabröötle,  v.t.,

bräunen, to pan-sear; s Fleisch aabröötle, das Fleisch bräunen, to pan-sear the meat

 

aacho,  v.t.,

befallen, to be stricken; eim Öppis aacho, einen etwas befallen, to be stricken with something; eim sSchtärbenaacho, sterben wollen, to be on one's deathbed; also berühren, to touch (inadvertantly); other meanings are as in German

 

aadräie,  v.t.,

andrehen, einschalten, to turn on, to switch on (gas, water, electricity, the TV); also aaträie; the opposite is abdräie, q.v.

 

aafoh,  v.t., v.i.,

anfangen, to begin; was söui drmit aafoh? was soll ich damit? what am I to do with it?; föhmr aa? wollen wir beginnen? shall we start? 

​

aafüüre, v.t

  1. anzünden, anheizen, to light a fire

  2. anspornen, antreiben, anfeuern, to cheer on;

see also Füür

 

aagä,  v.t., v.i.,

1. v.t., angeben, to indicate, to declare, to state

2. v.i., prahlen, großtun, to boast, to show off, to swagger

3. v.t., antreiben, to propel

The third meaning is Swiss: gib mr aa! treib mich an! give me a push! (for instance on a swing)

 

aaha,  v.t.,

tragen (Kleider), to wear; i ha dr Mantu aagha, ich trug meinen Mantel, I was wearing my coat; vergl. German anhaben

 

aahocke, v.i.,

anbacken, to cake, to stick to the pan

 

aalänge,  v.t.,

berühren, to touch; läng nüüt aa, rühr nichts an, don't touch anything

 

aalegge,  v.t., v.r.,

v.t. anziehen (Kleider), anlegen (Geld), to put on (clothes), to invest (money); i ha dr Huet aagleit, ich setzte meinen Hut auf, I put on my hat; sich aalegge, v.r., sich anziehen, to dress

 

aaloh,  v.t.,

anlassen, anspringen, starten, to start, to declench, to turn on; as for example a motor

 

aaluege,  v.t.,

ansehen, betrachten, to look at, to ogle; öpper aaluege, jemanden ansehen, to look at somebody; öppis aaluege, etwas betrachten, to check something out; lueg mi nid so aa, schau mich nicht so an, don't look at me like that; see also luege

 

aalüte,  v.t.,

anrufen, to phone, to ring up

 

aamächelig,  adj.,

verlockend, appetitlich, tempting, enticing, appetizing

 

aapfurre,  v.t.,

anherrschen, tadeln; to rebuke, to scold, to tell off

 

aarämple, v.t,

ausschelten, tadeln, zurechtweisen, to chide, to rebuke, to upbraid; see also rämple

​

Aargöi, n.,

der Kanton Aargau, the canton Aargau; wie im alten Liedli; as in the sad old song: “im Aargöi si zwöi Liebi”. Conventional spelling Aargäu. Modern spelling Aargau. Dialect version Aargou.

 

aaschloo, v.t.,

anstoßen, zusammenstoßen, to knock against, to bump; hesch dr Chopf aagschlage? hast du den Kopf angestoßen, did you bump your head

 

Aaschnitt,  m.,

Anschnitt, m., first slice (of bread, roast, etc.), heel

 

ab,  adv.,

weg, davon, off, away; partly identical with the German meanings, such as ab und zue, ab und zu, now and then; Huet ab! Hut ab!, I take my hat off; ab hüt, ab heute, from today on; dr Chnopf isch ab, der Knopf ist weg, the button is missing; in addition it has the meaning of escaped, entwischt; sRoss isch ab, das Pferd ist entwischt, the horse escaped

 

ab,  prep.,

nach, after, past; zwänzg ab achti, twenty past eight; a Zwänzgabachtischnörre, f., is a sad face of the same outline as clock-hands at 08:20

​

Äbbeeri,  n.,

Erdbeere, f., strawberry; Äbbeeritörtli, n., Erdbeertörtchen, strawberry-tart

 

Äbberischturm,  m.,

Erbeercreme, f., Erdbeeren in Rahm und Haferflocken, strawberry custard, strawberries in cream, with oats

 

abdräie,  v.t.,

ausschalten, abdrehen, to turn off, to switch off( for example the radio); the opposite is aadräie, q.v.

 

abe,  adv.,

hinunter, herunter, down, downward; (the Austrians also have curious words for this, ahi and uhi, for abe and ufe)

 

abegheie,  v.i.,

herunterfallen, abstürzen, to fall, to crash; s'isch scho wider es Flugzüg abegheit; es ist schon wieder ein Flugzeug abgestürzt, yet another plane crashed; also v.t., hinunterstoßen, to push down; see gheie

 

abehaude,  v.i.,

schief liegen, abhängig liegen, to slope, to slant; from German Halde, f., slope

 

abelire,  v.t.,

aufzählen, to reel off; see lire

 

abeloh, v.t.,

fallen lassen, herunterlassen, to drop, to let drop; see also lisme

 

abemache, v.t.,

verunglimpfen, in Verruf bringen, to disparage, to bring into discredit

 

abenandgheie,  v.t.,

zerfallen, in Stücke fallen, to disintegrate, to fall apart; also abenandergheie; see gheie

 

abhänke,  

abhängen, to take off the hook, to uncouple; fig. zurück lassen, to leave behind

​

abhööggle, v.t.,

abhaken, to tick off (from a list)

 

abläschele,  v.t.,

erschmeicheln, v.t., to obtain by flattery, to wheedle

 

ablige,  v.i.,

sich hinlegen, to lie down; also abligge; I mues go ablige, ich muß mich hinlegen, I have to go and lie down; vergl. German abliegen, which has a different meaning

 

ablire,  v.t.,

abhaspeln, aufdröseln, to unreel, to unwind; see lire

 

abloh, v.t.,

entwischen lassen, to let escape, dr Hund abloh, den Hund von der Leine lassen, to let the dog run free; also to let off, loslassen, a Schuss abloh, to let a shot go off, einen Schuss verknallen

 

abluege,  v.t.,

absehen (in the sense of learning something by watching someone), abschreiben, spicken (at school, copying from another), to copy, to imitate; see also luege

 

abmache,  v.t.,

dr Bart abmache, rasieren, to shave; one can, of course, also say rasiere; also the normal German meaning of abmachen, to arrange something

 

abprotze,  v.t.,

den Weihnachtbaum entschmücken, to remove the decorations from the Christmastree; Protz, in the old sense, is similar to pride, and to German Pracht, f., Glanz, m., Zierde, f.,; the contemporary sense of similar German words is different; the opposite is ufprotze, den Baum schmücken, to decorate the Christmas tree

 

abschlo,  v.t.,

verprügeln, to beat up; i schlo di ab, ich werde dich verhauen, I'll beat you up; as v.i. it has the meaning of preislich reduzieren, to discount, as in German

 

abschüssele,  v.t.,

abspeisen, ablehnen, abweisen, jemandem eine Abfuhr erteilen, to fob off, to rebuff, to brush off, to fend off

 

absi,  adv.,

abwärts, downward, downwards; mit üüs goht's nume no absi, wir werden nur noch älter, we are only getting older; see nidsi

 

absitze,  v.i.,

sich setzen, to sit down; sitzit ab, setzt euch, have a seat; not to be confused with the German absitzen, to dismount

 

abverheie,  v.t.,

mißlingen, to fail, to fail to succeed; p.p. abverheit, mißlungen, failed; es isch mr abverheit, ich brachte es nicht fertig, ich habe es nicht gekonnt, I failed; used mainly as p.p. or passively, eim öppis abverheie, Mißerfolg haben, to suffer failure; es chönnt [eim] abverheie, es könnte fehlschlagen, you could fail; see also verheie

 

abzie,  v.r.,

sich ausziehen, to undress;  other meanings are as in German:

v.t., schärfen (ein Messer), to hone, to sharpen (a knife);  v.t., subtrahieren, to subtract; v.i., abziehen, to depart, to withdraw

 

ächt,  adj.,

echt, genuine; ächti Schwizer Chuchi, echte Schweizer Küche, genuine Swiss cuisine; ächt Gold, echtes Gold, genuine gold

 

ächt,  adv.,

wohl, possibly, do you think (expressing doubt or conjecture); chöme si ächt? kommen sie wohl? do you think they'll come?; isch's ächt z'schpoot? ist es möglicherweise zu spät? is it perhaps too late?; was heter ächt wöue? Ich frage mich, was er wollte, I wonder what he wanted

 

Achtibahn,  f.,

Achterbahn, f., roller coaster

 

Äcke,  m.,

Nacken, m., neck; Chnoiäcke, m., Kniekehle, f., popliteal, back of the knee

 

Äckegschtabi,  m.,

Nackenstarre, f., charley horse, stiff neck, a crick in the neck; see also Chehri; see also Gschtabi; the term charley horse is also used for muscle spasms, for instance in the leg

 

Adi, m.,

Adolf, also sometimes shortened to Dolf, Dolfi

​

adie,  int.,

tschüß, (both derived von adieu), bye-bye; also adiemitenand (if several are addressed), lebt wohl alle miteinander, good-bye everybody; vergl. French adieu

 

afe,  adv.,

bereits, schon, erst, for a start, for the time being; schteu dr Hafenafenufenofenufe, for a start put the pot on the stove (the n's are for phonetic liaison, sorry); vergl. German anfangs; (the tune is "In the Mood" by Joe Garland), see also ufe

 

Aff,  m.,

Tornister, m., military back-pack; see also Hooraff; from German Affe, m., monkey; though I am fairly sure they didn't know the expression 'to have a monkey on your back', see Näggi

 

Ägetsche,  f.,

Elster, f., magpie; from the way it expresses itself

 

Ähli,  n.,

Berührung der Wangen (eine Liebkosung), a hug, a cuddle; es Ähli gää, sich herzen, to touch cheeks

 

alei,  adv., pred. adj.,

allein, alone; auch elei, aleigge, eleigge, aleini; bisch immer aleini? bist du immer allein? are you always alone?

 

alleemarsch!,  int.,

vorwärts marsch! forward! march! get going!; from a French military command, allez marche!

 

amänd,  adv,

vielleicht, perhaps; ischs amänd doch wohr? stimmt es vielleicht doch? could it be true after all?; also emänd; a contraction of the German am Ende; zletschtemänd, adv., letzten Endes, in aller Wahrscheinlichkeit, möglicherweise, finally, in all likelyhood, in the final analysis, possibly

 

Ämd,  n.,

Grummet, n., second crop of hay, the Americans call it rowen; also Emd; ämde, v.t., das zweite Heu einbringen, to harvest the second cut of hay

 

ame,  adv.,

same meanings as aube, q.v.; aube is more Bernese, ame is more Basel and Argovian

​

amene,  prep.,

an einem, on a; amene Samschtig, on a Saturday; amene Fescht, at a party; see also anere; many other prepositions are similarly declined: vomene, miteme, mitemene, wägeme, ufeme; amenort (see nöime), as in the song "weis amenort gar grüseli viel"; sometimes also amenenort

​

Amme, m.,

Ammann, m., Gemeindepräsident, m., chief-magistrate, mayor of a municipality (from the earlier version Amtmann)

 

Ämmitau,  n.,

Emmental, n.; the valley of the Emme; niene geit's so schön u luschtig, wie bi üs im Ämmitau (an old Liedli, an old song); der Käse wäre Ämmitauer, oder Ämmitaler, the cheese would be Ämmitauer,

 or Ämmitaler

 

Ändivie,  f.,

Endivie, f., endive; see also Tschicoree

 

äne,  adv., also prefix to verbs

hin, her, thither, down; änedra, drüben, jenseits, yonder, on the other side; dört äne, dort, over there; äneschteue (-setze, -lege, -tue), to put down; äneha, v.t., hinhalten, to submit; änegää (coll.), übergeben, to hand over; chum doäne! komm hierher! come here!

 

änedra, prep., adj.,

jenseits, auf der andern Seite, on the other side, across

 

äneluege,  v.i.,

hinsehen, to watch, to look at

 

anere,  prep.,

an einer, on a; anere Fahnestange, on a flagpole; anere Chilbi, an einer Kirchweih, at a festival; see also amene; see also vonere

 

änet,  prep.,

jenseits, auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite, beyond, across, on the other side; änetem Bach, am andern Ufer, across the river

 

angroo,  adj.,

in großen Mengen, massenweise, from French en gros, wholesale; also Angroo, m., Großhandel, Engrosgeschäft, wholesale business; angroo iichoufe, to buy wholesale

 

Anke,  m., no pl.,

Butter, f., butter; es Bäueli Anke, also es Mödeli Anke, a "pound" of butter (sometimes imprinted with a decorative mold), a stick of butter; Ankeschnitte, f., Butterbrot, n., Butterstulle, f., bread and butter; es Schnifeli Anke, ein klein wenig Butter, a butter pat; (but we say Chrütterbutter, für Kräuterbutter, for herbed butter)

 

Ankebäueli, n.,, same pl.

Hahnenfuss, m., buttercups, ranunculus

 

anne,  prep. phrase,

an ihnen, on them, at them; it is the pl. of amene, q.v.; Froid ha anne, sich dessen, or deren, erfreuen, to be delighted with them (speaking of the grandchildren, of course)

 

Annebäbi,  f.,

Anna Barbara, Bärbel

 

Annemie,  f.,

Annemarie, Ann-Mary, a personal name

 

ano,  prep.,

im Jahre, in the year; ano '14, in 1914; especially of years long past (but within memory), ano 29, in 1929; vergl. Italian anno

 

Anthebi,  f.,

see Hanthebi

 

apartig,  adj.,

besonder, special; öppis Apartigs, something special, etwas Besonderes; nüut Apartigs, nothing special, nichts Besonderes; vergl. French à part

​

Apiteegg, f.,

Apotheke, f., pharmacy

 

Ärbsli, n., s. and pl.

Erbse, f., s., Erbsen, f., pl., pea, peas

 

Are,  f.,

Ar, f., an area of 100 square meters

 

Ärfeli,  n.,

Armvoll, m., armful; anes Ärfeli näh, umarmen, to hug; also Arfele, f.

 

arig,  adj.,

eigenartig, odd, strange; är isch enarige Chuz, he is an odd chap

 

Ässmänteli,  n.,

Geiferlätzchen, n., bib; see also Rabättli

 

Ätti,  m.,

Großvater, Vater, grandfather, father; a bit older than Vati or Vatter; oddly, in Finnish aiti means mother

 

auä,  adv.,

allerwegen, vermutlich, wahrscheinlich, probably, hardly; auä scho, vermutlich schon, probably; är het's auä nit ghört, he probably didn't hear it; auä chuum, kaum, hardly; auch auwä, allwäg, allwä

 

aube,  adv.,

einst, jeweils, damals, weiland, then, formerly, of old,; dasch aube schwirig, das ist alleweil schwierig, that tends to be difficult; s'isch aube schöner gsi, früher war's schöner, things used to be lovelier; wie aube früecher, wie ehedem, as in the old days; s'isch eim aube nid rächt, es ist einem jeweilen nicht recht, one doesn't feel right about it; aubeneinisch, adv., gelegentlich, every once in awhile; früecher aube, zu alten Zeiten, in times past; see also früecher; see also einisch

 

audercheibs, adj., vulg.

Allerlei, allerhand, aller Art, of all sorts; audercheibs für Iwänd, Einwände aller Art, objections of every conceivable kind

 

audergattig,  adj.,

jeder Art, of all sorts; s'git audergattig Lüt, es gibt Leute jeden Schlages; it takes all kinds to make a world; also auergattig; see also Gattig

 

aui,  adj.,

alle, all; aui Lüt, alle Leute, everybody; requires a plural noun; accent on the a; also au; au Froue, au Manne, au Ching, aui mini Änteli, all women, all men, all children, all my little duckies; aus Gueti, alles Gute, all the best! see also aupott.

 

And here you have a nice example how Swiss and High German can go together in the same verse – without anybody noticing:

 

            Aui mini Änteli

            Schwümme nufem See

            Köpfchen in das Wasser

            Schwänzchen in die Höh’

 

            (All my little duckies

            are swimming on the lake

            heads are in the water

            tails are in the wake)

 

aune,  adj.,

allen, everyone, all; s'het aune gfaue, es gefiel allen, everybody liked it; aunem, an allem, of everything; s'fäut a aunem, es mangelt an allem, there is a shortage of everything; kene vo aune, keiner von allen, none of them

 

aupott,  adv.,

häufig, alle fünf Minuten, frequently, at the drop of a hat; dä wott aupott öppis anders, he changes his mind every five minutes; conveys a deprecating view of events; auschispott, an even more disdainful version which provides more perspective to its origin

 

auwäg, adv.,

jedenfalls, at any rate; sisch auwäg nötig gsi, es war wohl notwendig, it was probably necessary; auwäg scho, wahrscheinlich, probably; jo auwäg! kaum! hardly!

 

awägg,  adv.,

weg, hinweg, fort, away; gang awägg, geh weg, go away; wiit awägg, weitab, fern, far away

 

äxgüsi,  v.i.,

Entschuldigung, excuse me; vergl. French excusez!

B

B

Baabi,  n.,

Tolpatsch, m., dolt; dasch jetz ou es Baabi! dümmer gehts nicht! how smart can you get!

 

bääbele,  v.i.,

mit Puppen spielen, to play with dolls

 

Bääbi,  n.,

Puppe, f., doll; bääbele, mit Puppen spielen, to play with dolls; vergl. French poupée, English baby. You will be anxious to know the name of my first doll, Sidibambola, from Italian bambola (doll), and Sidi-Bel-Abbès, the city whence she hailed. She was dark of complexion, and swathed in flashy jewellery, showing her Berber ancestry. Yep, mother made her. Father might have called her es Ditti, q.v.

 

Baadi,  f.,

Schwimmbad, n., Badeanstalt, f., swimming pool, public swimming pool

 

bäägge,  v.i.,

heulen, weinen, jammern, to cry, to weep; endlos und grundlos schreien, to cry incessantly and without apparent good reason

 

Babbe,  m., fam.,

Papa, m., dad; vergl. Ital. babbo

 

bachab,  adv.,

mißlungen, unwiederbringlich, failed, irretrievable; die Glägeheit isch bachab; this opportunity is gone; lit. downriver; dr Fortschritt isch an illusion, im Grund gno isch aues bachab, progress is an illusion, in reality everything is going downriver

 

Bachbumele,  f.,

Dotterblume, f., marsh-marigold, (caltha palustris); vergl. German bammeln, to dangle

 

bachnass,  adj.,

triefendnaß, dripping wet; sometimes pronounced baachnass; lit. wet as a brook

 

Badi, f.,

Schwimmbad, n., Badeanstalt, f., swimming pool

 

bäffzge,  v.i.,

kläffen, to bark, to yelp; Bäffzgi, m., ein Hund der das tut, a dog who does it; auch fig. Für jemanden der dich so adressiert, also fig. for someone who yells at you

 

Bagaaschi,  n.,

grosses Gepäck, n., kit and caboodle, a big load; vergl. English baggage; from Old Norse baggi, which is what Leif Ericson packed when his old man Eric the Red told him to go fishing

 

Baiass,  m.,

Hanswurst, m., clown; also Paiass; vergl. Ital. baia (joke), baiazzo

 

Balangs,  f.,

Lenkstange, f., handlebar; lueg Mueti i fahre freihändig, look ma no hands, vergl. French balance

 

Bammert,  m.,

Bannwart, m., (which is also Swiss, as is Bannwald, m., protected forest), Förster, m., forest-warden, a person hired by the community to look after the forest

 

Bandeli,  n.,

Bande, f., border, edge; used in the sense of flower border, Bluemebandeli; see also Rabättli, n.

 

bängle,  v.t.,

lärmen, to make a noise, as with a stick on a can; vergl. German Bengel, m., cudgel, which also has the fig. meaning of urchin, scamp, which would be Bängu in Swiss; furtbängle, v.t., wegschleudern, to flip yonder (into the neighbour's Bluemebandeli, q.v.)

 

Bänne,  f.,

Karren, m., cart; a cart with board sides, to hold sand, or potatoes, or such; fig. Klapperkiste, f., jalopy, a rundown vehicle; vergl. English van, bin, French benne, f., (large basket)

 

Bänz, m.,

Benjamin; see also Grittibänz

 

Bappe,  m.,

Brei, m., paste, mush; wend ke Zähn hesch muesch Bappenässe, if you have no teeth you have to eat mush; also Bäppeli; vergl. Italian pappa, and also Pablum

 

Baragge,  f.,

Baracke, f., barrack; vergl. italian baracca

 

Bäredräck, m.,

Lakritze, f., liquorice; (lit. bear scat)

​

barfis,  adj., adv.,

barfuß, barefoot; barfis loufe, barfuß gehen, to go barefoot; also z'barfüesslige, adv., mir si z'barfüesslige gange, wir gingen barfuß, we went barefoot

 

Bärnbiet, n.,

Bernergegend, f., the area of the canton of Bern; from the German Gebiet, n.; also used in Züribiet (Zürich), Baselbiet (Baselland)

 

Bärti,  m.,

Albert

 

bäschele,  v.t.,

frönen, verzärteln, to coddle, to pamper; zämebäschele, liebevoll zubereiten, to prepare with loving care; ufbäschele, mit Liebe gesundbringen, to look after lovingly, when you are sick and well looked after you are ufbäschelet; the French would say dorloter; vergl. German Büschel, n., tuft, bundle, whence Swiss büschele, v.t., q.v.

 

Bäsechaschte, m.,

Besenkammer, f., broom closet

 

Bassäng,  n.,

Schwimmbecken, n., swimming pool; also Schwümmbassäng; vergl. French bassin, m.

 

Batze,  m.,

Geldstück, n., coin; also a Swiss 10 cent coin; vergl. German Batzen, m., see also haubbatzig

 

Bätzi,  n.,

Obstbranntwein, m., brandy; also Bätziwasser; perhaps because it is served in a Beiz? or because it isn't worth more than a Batze a shot?; vergl. German beizen, v.t.

 

bau,  adv.,

bald, soon

 

Baue,  f.,

Ball, m., ball; Bäueli, n., kleiner Ball, small ball; es Ping-pong Bäueli, ein Tischtennis Ball, a ping-pong ball; ea Bäueli Anke, ein Stück Butter, a stick of butter

 

bäuele,  v.i.,

mit einem Ball spielen, to play with a ball, which is not quite as serious as to play ball; see also Baue

 

bauge,  v.i., v.t.,

schelten, schimpfen, to scold, to chide; d'Muetter het bauget mit is, Mutter hat uns gescholten, mother scolded us; vergl. German balgen, which, however, means to romp

 

bchaue,  v.i.,

gelieren, gerinnen, to set, to jell, to congeal; bchaueti Soosse, Sülze, f., aspic; Bchauets, n., Gallert, n., gelatine, jelly; vergl. German erkalten

 

bchoo,  p.p.,

vom Ausdruck bchoo möge, mithalten, to keep up with; magsch bchoo? magst du mit? Can you make it? vergl. German bekommen

 

bebe,  n.,

Kleinkind, baby; von French bébé, m.; see also Buscheli

 

Beck,  m.,

Bäcker, m., baker; Zuckerbeck, Zuckerbäcker, confectioner; Beckerei, f., Bäckerei, bakery; Wegglibeck, m., Weckenbäcker, m., bun baker

 

Becki,  n.,

Becken, n., basin, bowl

 

bedele,  v.i.,

zum Spaß baden, to bathe for fun (as in a spa)

 

Bees,  n.,

Gebiss, n., denture, set of false teeth; Rossbees, n., Trense, f., snaffle, horse-bit

 

Beetli,  n.,

Elisabeth

 

beiele,  v.i.,

leicht schneien, stöbern, to snow very lightly, as in flurries; es schneielet, es beielet, es goht e chüele Wind, und d'Meitschi lege d'Häntschena, und d'Buebe loufe gschwind (an old rhyme),

 

Beieli,  n.,

Biene, f., honey bee; vergl. Fr. abeille; e Beielistich, m., Bienenstich, m., bee sting; Bernese Beiji; Beijischtock, m., Bienenstock m., beehive

 

Beiz,  f.,

kleines Restaurant, Tavern; wo man Gebeiztes serviert, anstatt Frisches, where you may be served pickled rather than fresh food

 

Bettmümpfeli, n.,

see Mümpfeli

 

Bettstatt,  f.,

Bettlade, f., Bettstelle, f., bedstead

 

bhaute,  v.t.,

behalten, to keep, to retain, to remember; im Chopf bhaute, im Gedächtnis behalten, to retain in memory; für sich bhaute, to keep to oneself; bhautet, p.p.; zum Bhaute, zum behalten, to keep; see also Bhautis

 

Bhautis,  n.,

Trinkgeld, n., tip; vergl. German behalten (to keep)

 

Bibeli,  n.,

Kücken, n., Küchlein, n., chick, young chicken; older hens and roosters remember this name from their youth, hence the traditional call "bibibibibib" when you summon them to the coop for a feeding

 

Biecht,  m.,

Rauhreif, m., a light hoar-frost; in Swiss also sometimes called Duft, or Giescht

 

Bieli,  n.,

Beil, n., small axe, hatchet; Bielischtiu, m., Beilstiel, hatchet-handle

 

Biftegg,  n.,

Entrecôte, Rippenstück, beef steak

 

bigoscht,  int.,

bei Gott! wahrhaftig! good heavens! really!

 

Biigi,  f.,

Stapel, m., stack; (Beige does not exist in German); e Schiterbiigi, ein Stapel Holz, a stack of wood; hey, perhaps Beige is a colour; uufbiige, v.t., aufstapeln, to stack something up; also Bigete, f.; pl. Bigine; ufbiige, v.t., aufstapeln, v.t., to stack; ufbiigele, v.t., aufstapeln, to stack up small items

 

Biliee,  n.,

Fahrkarte, f., ticket; vergl. French billet; see also rötuur

 

Bimsu,  m.,

Pinsel, m., paint-brush

​

binang,  adv.,

beieinander, together; see nang; also binand, also binenand

 

Bire,  f.,

Birne, f., pear; also Glühbirne, f., light bulb

 

Birebitzeli,  n., and adj.,

ein klein wenig, ein bißchen, a little bit, a teeny bit, a smidgen; gisch mr ou es birebitzeli? Gibst du mir auch ein klein wenig? will you give me a teeny bit?

 

Birewegge,  m.,

Birnenbrot, n., Birnenpastete,f., pear-pastry, pear-turnover

 

bis, v.aux.

sei, bis-so-guet, bitte schön, please; bis z’fride, sei zufrieden, be content; bis nid so ungeduldig, sei nicht so ungeduldig, don’t be so impatient; bis froh, sei froh, you should be so lucky

 

bisle,  v.i.,

Wasser lösen, to spend a penny

 

Bisluft,  m.,

Bise, f., Ostwind, m., east-wind; usually brings cold and dry weather

 

Bittibätti,  n.,

Gebettel, n., abject begging; Bittibätti mache, um etwas flehen, demütig bitten, to supplicate something, to beg for something one shouldn't have to beg for; vergl. German bitten and beten

 

Bitz, m.,

Bissen, m., Stück, n., bite, piece

 

Bitzeli,  n., and adj.,

ein wenig, ein bißchen, a little bit; heb es Bitzeli Geduld, have a little patience; see also Birebitzeli

 

Biugere, f.,

Zahnfleisch, n., gums

 

Blache,  f.,

Zeltbahn, f., tarpaulin; vergl. French bâche goudronnée, vergl. German Placke, f.,

​

Blaggei,  n.,

Schuhzwecke f., shoe nail, brad; auch Blaggettli, for the old custom of reinforcing shoe and hiking boot soles with studs or metal crescents; from English ‘blakey’, a nail with a kidney-shaped head; other names for types of shoe nails were Chappe (caps), Mugge (Mücken, mosquitos), Rigati (from Italian, geriffelt, rippled), Tricouni (from Italian, three cusps), and Zwäck (from German Zwecke, tack), but that was all before PVC and polyurethane

 

blagiere,  v.i.,

prahlen, to boast, to crow; see also Blagöri, m.

 

Blagöri,  m.,

Prahler, m., Prahlhans, Aufschneider, m., braggart, blusterer; also Blagieri, m., also Blagör, m.,; vergl. French blaguer, blagueur; see also blagiere

 

Blätz,  m.,

Flick, m., patch (of material, for repairs); e Blätz abha, to suffer a scratch, or a scrape (on the skin), such a Blätz being une blessure, évidemment, but it's pure coincidence; sich a Blätz abmache, to get a scratch, einen Kratzer kriegen, a Blätz Härdöpfu, or a Härdöpfublätz, ein kleines Kartoffelfeld, a patch of potatoes

 

blätze,  v.t.,

flicken, to patch; du sötsch di Tschoope blätze, du solltest deine Jacke flicken, you should darn your jacket

 

Blätzli,  n.,

Schnitzel, n., cutlet; Schwiinsblätzli, Chalbsblätzli, Schweineschnitzel, Kalbsschnitzel, pork cutlet, veal cutlet

 

bloche,  v.t.,

bohnern, to polish (wax) a floor; Blocher, m., Bohner, m. (also Bohnerbesen, m., Bohnerbürste, f.), floor-polisher; jestingly used in my distant youth to describe fast driving: uf Züri use bloche, nach Zürich rasen, to zip to Zurich

 

blöffe, v.i., irreführen, großtun, to bluff; a Blöffer, m., Großhans, m., Großtuer, m., braggart

 

blöödele,  v.i.,

Possen treiben, Faxen machen, to fool about, to clown around; vergl. German blöde

 

Blootere,  f.,

Blase, f., Hautblase, f., bubble, blister, bladder; Seifeblootere, Seifenblase, f., soap bubble; Söiblootere, f., Schweinsblase, f., pig's bladder, which were our balloons before we had balloons; Blöterli, n., pl., small bubbles, tiny bubbles; vergl. Engl. bladder 

 

blöterle,  v.i., v.t.,

Zeit vertrödeln, to dilly-dally; which is one aspect of blowing soap-bubbles, see Blotere

 

Blöterliwasser,  n.,

Brausewasser, pop; non-alcoholic carbonated water, flavoured or unflavoured; see also Glürliwasser

 

blüemlet,  adj.,

geblümt, with floral design; e blüemleti Chue, a designer cow; also 'bluemet, mit Blumen bemalt, with a floral design; es 'bluemets Trögli, q.v.

 

Bluescht,  f.,

Blühte, Blühten, bloom, flowering; d'Chriesiböim si voller Bluescht, the cherry trees are in flower

 

blutt,  adj.,

nackt, naked; füdliblutt, splitternackt, stark naked, bare-assed; vergl. German bloß

 

blüttle, v.i., nackt umhergehen, sich entblössen, to go naked, to strip

 

Böckli, n.,

Rollator, m., Zimmer frame, m., walker

 

bödele,  v.i.,

tanzen, to dance, to tapdance; vergl. German

Boden, and Bavarian Schuhplattler

 

Bödeli, n.,

kleiner Boden, m.,  kleine Fläche, f., Vorsprung, m., Platte, f., Felsenriff, n., small floor area, ledge, small flat area

 

Bodesurri,  m.,

Kreisel, m., spinning top; fig. eine Person kurzer Statur, a short person; vergl. German surren, v.i.; vergl. also Kiesel, m., in the  sense of top, and kieseln, v.i., to spin a top; see Hurlibueb, Zwirbu

 

bodige,  v.t.,

überwältigen, bezwingen, lit. zu Boden bringen; to master, to overwhelm, to wrestle to the ground

Bögli,

n., Brücke, f., (Gymnastik), bridge (gymnastics); das Rückwärtsbeugen des Oberkörpers bis die Hände den Boden berühren, the back-bending of the upper body until the hands touch the floor; es Bögli mache, eine Brücke machen, to make a bridge; auch kleiner Bogen, kleine Kurve, also a small arch, a small curve; see also U-Bögli

 

Bolei,  n.,

Murmel, f., marble; boleile, to play at marbles, knausern; vergl. bull's eye, cat's eye; see also Schpicker; see also Chlürli

 

Bölimaa,  m.,

Buhmann, m., Schreckgespenst, n., bogeyman; jez chunt de dr Bölimaa! gleich kommt der Poltergeist! the bogeyman will get you

 

Boord,  n.,

Rand, m., Abhang, m., edge, slope; ein kurzer, steiler Abhang, a short, steep incline; Schtroosseboord, n., Straßenrand, m., roadside; Börtli, n., kleiner Abhang, also Saum, m., small incline, also hem

 

boosge,  v.t.,

etwas anstellen, etwas anrichten, to do something malicious, to transgress; was heiter boosget? was habt ihr verbrochen? what were you up to?

 

Böötli, n.,

klines Boot, n., little boat, cockleshell, fig.

 

böpperle, v.i.,

leicht (an)klopfen, to tap lightly, to knock gently

 

Bouele,  f.,

Baumwolle, f., cotton; s'isch Boueligs, es ist aus Baumwolle, it's cotton; a Bouelehängscht, m., in the old days, was a fellow who was in the textile business. They came mostly from the eastern part of Switzerland, and they were smart.

 

Brähme,  f.,

Bremse, f., horsefly, deerfly

 

Brangsche,  f.,

Zweig, m., branch; in the sense of branch of industry; uf welere Brangsche schaffet är? was hat er für eine Beschäftigung, what kind of work does he do?; vergl. French branche

 

Brangschli,  n.,

Schokolade-Stengelchen, n., a round bar of chocolate; vergl. French branche

 

Bränte,  f.,

große Milchkanne, f., large milk-can; a container, or tank, sometimes fitted with straps for back-packing, used to take the milk from the farm to the dairy

 

braschte,  v.i.,

plaudern, to talk; also prahlen, to boast; a Braschti, one who does it

 

Brät,  n.,

Bratwurstmaße, f., gehacktes Füllfleisch, n., force-meat; wherewith you can make delicious Chrügeli, q.v., to stuff Paschteetli, q.v.

 

Brätsch,  m. pl.,

Schläge, m.pl., beating; Brätsch übercho, Schläge kriegen, to get a beating; see also Tätsch, see also verbrätsche, v.t.

 

Brattig,  f.,

Almanach, m., almanac; which in old days also described the "practice" of farming

 

Brätzeli, n., s. and pl.,

Brezel, f., (also Prezel), ein süsses Gebäck, das auf einem heissen Eissen gepresst und gebacken ist; a type of cookie baked on a hot iron press;

 

Brätzeli-Ise, n.,

Brezel-Eisen, zum Backen von Brätzeli, q.v.; pretzel iron, to bake Brätzeli

 

Breschte,  n.,

Gebrechen, n., ailment; also breschte, v.i., sich über ein Gebrechen beklagen, to complain about an ailment

 

briegge,  v.i.,

weinen, wimmern, to weep, to whimper, to blubber; gentler than brüele; muesch nit briegge, weine nicht, don't cry

 

brittlig,  adj.,

bröckelig, brittle

 

Bröche,  m. pl.,

Brocken, m., morsel; specifically Miuchbröche, morsels of bread in milk, a simple breakfast that makes you strong like ox and smart like streetcar

 

Brockeschtube,  f.,

Brockenstube, f., a secondhand shop found in some towns in Switzerland, especially for used household goods; vergl. French brocantage, m., brocanteur, m.

 

Bröisi,  n.,

Argovian dialect for Röschti, q.v.; also etwas  Geröstetes , something fried, or cooked for that matter;  vergl. French braiser, German braten, English braise; used also more generally as "something to eat"; machsch mr es Bröisi?, machst du mir was zu essen? will you feed me something?

 

broote,  v.t.,

braten, to roast; Broote, m., Braten, m., roast

 

bröötle,  v.t.,

braten, to grill; wämmer Würschtli bröötle? braten wir Würstel? shall we grill sausages?

 

Bröötli,  n.,

Semmel, f., hard roll, bun

 

Brösme,  m. pl.,

Brosame, f., crumbs, bread-crumbs; Brösmeli, n. pl., the small version thereof; also in the symbolic sense of crumbs, trifles; brösmele, v.t., Brosame verstreuen, to scatter crumbs; vergl. French broutilles (f.pl.), such as one would scatter to birds

 

Brotrauft,  m.,

Brotranft, m., breadcrust; see also Rume

 

brüele,  v.i.,

weinen, to cry, to weep, to blubber; hör uf brüele!, hör auf zu heulen, stop crying! not as the German brüllen (to howl), but rather more pathetic

 

Brüetsch,  m., fam.,

Bruder, m., brother;

 

Brugg,  f.,

Brücke, f., bridge; father says Brugg, mother Brügg, and both say Brüggli, n., dim.; über di auti Brugg, over the old bridge; (in Burgdorf, I would say Brügg)

 

brünzle, v.i.,

Wasser lösen, to urinate

 

bschliesse,  v.t.,

abschließen, to lock; bschlosse, p.p., verschlossen, locked; hesch bschlosse? hast du zugeschlossen? did you lock?; also to decide, beschließen, v.t.

 

bschtändig,  adv.,

fortwährend, immerfort, continually, incessantly; bschtändig reklamiere, sich fortwährend beklagen, to complain incessantly; vergl. German beständig (which has additional meanings)

 

Bschütti,  f.,

Jauche, f., Gülle, f., liquid manure; so called because you pour (German schütten, v.t.) it on the fields as fertilizer; bschütte, v.t., Jauche verzetteln, to spread manure

 

Bude,  f.,

Fabrik, f., factory; slang, in this sense; other meanings as in German; i mues i'Bude, ich muss zur Arbeit, I have to go to work

 

Bueb,  m.,

Knabe, m., boy, lad; not used in the German sense of rogue, (Bube, m.) except in the word Nachtbuebe, m.pl., the pranksters who go around in the night of May 1 to unhinge garden gates and hide them (an old custom), and Söibueb, m., Dreckfink, m., ill-behaved youth

 

buechig, adj.,

Buchen, aus Buchenholz,n., made of Buchenholz

 

Büez,  f.,

(sometimes also Büezi) Arbeit, f., work, chore; büeze, v.i., arbeiten, schuften, to work, to drudge; vergl. German Busse, f., penance, Busse tun, to do penance; also a Büezer, ein einfacher Arbeiter, a simple worker; gohsch uf Büez? gehst du zur Arbeit? are you going to work?

​

Büffee, n.,

Kredenza, f., Anrichte, f., sideboard, sidetable; a piece of furniture to store dishes and other implements for dining, often flat-topped and placed along a wall; vergl. Fr. buffet, m.

 

Buggee,  n.,

Blumenstrauß, m., bunch of flowers; see also Meie, and Buschle; vergl. French and English bouquet; as the man said, once he knew French: la plume, die Blume, le plume-plume-plume, der Blumenstrauss

 

Buggeli, n., and pl.,

Kleiner Buckel, kleines Bläschen, small humpback, small bump; Buggu, m., Buckel, humpback; buggelig, adj., höckerig, humped

 

buggle, v.i.,

Buckeln, sich unterwerfen, to bow and scrape, to submit; the French would say courber la tête

 

Buk,  m.,

Beule, f., ding, dent; i hane Buk is Outo gmacht, ich habe den Wagen verbeult, I put a dent on the car; vergl. German Bucht, f., Buchtung, f.

 

Büppi,  f.,

Brust, f., breast

 

buschber,  adj.,

gesund und munter, sprightly, in good shape; sometimes said of the elderly, if in good shape

 

büschele,  v.t.,

bündeln, to bunch; vergl. German Büschel, n., zämebüschele, krausen, raffen, to gather; sMuu büschele, den Mund spitzen, to purse one's lips; Blueme büschele, einen Blumenstrauß binden, to arrange flowers in a bouquet; fig. zurechtmachen, v.t., to arrange, to organize in a neat way

 

Buscheli,  n.,

Kleinkind, n., baby; also Buschi

 

Buschle,  f.,

Strauß, m., bunch, bouquet; one also says Buggee, or Schtruuss, or Meie; e Buschle Blueme, ein Blumenstrauß, a bouquet of flowers; also Büschu, m.;vergl. German Büschel; see also büschele

 

Büsi,  n.,

Katze, f., Miezekatze; endearingly, otherwise it is Chatz; also Chatzebusle, pussycat; from the Arabic al Bis, of course

 

Bütschee,  n.,

Voranschlag, m., budget; es Bütschee mache, einen Voranschlag machen, to prepare a budget

 

buttele,  v.t.,

wiegen, to rock; which is what you might do when giving the baby the bottle; vergl. German dialect die Buddel (bottle)

​

Bütti,  f.,

Bottich, m., vat, tub; a büttivou, eine ganze Menge, a whole lot

 

Bützgi,  n.,

also Bütschgi; Kerngehäuse, n., fruit core; vergl. German Butz, Butzen, m.; vergl. Italian buccia; see also Gürbsi

 

Büugere,  f. pl.,

Zahnfleisch, n., gums; also Bilgere, also Büuere, Piuere, etc.; vergl. English bilge, bulge

C

C

Cäder,  n.,

Geäder, n., Knorpel, m., gristle; the unpalatable part of meat dishes; quite unrelated, it is also the hoofshaped, wedge-like seating at the upper end of the heel of a shoe, where it forms the base of the heel seat, nowadays mostly part of the molded heel; in this sense vergl. French cadre, m., frame

 

Camion,  m.,

Lastwagen, truck, lorry; camionnette, f., van; vergl. French camion

​

Caramel Chöpfli, n.,

crème brûlée

 

Cartong,  m.,

Pappe, f., cardboard; also used in the sense of Pappschachtel, f., carton

 

Chäber,  m.,

Käfer, m., beetle; also Chäfer, m., but then it might be a euphemism for cute girl, as in e hübsche Chäfer, sometimes also called a Chrott, m., Kröte, f., which illustrates the heilige Zwiefältigkeit in assessing such persons

 

Chabis,  m.,

Kohl, m., cabbage; also fig. Unsinn, m., Quatsch, m., nonsense, guff, piffle, tosh, balderdash

 

chäch,  adj.,

zäh, halbgar, knackig, stämmig, tough, undercooked, brisk, feisty

 

Chacheli,  n.,

Tasse, f., Schale, f., cup; möchtisch es Chacheli Cafe?, möchtest du eine Tasse Kaffee? would you like a cup of coffee?; chachele, v.i., klirren, to clatter; Chachle, f., Becken, n., bowl; vergl. German Kachel, glazed tile; for Kachelofen, m., see Chouscht

 

chafle,  v.t.,

knabbern, to munch, to gnaw, to nibble; dr Chüngu chaflet amene Rüebli, das Kaninchen knabbert an einer Karotte, the rabbit is nibbling a carrot; also fig. flüchtig hinschreiben, to scribble; es Kafu, ein Geschreibsel, scrawls

 

Chappe,  f.,

Mütze, f., cap; Sennechappe, Hirtenmütze, f., cowherd's cap; Chäppli, also Chäppeli, n. dim.; vergl. French képi

 

Chäpsligwehr, n.,

Kapselgewehr, n., cap-shooter; a percussion-cap is a Zündhütchen (es Chäpsli, n.)

chare,  v.t.,

verschmieren, to smear; see also verchare

Charerei, f., Geschmier, n., Sudelei, f., smearing, mess

 

chäre,  v.i.,

zanken, zoffen, nörgeln, quengeln, to quarrel, to squabble, to argue, to nag, to bicker; vergl. also French quereller

 

Chärerei, f.,

Zank, m., Streitigkeit, f., squabble, bicker, kerfuffle

 

Charrer,  m.,

Kärrner, m., Wagenknecht, m., carter; on a farm, the driver of the carts and wagons, and the one who looks after such conveyances, and after the draft animals; also Karrer; Chare, m., Karren, m., sometimes also used for automobile, like the English car, or the French-Canadian char

 

chaschperle,  v.i.,

den Hanswurst spielen, to clown; from the character Chaschperli (German Kasperle) who is the clown in German puppet theatre

 

Chaschperlitheater,  n.,

Kasperletheater, n., Puppenbühne, f., puppet theatre, Punch and Judy show; fig. ein kindisches Wortgefecht zwischen Erwachsenen, a childisch dispute between adults

 

Chäschtli,  n.,

Schatulle, f., Kasten, m., Anschlagtafel, f., case, notice board, pillar-box; im Chäschtli choo, zur Heirat ausgeschrieben sein, to be announced for marriage; see also Chuchichäschtli

 

Chäs-chüechli, n.,

Käsetörtchen, n., small cheese tart, ramequin

 

chätsche,  v.t.,

kauen, to chew; was chätschisch? what are you chewing? hence Chätschgummi, m., Kaugummi, m., chewing gum, latterly shortened to Chöitzgi, m.

 

Chätschgumi,  m.,

Kaugummi, m., chewing-gum; also Chougumi; also Chöitzgi

 

Chatzebusle, f.,

Mietzekatze, f., pussycat, puss, kittycat

​

Chätzer,  m.,

unternehmungslustiger Knirps, m., Schlaumeier, m., little rascal, "weasel"; ein lebhaftes und einfallsreiches Kind; said in a good-natured sense of a child who is full of beans; originally from German Ketzer, m., heretic

 

Chatzewädu,  m.,

Schachtelhalm, m., horse-tail, equisetum; an interesting and ancient plant from which mother made an infusion, a tisane, (for gargling, against sore throat, or for poultices); the plant is also rich in silicon - it is said that it leaves a sandy residue when burned, and it was used to scour pewter; vergl. German Katze, f., und Wedel, m.

 

chatzkanoneverruckt,  adj.,

wutentbrannt, rasend, fuchsteufelswild, furious, shootin' mad

 

Chauberei,  f.,

Unfug, misconduct, an ill-judged undertaking that comes to grief; vergl. German Kalb; also chaubere, kalben, to calve, but also in the sense of kalbern, to romp, to horse around;  from the play of young calves, who are a bit ungestüm and awkward in their first outings

 

Chefe,  f.,

Schneeerbsen, f., Zuckererbsen, f., snow peas, chinese peapods; see also us-chifle, which, of course, does not apply to Chefe, but only to Ärbsli; vergl. Kichererbse, f., which is, however, chick-pea, Cicer arietinum

 

Chefi,  n.,

Gefängnis, n., Knast, m., jail, kitty, pokey; mach nume so witer und du chunsch no is Chefi, mach nur so weiter und du wirst noch eingesperrt, just go on like this and you'll end up in jail; vergl. German Käfig, m., which is Chefig, m., in Swiss;

 

Chehr,  f.,

Weile, f., a while; mr si no a Chehr bblibe, wir verblieben noch eine Weile, we stayed for a while; in Bernese also a Rung, eine Runde, a round; note also iichehre, einkehren, to stop for refreshments (in a restaurant); see also Wiili

 

Chehri,  m.,

Nackenstarre, f., Charley horse, stiff neck syndrome; vergl. German kehren, v.t., to turn, (because one isn't able to), see also Äckegschtabi

 

Cheib,  m., overused and vulgar malediction,

a tumme Cheib, an idiot; enarme Cheib, ein armer Trottel, a poor sucker; es cheibe Züüg, eine verzwickte Sache, a troublesome situation; vercheibe, v.t., zunichte machen, zugrunde richten, to ruin

 

cheibe,  v.i., (vulg.)

rennen, to run; not used in polite company; it may relate to the calcium structure around which we are built, and which is often what's left longest, in terms of earthly remains, before it, too, reverts to a more amorphous state; so now we are near the main lode of human sublimation, though you would not have thought so at the start of this entry

 

cheigle,  v.i.,

kegeln, kegelschieben, to bowl (e.g. at ninepins); Cheigu, m., Kegel, m., bowling pin; Cheigu-Chugele, f., Kegelkugel, f., bowling ball; mit Chind und Cheigu, mit Kind und Kegel, with kit and caboodle

 

Chemi,  n.,

Schornstein, m., chimney; elsewhere also Chämi, Chömi; Chemifäger, m., Kaminfeger, chimney-sweep; vergl. German Kamin, m.; öppis is Chemi schriibe, etwas als verloren betrachten, to consider something as lost

 

Cherbele, f., sing.and pl.,

Klettenkerbel, f., Schärlich, m., Kälberkopf, m., Leiterlichrut, n., cow parsley, Queen Anne’s lace, wild chervil; anthriscus sylvestris

 

Cheschtene,  f., s. und p.

Kastanie, f., chestnut; Cheschteneboum, m., Kastanienbaum, m., chestnut-tree

 

chessle,  v.i.,

rasseln, rennen, to clatter, to run; such as the sound of a stone swirling in a kettle; vergl. German Kessel m., kettle; Chesslete, f., Gerassel, n., a noise that would drive away ghosts; dervoochessle, v.i., wegrennen, to run away

​

Chetti, f.,

Kette, f., chain; Chetteli, n., Armband, n., bracelet

 

Cheueli,  n.,

kleine Kelle, f., small ladle; Cheue, f., Kelle, f., ladle; mit dr grosse Cheue aarichte, grosszügig handeln, to ladle it out big-time (in all senses)

 

chifle,  v.i.,

kritteln, meckern, nörgeln, to grouse, to grumble, to argue, to complain, to nag, to carp; get the idea?; vergl. German keifen, v.i.

 

chiiche, v.i.,

keuchen, to gasp, to pant, to wheeze; also chüüche

 

chiibe,  v.i.,

keuchen, to pant, to gasp, to wheeze; fig. hecheln, protestieren, to criticize vociferously, to protest

 

Chile,  f.,

Kirche, f., church; e chileturm, a church spire; also Chilche, Chiuche, Chirche; es Chileli, n., a small church; es Chileglüt, ein Kirchengeläut, church-bells; no connection to the country in South America, which would be "Chilee", in Swiss

 

Chindlifrässer,  m.,

Kinderschreck, m., bogeyman

 

Chindzgi,  m.,

Kindergarten, m., kindergarten, nursery school; (slang)

 

Ching,  n.,

Kind, n., Kinder, pl., child, children; also Chind, pl. sometimes Chinder; chömit Chind, es chunt cho chute, oh kömmet liebe Kindlein es geht ein böses Windlein, get inside, kids, there is a storm coming

 

Chini,  n.,

Kinn, n., chin

 

chirbele,  v.i.,

keuchen, to wheeze; more from illness than from exhaustion

 

Chiubi,  f.,

Kirchweih, f., a country fair; also Chilbi; hou adr Chatz dr Schwanz ab, houere nid dr ganz ab, lohnere nones Schtückli schtoh, dassi cha ad Chiubi goh, a song of the past, thank heavens; Chiubi is also used in the sense of Brouhaha, hullabaloo, Klamauk, all of which mirror the event

 

chläfele,  v.i.,

klirren,  klappern, to jingle, to rattle, to clatter, ; Bernese chlefele;  es Chläfelizüg, ein Lotterding, a rickety thing; vergl. German Klavier, n.,

 

Chlämmerli, n.,

Wäscheklammer, f., clothes-peg, clothes-pin; Chlämmerlisack, m., the pouch used for keeping them; a Chlämmerlisack is fig. an amorphous individual of undefined purpose, may be considered derogatory, though it be said with empathy and followed by help

 

chlämpere,  v.i.,

klappern, rasseln, to clatter, to clank; vergl. German Klempner, m., plumber or sheet-metal worker; klempnern means to do plumbing or to work in sheet-metal (Blech, n.), which you cannot do without some Geklimper, n., jingling, vergl. klimpern, which refers to attempts at the piano, whence Klimbim, m., also used in Swiss, in the sense of pother and fuss, so forget the whole Klimbim and go on

 

Chlapf,  m.,

Klaps, m., Knall, m., slap, bang, clap, detonation; e Chlapf übercho, eine Ohrfeige kriegen, to get slapped; e Chlapf ha, einen Rausch haben, to be drunk; see also chlöpfe, chlepfe; pl. Chlepf, used mostly in the sense of Schläge, m., hits, beating

 

chläppere,  v.i.,

klappern, to clatter; Chläpper, m., Klepper, m., nag, old horse; vergl. Engl. clapper, which is the Klöppel, m., of a bell

 

Chleck,  m.pl.,

Hautschrunde, f., Klack, m., chap (as in chapped hands); Chleck ha, Hautrisse haben, to have chapped skin

 

chleippe,  v.t.,

kleben, to glue

 

Chleippi, f.,

Klebstoff, m., glue, adhesive

 

chlepfe,  v.t.,

ohrfeigen, to slap; die tüe so tumm, me sött se chlepfe, sie betragen sich so schlecht, daß man sie ohrfeigen sollte, they are acting so silly one should box their ears; see also Chlapf; see also chlöpfe

 

chlii,  adj.,

klein, small; pl. chliini; es Chliis, n., ein Kleines, n., a little one

 

chlööne,  v.i., v.t.,

klagen, sich beklagen, jammern, sich beschweren, to complain, to moan, to grumble; was hesch zchlööne? was jammerst du? what's wrong now?

 

chlopfe,  v.i.,

klopfen, to knock

 

chlöpfe,  v.i.,

knallen, to crack, to detonate; mit de Finger chlöpfe, die Finger schnellen, to snap one's Fingers; mit der Zunge chlöpfe, schnalzen, to click the tongue; öpperem eis chlöpfe, jemandem einen Nasenstüber geben, to give someone a fillip; see also Chlapf; see also chlepfe

 

Chlöpfer, m., same pl.

knackige Kirsche, f., Bing cherry, usually of a brownish-red colour, sweet, a tad larger than average. We had two trees of this type on the farm. Grandpa planted them in the thirties. They were razed in the sixties to make room for swimming pools in the new development.

 

Chlöpfer, m., same pl.

Cervelat, f., the national sausage of Switzerland, made of pork and who knows what. In the Nideramt almost always called a cervelat; as you go farther east it becomes increasingly a Chlöpfer. Edible cold, boiled, or roasted.

 

Chlöpfer, m., same pl.

Schwärmer, m., firecracker; set off at Fastnacht and other noiseworthy occasions; known by many names, as rattled off by J.R.R.Tolkien in The Fellowship of the Ring: squibbs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, dwarve-candles, elf-fountains, goblin-barkers, and thunder-claps.

 

Chlöpfer, m., same pl.

a sparkling rosé from the hills around Zurich; the name is also used for other alcoholic beverages; see also ufchlöpfe

 

Chlöpferei, f.,

Knallerei, f., banging of fireworks, shooting; deutet Missfallen an; implies a dislike of the noise

 

Chlotz,  m.,

Klotz, m., block, chunk; also slang for money, as are Chröösch, Chümi, Höger, Münz, Schtütz, in the sense of Moneten, Makrelen, und Pinke-pinke, or of lolly, change, dough; pl. Chlötz

 

chlüepple,  v.t.,

klöppeln, to make a type of lace, over a pillow and with the use of a Klöppel (a bobbin); French guipure

 

Chlüepplisack,  m.,

Düffelmantel, m., duffelcoat; vergl. Austrian Kluppe, f., Wäscheklammer, clothes peg;

 

Chlungele,  f.,

Garnknäuel, m., Strang, m.,ball of yarn, hank; vergl. althochdeutsch chliuwa, Knäuel, m.; vergl. German Klüngel, m., which means clique or gang

 

Chlupf,  m.,

Schreck, m., scare, shock; see verchlüpfe; i hane Chlupf übercho, ich erschrak, I jumped (I had a fright)

 

Chlürli,  n.,

Murmel, f., marble (toy); see also Bolei; see also Schpicker

 

chneue,  v.t.,

(by which I mean chnëue, not chnöie) schnappen, beißen, (Hund), to bite (of dog); the corresponding German would be knellen, but it is missing. It is notable how many Germanic words starting with kn express a notion of force or violence

 

Chnode,  m., (slang)

Knöchel, m., knuckle; die Knöchelgelenke an Hand und Fuß, the knuckle joints on hand and foot; the word feels somewhat rough, similar to Scheiche, q.v., and it is used mostly when these joints hurt for some reason; i ha dr Chnode aagschlage, I bruised my knuckle; chnode, v.i., in the sense of chnode und pfuuschte, auf den Tisch hauen, to bang the table

 

Chnöiblätze,  m.,

ein Fasnachtsgebäck, a Mardi Gras confection; from how they are fashioned by being stretched over the bent knee (Chnöi, n.); also Fasnachts-Chüechli, carnival cookie.

 

How to make:

Bash 2 eggs in 2 Tbsp sour cream with a Hampflete sugar and a pinch of salt; add 250 to 300 g flour and 1Tbsp flaked butter; knead until smooth and blistering, rest for half an hour at room temperature; divide in walnut-sized chunks and roll out paperthin; put on knee (after covering it with a patterned cloth napkin) and pull out so thin that you can detect the pattern; let dry for awhile, separated by waxpaper; cook floating on sunflower oil at moderate heat, abt. 170 C, until golden, flip with prongs as needed; they will look verchrüglet; let drip on paper towels; sprinkle with confectioner's sugar when cooled; stack high in a dry place; avoid sneezing during consumption.

 

Chnöi, n.,

Knie, n., knee; yes, the pl. is zwöi Chnöi, and in German pl. the ending e is pronounced, zwei Knie; which is of high importance if you should have to explain the bee's knees, or Ameisichnöischibesalat, or Chnöischlotter and the like

 

chnöile,  v.i.,

knien, to kneel; abechnöile, v.i., auf die Knie fallen, niederknien, to kneel, to fall on one’s knees

 

Chnööre,  f.,

Klumpen, m., dickes Stück, n., chunk, lump; a Chnööre Brot, a Chnööre Fleisch, ein (kräftiges) Stück Brot, oder Fleisch; a chunk of bread, or meat; vergl. German Knorren, m.

 

Chnopf,  m., pl. Chnöpf

l.   Knoten, m., knot; chnöpfe, v.t., knoten,

     to knot; mach e dopplete Chnopf, mach

     einen doppelten Knoten, make a

double knot

2.  Knopf, m., button; Chnopfloch, n.,

     Knopfloch, buttonhole; zuechnöpfe,

     knöpfen, to button, to button up

3. fig. in the sense of bud (Knospe, f.),

     dr Chnopf uftue, aufwachsen, to grow up,

     to open up

4. fig. Knirps, m., tot; a chliine Chnopf,

     kleiner Knirps, a small fellow

 

Chnöpfli,  n.,

Spätzle, n., flour dumplings; a Swiss soul food, particularly good with venison or other meat with gravy; contrary to what you are told, they are better if slightly fried in butter, to a light touch; more easily made with a Chnöpflisibli, n., Spätzlesieb, n., dumplinator; some call them gnocchi, as in Italian

 

chnorze,  v.i.,

pfuschen, umständlich arbeiten, to fuss, to botch, to work with more brawn than brains

 

Chnorzi,  m.,

Umstandsmeier, m., fuss-pot; one who applies much effort for little effect; vergl. German Knorz, m., knot (in wood)

 

Chnuppesaager,  m.,

Umstandskrämer, m., knucklehead, fuss-pot; perhaps in the sense of one who saws through knots when there would be soft wood on either side; this is one of the milder epithets, shaming rather than insulting

 

chnüüble,  v.i.,

herumbasteln, Kleinarbeit verrichten, dröseln, to tinker, to work on something small and intricate (such as a tinker would); Chnüüblerei, f., knifflige und mühsame Kleinarbeit, f., intricate and frustrating piece of work; vergl. German Knobel, m.pl., knobeln, v.t.

 

Chnüüs,  m.,

komischer Kerl, m., Kauz, m., odd chap, nut; perhaps from German Knauser

 

chnuuschte, v.t.,

umarmen, umklammern (liebevoll), knautschen,

to hug, to squezze sbdy. (affectionately); beschreibt auch verpfuschtes und hartnäckiges Arbeiten;  also describes doing poor work with great effort; Chnuuschti, m., wer das tut, the one who does it; see also verchnuuscht

 

cho,  v.i.,

kommen, to come; i chume, du chunsch, är chunt, mir chöme, dir chömet, si chöme; p.p. cho; subj. i chäm (chiemti), du chämsch, är chäm, mir chämte, dir chämtet, si chämte; druus cho, nochecho, verstehen, begreifen, mitbekommen, to get it, to understand; chunsch nid druus? begreifst du es nicht? don't you get it?; übercho, erhalten, to receive; aacho, ankommen, to arrive; förcho, es überstehen, to survive; umchoo, umkommen, to fall (in battle); i dr Zitig cho, am Radio cho, in der Zeitung, am Radio, erwähnt werden, to make the news; cho go schaffe, zur Arbeit kommen, to come to work; chumeni hüt nid chumeni morn, wenn nicht heute dann morgen, one of these days; see also us-choo, usechoo

 

chöcherle,  v.t.,

langsam kochen, auf niedriger Hitze kochen, köcheln, Koch-spielen; to simmer, to bubble, to play at cooking; Chöcherlis schpile, mit Spielzeug kochen, to play cooks

 

choge, adj.,

verflixt, darned; es choge Züüg, eine verflixte Sache, a confounded nuisance

 

Chöhli,  m.,

Kohl, m., cabbage, kale

 

Chöitzgi,  m.,

Kaugummi, m., chewing gum; see also Chätschgumi

 

chönne,  v.t., v.i.,

können, to know, to be able to; i cha, du chasch, är cha, mir chöi, dir chöit, si chöi; p.p. chönne; subj. i chönnt, du chönntsch, är chönt, mir chönnte, dir chönntet, si chönnte; wie chamenou! wie kann man nur! how could you!

 

Chopfete,  f.,

Kopfende, n., des Bettes, head of bed

 

Chorber,  m.,

Korbmacher, m., basket maker

 

chörble,  v.t.,

erbrechen, to vomit

 

chosle,  v.i.,

mit Wasser spielen, planschen, also plantschen, to splash, to play with water; a Choslete, f., eine Planscherei, a soaking mess; a Chosli, m., jemand der planscht, one who plays with water

 

choudere,  v.i.,

schlechter Laune sein, to be ill-humoured; Chouderi, m., Choleriker, m., he who is ill-tempered; vergl. choler, choleric, German Koller, m., (rage), and French colère

 

Chöuti,  f.,

Kälte, f., cold, coldness; also Cheuti; dasch jetz ou enAffechöuti hüt, es ist bitter kalt heute, it sure is godawful cold today; chaut, adj., kalt, cold

 

Chouscht, f.,

Kachelofen, m.,; also Kouscht; Ofenbank

 

Chräbeli,  n. pl.,

Anis-Plätzchen, n.pl., claw-shaped anise cookies; often Badener Chräbeli, though ours are better; the German version of these cookies is made with a carved rolling pin, and is called Springerle, n.pl., ; and there are the related Änisbrötli, which are not bad either, if you cannot get the real thing; vergl. German Kralle, f., claw; this may evoke bear-claws, of similar ilk, semantically, but in taste and texture related to the danish. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

chräble,  v.t.,

kratzen, to scratch

 

Chräbu,  m.,

Kratzer, m., Schramme, f., scratch, scrape

​

Chrache,  m.,

Gracht, f., ditch, gulch; entfernter, abgelegener Ort, the boondocks, a remote, secluded place; dört wo dFüchs und dGäns enand guet Nacht säge (a saying, meaning a place so remote it isn't real); dä wohnt de scho im letschte Chrache hinde, er wohnt wirklich im hintersten Winkel, he lives indeed in the last corner of the earth; pl. Chräche; vergl. Engl. creek

​

Chräie, f.,

Krähe, f., crow

 

Chrampf,  m.,

Plackerei, f., mühselige Arbeit, toil, struggle, arduous task; chrampfe, v.i., sich abmühen, to toil; also Chrampferei, f.,(if of a lasting nature)

 

Chratte,  m.,

Korb, m., basket; a deep basket; Chriesichratte, a basket used for harvesting cherries; pl. Chrätte; Schteichratte, ein Korb für Steine, a basket for stones; vergl. Dutch krat

 

Chraueli,  n.,

Harke, f., small rake (a gardening tool); chrauele, v.t., die Erde lockern, to brak up the soil; vergl. German kraueln

 

Chräueli,  n.,

Kügelchen, n., Perle, f., bead; vergl. German Koralle, f., of which beads were sometimes fashioned

 

chrible,  v.i.,

kritzeln, v.i., to scribble, to scrawl; vergl. Verchrible

 

Chriesi,  n.,

Kirsche, f., cherry; chum mir wei go Chrieseli günne, weis amenort gar grüseli vil, (ein Liedlein aus alten Zeiten), (a song of old); Bernese: Chirschi

 

Chrigu,  m.,

Christian

 

Chrisascht,  m.,

Tannenast, m., branch of a conifer, in particular of spruce or fir; im Winter deckt me d'Rose mit Chrisescht (pl.) zue; im Winter deckt man die Rosen mit Reisig, in Winter you cover the roses with fir branches; Chrees, n., Tannnadeln, f., Reisig, m., conifer branches

 

chrisaschte, v.t.

zerschmettern, mit grossem Lärm zerschlagen, wüten, to smash, to shatter noisily, to rage, to cause havoc; gchrisaschtet, p.p.

 

Chritz,  m. pl.,

Krach, m., quarrel, tiff; heiter Chritz, habt ihr Streit, are you having a quarrel; also used in the lit. sense of the German Kritz, m., Kratzer, m., scratch

 

chrome,  v.t.,

einkaufen, to shop; in the sense of buying a present or a delicacy, as opposed to a necessity, which would be poschte, q.v.; or a little something, which would be gänggele, q.v.; or nothing at all, which would be lädele, q.v.; vergl. German kramen

 

Chrömli,  n.,

Plätzchen, n., cookie

 

Chröösch,  n.,

Spreu, f., chaff; also slang for money (dough, Pinke, f., Moneten, f.pl.); the öö is very closed, almost ü

 

chrose, v.i.,

rumpeln, poltern, rasseln, to rumble, to clatter, to make a crashing noise

 

Chrott,  m.,

Kröte, f., toad; auch als Beschreibung eines süssen Kindes, also used to describe a sweet child

 

Chrügeli,  n.,

etwas, das zu einem Ball zerknittert oder gerollt ist, something bunched up into a pellet; vergl. Chügeli, Kügelchen, n., pellet; see also verchrügle

 

Chrüpfe,  f.,

Krippe, f., Futtertrog, m., manger; the ü is open, almost ö

 

chrüpple,  v.i., (vulg.)

schuften, to toil, to slave; Chrüpplerei, f., Plackerei, f., drudgery; vergl. German Krüppel; see also chrampfe

 

chrüschele,  v.i.,

knistern, rascheln, to rustle

 

Chruseli,  f.,

1. Kraushaar, n., curls,

2. Stachelbeeren, f., gooseberries; also Chruselibeeri

 

Chrüsimüsi,  n.,

Durcheinander, n., Wirrwarr, n., hodge-podge, hotchpotch, jumble; see also Dürenang

 

Chrüsmeli,  n.,

Krume, f., (pl. Krumen), Krümel, n.&m., crumbs; also Chrümeli; also Chrösmeli, also Brösmeli, q.v.

 

Chrüter,  m.,

ein Schnaps auf Kräuterbasis , a spirit, or liqueur, made from herbs

 

chrüttere,  v.t.,

zusammenbrauen, zusammenbasteln, to concoct, to cook up; also zämechrüttere, pfuschen, to botch

 

Chruttschtile,  m.,

ein Mangold-artiges Gemüse (Betula vulgaris cicla), Swiss chard

​

Chrützlischtich, m.,

Crossstitch, Kreuzstitch, m., an embroidery stitch for beginners

 

Chuchichäschtli,  n.,

Küchenschrank, m., kitchen cupboard

​

Chuchigänterli, n.,

Speisekammer, f., pantry; somewhat bigger than a Chuchichäschtli, n., q.v.

 

chüderle,  v.i.,

liebevoll pflegen, verhätscheln, schmeicheln, to care for lovingly, to humour somebody, to pamper, to mollycoddle, to flatter; de Rose mues me chüderle, Rosen brauchen liebevolle Pflege, roses need loving care; öpperem der Bart chüderle, jemanden schmeicheln. To stroke someone’s beard, see also Chuderwäutsch, and hächle

 

Chuderwäutsch, n.,

Kauderwelsch, n., verworrene Rede, f., gibberish, gobbledygook, double Dutch; vergl. Swiss Chuder, Hanf, m., the fiber of hemp before it is spun; see also chüderle, hächle

 

Chüechli,  n.,

kleine Kuchen, auch Guezli, cookies, muffins, small cakes; Bernese: also Chüechleni; vergl. Fasnachts-Chüechli, see Chnöiblätze; also im Fett gebackenes Zuckerwerk; also used in the sense of pancakes, Pfannkuchen, m.

​

Chüedräck, m.,

Kuhfladen, m., cow patties

 

chuenegle,  v.i. (3rd person only),

von Kälte verursachtes akutes Schmerzen der Fingernägel (auch Zehennägel), acute pain in fingernails (also toenails) exposed to cold; es chueneglet mi; (a signal warning of reduced blood circulation preceeding frostbite, chilblain, etc.)

 

Chüier,  m.,

Kuhhirt, m., Küher, m., cowherd; the fellow who looks after the cows; cowboy would be misleading, because a Swiss cow is mainly a dairy cow, not beef on the hoof, and a member of the family, ranked somewhere between the Chüier and the Verdingbueb, q.v.; Chüierglüt, n., das Schellen (das Geläute) von Kuhglocken, the ringing sound of cow-bells

 

chümele,  v.i.,

schmeicheln, locken, herumkriegen, to flatter, to coax, to cajole; see also flattiere, and chüderle

 

Chümi,  m.,

Kümmel, m., caraway, cumin-seed; fig. a Chümi, ein Quatsch, m., nonsense, baloney, and one who disseminates such; Chümi is also Kümmelschnaps, m., kummel (liqueur); also slang for money, hesch Chümi? hast du Moneten? have you got "change"?

 

Chüng,  m.,

König, m., (beim Kartenspiel), king (in a deck of cards); otherwise it is König

 

chüngele,  v.t.,

pfuschen, vermasseln, to bungle, to botch, to work to no clear purpose

 

Chüngu,  m.,

Kaninchen, n., rabbit; also Chüngeli; pl. Chüngle; vergl. English coney

 

Chuppele,  f.,

Schar, f., Gruppe, f., flock, group, small crowd; a Chuppele Schoof, eine Schafherde, a flock of sheep; e ganzi Chuppele Chind (Ching), eine Gruppe Kinder, a whole bunch of children; chuppelewiis, adv., haufenweise, in heaps or crowds; vergl. Latin copula, Engl. Couple

 

chüschele,  v.i., v.t.,

flüstern, to whisper; vergl. French chuchoter

 

Chuscht,  f.,

Geschmack, m., Aroma, n., taste; see also chüschtig, aromatisch, tasty; vergl. German kosten (to taste) and French goût

 

chüschtig,  adj.,

schmackhaft, knusprig, tasty, crunchy; see also Chuscht

 

Chüssi,  n.,

Kissen,n., Pfulmen, m., pillow, cushion; Gufechüssi, n., Nadelkissen, n., pin-cushion

 

chute,  v.i.,

winden, sausen, to blow; es chute ums Huus ume, der Wind fegt um das Haus, the wind is whistling around the house

 

Chütt,  m.,

Kitt, m., putty; muesch d'Fänschter verchütte, süsch chunt dr Wind ine, du mußt die Fenster verkitten, sonst pfeift der Wind durch, you have to caulk the windows to keep out the wind

 

Chüttene,  f.,

Quitten, f., quince; Chütteneschlee, m., Quittengelee, m., quince-jelly; Chüttenebäschtli, Plätzchen aus Quittengelee, quince jelly sweets

 

Chuttli,  n.,

Kittel, m., Weste, f., jacket, vest; Sennechuttli, n., Sennenkittel, m., the traditional alpine cowherd's jacket; also Chutteli; vergl. Frankish kotta, English coat; vergl. Indo-Europäisch kadh-

 

chutzele,  v.t.,

kitzeln, to tickle, vergl. French chatouiller

 

chüüche,  v.i.,

keuchen, to gasp, to pant; also chiiche; Chüüchhueschte, m., Keuchhusten, whooping-cough

 

chuum,  adv.,

kaum, hardly, barely, like hell, no sooner ... than, only just; "Chuum", het dr Schtier gseit, wo si ne hei wöue mäuche, "Kaum", sagte der Ochse, als man ihn melken wollte; "Hardley", said the bull, when they wanted to milk him

 

Chuz,  m.,

- Kauz, m., owl, screwball; e komische Chuz, ein wunderlicher Kauz, an odd chap; pl. Chüz;

- wirre Haartracht, f., unkempt hair; a Chuz ha, zerzauste Haare haben, to have a bad hair day; see also verchuze

 

Cöuer,  n.,

Kragen, m., Kragenteile der Bekleidung, collar, cape; auch Göller; (a seamstress word); vergl. German Koller, n.

 

Cuppe,  f.,

Schale, f., bowl; Früchtecuppe, bowl of fruit; also bowl of icecream, vergl. French coupe, f.

 

Cuveer,  n.,

Briefumschlag, m., envelope; hesch sCuveer zuekleippet? hast du den Briefumschlag verklebt? did you seal the envelope?; vergl. French couvert

D

D

dä,  dem. pron. (declined as adj.)

dieser, m., this one, he; dä do, dieser hier, this one here; mit däm, mit diesem, with this; the f. version is die (with pronounced e); the n. version is daas, dieses, this one, it; i ma daas nid verliide, ich mag das nicht, I can't stand this; pl. is as f., die, diese, they

 

Dachchänu,  m.,

Dachrinne, f., Traufrinne, f., roof gutter

 

dada,  int., (nursery talk)

bitte, danke, ta! please, thanks; your first words; accent is still on first a, the second a is a tad longer

 

dafi, expr.

Darf ich, may I

 

Däle,  f.,

Föhre, f., Kiefer, f., pine (-tree)

 

däne,  adv.,

drüben, jenseits, over there, beyond; vergl. prehistoric Germanic jandana, and English yonder; see also dörtäne

 

dängele, v.t.,

dengeln (eine Sense), to whet (a scythe); to temper the blade of a scythe by beating it with a mallet, on an anvil, see Sägeze

 

dänk, part.

wohl, perhaps, probably; I mues dänk, ich muss wohl, ich sollte wahrscheinlich, I probably should;

 

dasch,  contraction,

das ist, this is; dasch nid wohr, das ist nicht wahr, that's not true; dasch esoo, das ist so, that's like this; dasch gäbig, das ist praktisch, that’s handy

 

däwä,  adv.,

solcherart, so, along these lines; also däwäg, lit. auf diesem Weg, this way; i ha mi däwä ufgregt, ich hab mich so aufgeregt, I was so upset

​

de, adv.,

dann, then; und de bin I hei, und dann ging ich nach Hause, and then I went home

​

Dechi,  f.,

Federbett, n., duvet; pl. Dechine

​

Deckeli, n.,

Tortenspitze, f., small mat of lace

​

deer,  pers. pron.,

ihr, Ihr, you; 2nd person pl., and lower polite form; at times shortened to der or dr; deer chöit mer blöterle, zum Teufel mit euch, to hell with you; also, more courteously:  Der chöit inechoo, Ihr könnt hereinkommen (tretet ein), you may come in

 

deet,  adv.,

see dört

​

deheime, adv.

daheim, at home, in one’s own country; niene geits so schön und luschtig wie deheim im Ämmitau (an old song about the Emmental)

 

deheimeloh, v.t.,

zuhause lassen, to leave at home; i has deheimegloh, I left it at home

 

deheimesii, v.i.,

zuhause sein, to be in, to be at home; bisch deheime?, are you at home?, siter deheim? (plural); vergl. the German adv. daheim

 

dehre,  v.t.,

dörren, to dry, to desiccate; Öpfuschnitz dehre, Äpfelschnitze dörren, to dry appleslices

 

deizit,  adv.,

damals, zu jener Zeit, then, at that time, in those days; deizit si di meischte gloffe, damals gingen die meisten zu Fuss, at that time, most everybody walked

 

derbii,  adv.,

dabei, near, at the same time; s'goht guet, derbii chlage si immer, es geht gut, obwohl sie sich immerfort beklagen, all is well, though they keep complaining; the accent is on the i; derbiisii, dabei sein, to participate, to be present; p.p. derbiigsi, dabei gewesen, to have been present

 

derfoochoo,  v.i.,

davonkommen, to escape, to get off; mir si mit knapper Noot derfoochoo, mit größter Not entwischten wir, we had a narrow escape

 

derfooloufe,  v.i.,

entlaufen, to run away; pp. derfoogloffe;

 

derför, adv.,

dafür, for; bisch derför oder derwider? Bist du dafür oder dagegen, are you for or against?

 

dergliche tue,  v.i.,

vortäuschen, tun als ob, to act as if, to pretend, to go through the motions, faire semblant, fare mostra di ...; är tuet nume dergliche, er tut nur als ob er sich darum kümmere, he is only pretending; öppis dergliche tue, reagieren, auf etwas eingehen, etwas beitragen, to react, to respond, to contribute; nüüt dergliche tue, nicht darauf eingehen, to ignore something; är het nüüt dergliche to, er hat sich nichts anmerken lassen, he did not react; eim eis dergliche tue, jemandem einen Gefallen erwidern, to return a favour

 

derig,  adj., dem. pron.,

solche, solche welche, such; also derigi; also dere; synonymous with settig, q.v., the latter being more Bernese; öppis derigs, something like that, etwas solches

 

derno,  adj.,

danach, gewiß, bestimmt; according, certain, corresponding; derno Sache, gewisse Dinge, certain things; derno öpper, jemand dieser Art, gewisse Leute; somebody of a certain ilk, some folks; derno öpper häts nid gärn, gewisse Leute würden es nicht schätzen; some might object

 

derwile,  adv.,

unterdessen, meanwhile; derwile chani afoh choche, mittlerweile kann ich zu kochen anfangen, meanwhile I can start cooking

 

derzit ha,  v.i., expression,

Zeit haben, Weile haben, to have (the) time, to have a moment; hesch derzit? hast du Zeit? can you spare the time?; see also Zit, f., and Zit, n.; vergl. German derzeit, adv., at present, and derzeitig, adj., present; also vergl. German derweil, derweilen, conj., while, adv., meanwhile

 

derzuegheie,  v.t.,

beigeben, to add in, to throw in with the rest; see gheie

 

derzwüsche,  adv.,

dazwischen, between

 

derzwüschegheie,  v.t.,

dazwischenwerfen, to throw inbetween, to add in; see gheie

 

Dili,  f.,

Decke, f., (eines Zimmers), ceiling; pl. Diline; vergl. German Diele, f., (floor, vestibule)

dinne,  adv.,

drinnen, indoors, within

 

dise, dem. adj.,

jener, that, that one; dise wär der besser gsi, the other one would have been better; the opposite is dä, q.v.

 

disewäg,  adv.,

umgekehrt, auf die andere Art; vice versa, the other way around; also disewä, also disewäg ume; vergl. däwä

 

Ditti,  n.,

Puppe, f., doll, dolly; see also Bääbi

 

Diwan,  m.,

Sofa, n., couch, divan

 

do,  adv.,

(referring to time) dann, then; i bi do hei, after that, I went home; do isch es zschpoot gsi, und dann war's zu spät, and then it was too late; do frogsch di, da fragst du dich, you wonder; see also doo

 

doäne,  adv.,

hierher, hither; chum doäne, komm hierher, come hither

 

dobe,  adv.,

oben, at the top, upstairs; hesch dobe gluegt? hast du oben nachgesehen? did you check upstairs?

 

dohäre, adv.

hierher, here; chum dohäre, komm hierher, come here

 

Donschtig,  m.,

Donnerstag, Thursday; also Donschti

 

doo,  adv.,

(referring to place) da, hier, here; i bi doo, ich bin hier, I am here; was isch doo los, was geht hier vor? what's going on here; chum dohäre, komm hierher, come here; doo obe, da oben, up here; dä doo, dieser hier, the one here; doo düre, in diese Richtung, this way; do ume, hierzulande, in this country; see also do

 

Dorli,  n.,

Dora, Dorothea, Dorothy

 

dört,  adv.,

dort, there; dört und äne-use verwöne, to spoil in every way; dört und äne-use rüeme, to praise beyond description; also deet; vodeetawägg, von

dort an, starting from there

 

dörtäne,  adv.,

dort, dorthin, dort drüben, there, over there; dörtäne goni gärn, dorthin geh ich gerne, I like to go there; also dörthäre

 

dört-he, adv.,

dorthin,to that place, there; wotsch einisch dört-he, möchtest du einmal dorthin, would you like to go there for a change

​

do-umenand, adv.,

hierzulande, hereabouts; do-ume, hierum

 

dra,  adv.,

daran, on it, on them; prefix to many verbs, such as drasii, to be in the process of doing something, dragä, beifügen, to add to, dratue, zugeben, to

mix with, draha, geschmückt sein, to be adorned with; and as suffix to many adverbs, such as näbedra, nebenan, next to it, obedra, darüber,

above it, undedra, darunter, underneath it, hindedra, dahinter, behind it, voredra, davor, in front of it; also dranume, daran, about it, drababe, hinunter, off it, drahäre, daran, on it, dranufe, dazu, onto it, and lord knows what else.

 

drababe,  adv.,

herunter, hinunter, off; gang drababe, geh 'runter, get off it

 

drababegheie,  v.i.,

'runterfallen, herunterpurzeln, to fall off (it); also drabgheie, which is perhaps from a slightly lesser height; see gheie

 

drachoo,  v.i.,

an der Reihe sein, to be next; wär chunt dra? der Nächste bitte, who is next?

 

Dräckete, f.,

Verschmutzung, f., mess

 

dragheie,  v.t.,

dazuwerfen, beifügen, to throw in, to add; Salz dragheie, Salz beigeben, to throw in some salt

 

dräie,  v.t.,

drehen, to turn; Dräibüni, f., Drehbühne, f., revolving stage; see also aadräie, abdräie, düredräie

 

dri,  adv., pref., suff.,

darein, drein, in, into it, into them; sich dri ergäh, sich darein ergeben, to resign oneself to it; sich drischicke, same meaning; used also as prefix with many verbs, such as drigheie, drigumpe, drimischle, driploudere, drischiesse, and dritschauppe; also used as suffix in such words as hindedri, obedri, undedri and voredri, q.v.; Wema obedri Öpfu tuet chunnt unde Moscht use, wenn man oben Âpfel einfüllt fliesst unten Most heraus; if you add apples on top you get cider below

 

drigheie,  v.i.,

reinfallen, to fall for it; also v.t., hineinwerfen, to throw in; see gheie

 

driluege,  v.i.,

hineinsehen, to look into; fig. aussehen, to look; wie luegsch ou dri? wie siehst du auch aus? what happened to you?

 

drinine,  adv.,

hinein, into; drinine flüge, hinein fliegen, to fly right into it

 

drininne,  adv.,

im Innern, drinnen, in der Mitte, inside, within, in the middle of; drininne hets Chärnli, im Innern hat es Kernchen, inside, there are pips

 

dritrappe, v.i.,

dareintreten, to step into; Bernese;

 

dritümpfle, v.t.,

eintunken, to dip in, to sop; vergl. Austrian Tümpf, pool; see also tünkle

 

drü,  num.adj.,

drei, three; Drüblatt, n., Dreier, m., set of three (when playing cards, for instance Jaß)

 

drüberabe, adv., prep.,

nachher, afterwards, later; churz drüberabe, kurz danach, shortly afterwards; asa prep. It means the same as drüberübere, except the direction of the movement is more downward

 

drüberübere,  adv.,

darüber hinweg, over it, across it; drüberübere gumpe, darüber hinweg springen, to jump over it

​

Drück,  n.,

Gedränge, n., a crush of people, a jam; at times pronounced Trück; a Drückerei, f., the behaviour leading to the Drück, ein Gedränge f., a crowding, a pushing and shoving

 

drufaachoo,  v.i.,

darauf ankommen, wichtig sein, to matter, to be of importance, to be critical; s chunt nit drufaa, es ist egal, it doesn't matter

 

drufufe,  adv.,

darüber, over, across, on top of; also drufue

 

drufufegheie,  v.i.,

darüber hinfallen, to fall on top of it; also v.t., darauf werfen, to throw on top; see gheie

 

drufufeschiesse, v.t.,

darauf werfen, to throw on top

 

drumm,  conj.,

darum, therefore

 

drumume,  adv.,

darum herum,darumher, rundherum, um etwas herum, rundum, around, round about; drumume loufe, darum herumgehen, to walk around it

 

drumumelire,  v.t.,

umwickeln, darum herumwinden; to wind something around something; see lire

 

drunderchoo, v.i.,

überfahren werden, darunter fallen, to be run over, to fall underneath; är isch drunderchoo, er wurde überfahren, he got run over

 

drunderunde, prep.,

unter, underneath; at the bottom of a heap of stuff

 

drunderundere, adv.,

darunter, underneath; öppis drunderundere lege, etwas darunter schieben, to put something underneath

 

druus-cho,  v.i.,

verstehen, begreifen, to understand, to grasp; i chume nid druus, ich verstehe es nicht, I don't get it; chunsch druus? kapierst du's? get it?

 

druusgheie,  v.i.,

aus dem Takt fallen, to lose the beat, to be put off one's stroke; sig rueig, süsch ghei i druus, sei still, sonst falle ich aus dem Takt, be quiet, or I'll have to start over; see gheie

 

dschtägenab, adv.,

die Treppe hinab, down the stairs; dschtägenab gheie, die Treppe hinunter fallen, to fall down the stairs; dschtägenuf, die Treppe hinauf, up the stairs

​

Dübu, m.,

Dübel, m., dowel

 

düele,  v.t.,

buddeln, to dig; see also Tüele, f., Delle, f., Vertiefung, dell, indentation

 

dunde,  adv.,

unten, dort unten, at the bottom, at the foot, downstairs

 

dürap,  adv.,

hinunter, downwards; a schtotzige Schtutz dürap, down a steep incline; also dürab, also dürabe

 

düre,  prep., adv., and verb pref.,

durch, through; also dure; do düre!, hierdurch!, this way!; wo düre?, welche Richtung?, which way?; voredüre, vornherum, around the front; hindedüre, hintenherum, around the back; änedure, durch die andere Seite, by the other side; obedüre, drüberhinweg, over the top; undedüre, untendurch, through the lower way; nöimedüre, irgendwohindurch, by any way; do müesse mir jez düre, das ist nun unser Schicksal, this is the path assigned to us

 

dürebrönne,  v.i.,

entwischen, entlaufen, to escape; not quite synonymous with the German durchbrennen, which is used fig. for to elope; sRoss isch düreprönnt (sRoss isch ab), das Pferd ist ausgebrochen, the horse ran away

 

düredräie,  v.t.,

durchdrehen (und dabei die Schraube vermasseln), to overtighten (so as to ruin the screw); fig. düreträit, durchgedreht, bekloppt, meschugge, nuts, quite crazy, gone

 

düregheie,  v.i.,

durchfallen, to fail (an exam); also düreflüge; p.p. düregheit; see gheie

 

düremache, v.t.,

durchmachen, erleiden, to endure, to suffer

dürenang,  adv.,

durcheinander, pell-mell, higgledy-piggledy, topsy-turvy; see nang; also dürenand; see also Chrüsimüsi

 

Dürenang,  n.,

Durcheinander, n., jumble, confusion, mess, pell-mell, snafu; also Dürenand; see also Chrüsimüsi

 

düreschtiere,  v.t.,

erzwingen, to force; öppis düreschtiere, etwas erzwingen/erzwängen, to force something in a pig-headed way; vergl. German Stier; träm tram trädiridii, üse Mutz isch gärn derbii, steuit ne ad Schpitze vüre, sakermänt är schtierets düre (Bärnermarsch); Düreschtiererei, f., Rechthaberei, f., obstinacy; see Zwängerei, f.

 

Duri,  m.,

Arthur

 

dürtue,  v.t.,

übertrumpfen, durchstreichen, widerlegen, to surpass, to go one better than, to cross out, to cancel, to refute

 

düruf,  adv,

hinauf, upwards; du muesch dört düruf, du mußt dort hinauf, you have to go up that way; also dürufe, also dürue

 

Dürzug,  m.,

Durchzug, m., draught; in Bernese: Dürluft, m.

 

dusse,  adv.,

draußen, outside, out of doors

 

düssele,  v.i.,

schleichen, leise gehen, to sneak, to tread softly; vergl. French doucement

 

dütsch,  adj.,

deutsch, German; chasch dütsch? do you know German?; im Dütschenusse, in Deutschland, in Germany; dütsch und dütlich, klipp und klar, in no uncertain terms

 

duure,  v.i.,

Mitleid haben, to feel sorry for; er tuet eim duure, man hat Mitleid mit ihm, one feels sorry for him

 

duzis,  adj.,

duzis sii, auf dem Duzfuß stehen; to be on familiar (first name) terms with someone; si si duzis mitenand, sie duzen sich, they call each other by first name; vergl. German sich duzen

E

E

echlii,  adj., adv.,

ein klein wenig, ein bißchen, a little, somewhat, a bit; mir göh echlii z'Bärg, wir gehen ein wenig in die Berge, we are going for a hike in the hills; also echli (with accent on the short i)

 

effee, n.,

in the expression „effee gäh“, beim Fussballspiel den Ball so kicken dass die Flugbahn seitlich abdreht, to throw a curveball, to give it a spin, to give it a bit of „English“; from the French donner de l’effet à la balle

 

ehnder,  adv.,

eher, sooner, rather; dr Ehnder isch dr Gschwinder, der erste kriegt den Lebkuchen, the early bird gets the worm

 

Eiertätsch,  m.,

Omelett, n., Eierkuchen, m., omelet; nowadays more often called Umelette, f.; from French omelette, f.

 

eigelig,  adj.,

eigenartig, peculiar; öppis eigeligs, etwas Eigenartiges, something odd

 

eiget,  adj.,

eigen, own; sis eigete Huus, sein eigenes Haus, his own house; sis Eigete, n., sein Eigentum, n., his own

 

eim,  pron.,

einem, one; es tuet eim guet, es tut einem gut, it feels good

 

einewäg,  adv.,

sowieso, jedenfalls, anyway, willy-nilly;

 

   Worum söu ig bim Schbaziere

   nit dr Horizont schtudiere?

   Schön sigs jo ou änet de Hääg,

   und do bin ig yo einewäg.

 

   "Warum soll ich nicht beim Gehen"

   - sprach er - "in die Ferne sehen?

   Schön ist es auch anderswo,

   und hier bin ich sowieso".

 

   Why should I not, while walking here,

   look at some views that are not near?

   Enjoy the distant scenes, I say,

   for here I hang out anyway.

 

said Mr. Pief, - as you know,

Hierbei aber stolpert er

in den Teich und sieht nichts mehr); vergl. Glungge, q.v.;

 

En français? Voilà:

 

   Je voudrais, quand je me promène,

   voir autre chose que ma domaine.

   C'est beau là-bas vers Besançon!

   Chez moi je suis de toute façon.

 

(apologies to Wilhelm Busch, Plisch und Plum, final chapter)

 

also welewäg; s'isch welewäg uf eis usecho, es war so oder so dasselbe, it was the same either way

 

einisch,  adv.,

einmal, once; but in the sense of the Latin quondam, it can be in the past or in the future;

in the past: einstmals, ehemals, at one time, formerly; s'isch einisch a Prinzässin gsi, es war einmal ..., once upon a time...;

in the future: einmal, dereinst, in days to come; was git das einisch? was wird das werden? what will become of it?

vergl. zwöinisch, drünisch, und viernisch, (no further), twice, thrice, four times; no einisch, nochmals, once more; ufeinisch, auf einmal, all of a sudden

 

Eint,  m.,

der Eine, das Eine, one of them, someone, something; as the inscription on an old chalet in Kandersteg says: Mancher acht's, dr Eint veracht's, was macht's?, some like it, some don't, who cares; vergl. also the expression s'Eint oder s'Andere, das Eine oder das Andere, one thing or the other

 

eis,  num.adj.,

eins, one

 

Eisse,  f.,

Abszeß, m., Karbunkel m., abscess, carbuncle; vergl. Eiter, m.

 

Emmi, f.,

Emma

 

empfoh, v.t.,

empfangen, to receive (someone); see also foh

​

emu,  adv.,

jedenfalls, at any rate; i ha emu gmeint das sig wohr, ich glaubte jedenfalls es wäre wahr, to me it seemed true; auch ömu, ämu; vergl. German einmal

 

erlicke,  v.t.,

herausfinden, entdecken, kapieren, to find out, to discover, to figure out, to get it; sChind het erlickt wie me sGatter ufmacht, das Kind hat entdeckt wie man das Gatter öffnet, the child discovered how to open the gate

 

Eschtrich,  m.,

Dachgeschoß, n., loft, attic; German Estrich means stone floor, patio; another Swiss word for attic is Winde, f.,

 

esoo,  adv.,

auf diese Art, derart, in the same way, so; esoo chunts use, soweit kommt es, that's what happens; i bi esoo müed, ich bin derart müde, I am so tired; esoo öppis Dumms!, so etwas Dummes, something as stupid as that!

 

Etui,  n.,

Bleistiftbehälter, Schreibzeugtäschchen, kleiner Behälter, pencil box, small case (for spectacles, etc.); French étui, m.

 

ëubögle, v.i.,

sich vordrängen, jemanden beiseite drängeln, to elbow your way, to jostle someone aside; also ellbögle

F

F

Fabrikler,  m.,

Fabrikarbeiter, m., factory worker

 

Fägfüür, n.,

Fegefeuer, n., purgatory; the place where catholics go once dead

 

fähle,  v.i.,

fehlen, to be absent; also fig. däm fäuts, der ist bekloppt, he is nuts; das fäut mr grad no, das fehlte gerade noch, that's the last thing I need

 

Fähli,  n.,

Fell, n., skin, hide, pelt, fur; es Chüngelifähli, n., ein Kaninchenfell, n., a rabbit pelt

 

Fahneschwinge, v.t.,

die Schweizer Art des quirlschwingen,mit einer Schweizerfahne; the Swiss version of baton twirling, accomplished with a Swiss flag

​

Farechrut, n.,

Farn, m., Farnkraut, n., fern

 

färn,  adj.,

im letzten Jahr, vor einem Jahr, last year, a year ago; vorfärn, im vorletzten Jahr, two years ago; färndrige Schnee, alte Geschichten; the snows of yesteryear; vergl. German fern

 

fasch,  adv.,

fast, almost; faschgar, adv., beinahe, nearly

 

Fasnachts-Chüechli,  n. sing. and pl.,

see Chnöiblätze

 

Fassdugeli,  n., sing. and pl.

Daube, f., barrel-stave; used in simpler days as skis for beginners

 

Fäuge, f., pl.

Felgen, f., pl., felloes, rims; uf de Fäuge sii, todmüde sein, erschöpft sein, to be exhausted, to be knackered, to run on empty

 

Fazolettli,  n.,

Taschentuch, n., handkerchief; vergl. Italian fazzoletto

 

fei,  adv.,

ziemlich, ordentlich, fairly, pretty (coll.); fei echli Gäut, recht ordentlich Geld, a pretty penny

 

feiss,  adj.,

feist, fett, obese, fat; a feissi Sou, ein fettes Schwein, a fat pig; 'magere'

 

feisse,  v.i.,

zunehmen, Gewicht zulegen, to put on weight, to gain weight, to get stouter; hesch gfeisset? hast du zugenommen? did you gain weight?; it tends to underline the piggy aspect of the matter, as does ticke, q.v., otherwise you would say hesch zuegnoh?; for the contrary see magere

 

fergge,  v.t.,

holen, zuführen, to fetch, to convey; implies some physical effort; ufefergge, v.t., emporschleppen, to drag upward; Ferggerei, f., Vorbereitungsraum, m., staging area; Fergger, m., Vorbereiter, m., Überführer, m., conveyer

 

Fideelisuppe,  f.,

Consommé Célestine, eine Suppenbrühe mit feiner Teigwaren Einlage; a broth with thin noodles; vergl. Italian Fedelini

 

figureetle,  v.t.,

ausarbeiten, erfinden, erraten, to figure out, to tinker; also usfigureetle; see also usfiguriere,

vergl. French fignoler

 

fiischter,  adj.,

finster, dunkel, dark, dim, gloomy, murky, grim; s'isch scho fiischter dusse, es ist schon dunkel draußen, it's already dark out; also feischter; Fiischteri, f., Dunkelheit, f., Finsternis, f., darkness; if it's an eclipse, the Swiss term would be Finschternis, f.; fiischtere, dunkel werden, sich verfinstern, to become dark, to lour

 

Fingerbeeri, n., sing. and pl.,

Fingerspitze, f., fingertip

 

Finke,  m., sing. and pl.

Hausschuh, m., slipper

 

Finöggeli, n.,

zartes Mädchen, Zärtling, m.; delicate girl, milksop

 

flattiere,  v.i.,

schmeicheln, to flatter; see also chümele, and

chüderle

 

Fleischchäs, m.,

Leberkäse, m., a type of meatloaf

 

Flirz,  m.,

Augensand, m., sand (in the eyes)

 

Flohnerläbe,  n.,

Faulenzerleben, n., Müßiggang, m., life of Riley; mir hei es Flohnerläbe, wir haben es leicht, we have it easy; also v.i. flohne, faulenzen, to be idle; vergl. French flâner

​

Flöige, f.,

Fliege, f., fly

 

Fluumer,  m.,

Staubwedel, m., dust-mop; fluume, v.t., abstauben, to dust; vergl. German Flaum, m.

 

foh,  v.t.,

fangen, to catch; i foh, du fohsch, är foht, mir föh, dir föht, si föh; aafoh, v.t., anfangen, to begin, to start; iifoh, v.t., einfangen, to catch, to round up; abfoh, v.t., abfangen, to catch, to intercept; uffoh, v.t., auffangen, to catch, to gather; empfoh, v.t., empfangen, to receive

 

föidal, adj.,

feudal – aber im Sinne von vornehm, erstklassig, protzig, in the sense of posh, grand, first class

 

föif,  num.adj.,

fünf, five; föifi loh grad sii, es nicht zu genau nehmen, to close one eye, or perhaps both

 

Föifliber,  m.,

Fünffrankenstück, n., five-franc coin; sometimes also called a Höier, because the image on one side seems to be of a person dressed for haying; see also Höier; see also grampoole

 

föppele, v.t.,

foppen, to tease

 

förig,  prep.,

in the question 'was förig', welcherlei, was für welche, of what kind; also was förigi; not to be confused with vörig (where the ö is slightly longer), q.v.

 

Fotzelschnitte,  f.,

im Ei gebackene Brotschnitten, a type of French toast

 

Foti,  f.,

Photo, f., photo

 

fouge,  v.i.,

gehorchen, to obey; vergl. German folgen, to follow, Folge leisten, to comply with; mir hei müesse fouge i dr Schueu, wir mußten gehorchen in der Schule, we had to obey at school

 

Fridu, m.,

Alfred, Fred, Freddy

 

Frisuur,  f.,

Haartracht, f., hair-do; vergl. French friser, frisure

 

Fritig,  m.,

Freitag, Friday; also Friti

 

Frögli,  m.,

unermüdlicher Fragesteller, m., undefatigable question poser; often a child

 

Fröideli,  n.

kleine Freude, f., n., Gefallen, m., small pleasure, favour; öpperem es Fröideli mache, jemandem eine kleine Freude bereiten, to please somebody

 

frömdele,  v.i.,

fremdschämen, fremdeln, to be shy towards strangers; said of children who are unaccustomed to strangers

​

Frömdi,  f.,

Fremde, f., foreign country, place away from home

 

frome,  v.t.,

essen, to eat

 

früech,  adj.,

früh, early; früechi Öpfu, frühe Äpfel, early apples

 

früecher,  adj.,

früher, einst, in former times, long ago, at one time; frücher aube, in vergangenen Zeiten, einstmals, in times past, at one time, way back when; see also aube; see also einisch; früecherig, adj., aus vergangenen Zeiten, from days gone by

 

Füdli,  n., (vulg.)

Hinter, m.(vulg.), bum, toosh, heini; (a less vulg. term is Gsäss, n., Gesäß, bottom)

 

füdliblutt, adj., (vulg.)

splitternakt, stark naked

 

Füdlibürger,  m.,

Spießbürger, m., Spießer, m., local yokel, m., pettifogger, narrow-minded person, bourgeois

​

fuere,  v.t.,

füttern (animals), to feed; hesch dChüe gfueret? hast du die Kühe gefüttert, did you feed the cows?; actually, we would have said hesch ineggäh? did you put fodder in the manger?; not to be confused with German füttern, v.t., to line (with a lining), to pad, to stuff (a pillow), Swiss füetere; vergl. also German futtern, v.i. (to eat heartily); Futter, n., and Fütterung, f., also have double meanings, feed, feeding, lining

 

Fuessete,  f.,

Fußende, n., des Bettes, foot of bed

​

Fuessbäueler, m.,

Fussballspieler, m., soccer player; Chorbbäueler, m., Korbballspieler, m., basketball player

 

Füfzgi, n.,

fünfzig Rappen Münze, fifty-cent coin

 

füfzgi, num.adj.,

fünfzig, fifty; är iasch füfzgi, er ist fünfzig, he is fifty

 

Fuhre,  f.,

Furche, f., furrow; the u is very open, almost o; gradi Fuhre, gerade Furchen, straight furrows; (the German Fuhre, f., is a cart-load)

 

fürchoo,  v.i.,

davonkommen, überleben, to escape, to survive; the pronunciation is almost förchoo; see also derfoochoo

 

füre,  adv., pref.,

vorwärts, forward(s), to the front; chum füre! komm hervor! come out!; also separable pref., fürecho, hervorkommen, to emerge, fürehole, hervorholen, to fetch, füreluege, hervorblicken, to peep, fürezoubere, hervorzaubern, to conjure up; fürenäh, hervornehmen, to bring out

 

füregheie,  v.t.,

nach vorne werfen, to cast up front; Höi vüregheie, Heu einwerfen (in die Krippe), to bring up hay (from the stack to the manger, which is important, if you are a cow); see gheie

 

füregüggele,  v.i.,

hervorschauen, to appear; d'Tulpe güggele scho vüre, die Tulpen zeigen sich schon, the tulips are coming up already; vergl. German gucken; see guusse

 

füreluege,  v.i.,

hervorblicken, to appear, to show itself

 

füribond,  adj.,

wutentbrannt, furious; vergl. French furibond

 

Fürobe,  m.,

Feierabend, m., closing time, leisure time after work; mer mache Fürobe, wir machen Schluß, we're knocking off

 

fürschi,  adv.,

vorwärts, forwards; see also hindertschi

 

furtgheie,  v.t.,

wegwerfen, to throw away; synonym of wäggheie; see gheie

 

furtschiesse,  v.t.,

wegwerfen, to throw away; schiessisch das aues furt? wirfst du das alles weg? are you throwing all this away? see also schiesse

 

futsch,  adj., coll.,

kaputt, ruined, screwed up; vergl. Fr. foutu

 

futtere,  v.i.,

toben, wettern, to rage, to fulminate; vergl. French foutre

​

Füür, n.,

Feuer, n., fire; Erschtougschtefüür, n., Lagerfeuer zum Ersten August, bonfire to celebrate the Swiss National Holiday; see also aafüüre

 

fuxe,  v.t.,

ärgern, to vex; es het mi gfuxet, das i ne verpasst ha, es ist ärgerlich, daß ich ihn verpaßt habe, it vexed me to have missed him; vergl. German fuchsen, feixen

G

G

gä,  v.t.,

geben, to give; i gibe, du gisch, är git, mir gä, dir gät, si gä; p.p. ggä; subj. i gäbti (gub, gubti), du gäbtisch (gubsch), är gäbti (gub), mir gäbte (gubte), dir gäbtit (gubtit), si gäbte (gubte); gimer, gib mir, give me (sometimes "gimme" in coll. Engl.); gibem, gib ihm, give him; gibis, gib uns, give us; gibne, gib ihnen, give them; and in Gretzenbach there is a Gimmermehstrasse, in case you need to know, a fine example of Schwizerhochdütsch

 

gääch,  adj.,

jäh (in the sense of steil), steep, precipitous; rarely used in the fig. sense of schroff, brusque; e gäächi Haude, f., eine steile Halde, a steep slope

 

gaagele,  v.i.,

wackeln, to rock, to pivot, to wobble; Tischfussball spielen, Tischkicker spielen, to play foosball (table soccer); see also Töggelichaschte

 

gääu,  adj.,

gelb, yellow; also gääl; s'gääle Wägeli, the paddy wagon (die grüne Minna) for taking you to the loony-bin (die Klapsmühle), when you are finished reading this here Digschonäri; not to be confused with "der grüne Heinrich", which is what they call a police van in Austria; as compared to Smokey, which is CB talk for RCMP traffic cop; these are the colours of our time, don't you see; gäggeligääu, the colour of caca-d'oie, I'm afraid

 

gäbig,  adj.,

praktisch, handy; es gäbigs Schüfeli, ein praktisches Schäufelchen, a handy little shovel

 

Gaggelari,  m.,

Schwätzer, m., babbler; vergl. Italian chiacchierare

 

Gaggo,  m.,

Kakao, m., cocoa; heiße Schokolade, hot chocolate; fig. and coll. eine müde Sache, a boring situation, a drag; Schorsch Gaggo, m., coll., derjenige, dem die undankbaren Aufgaben überlassen werden, the one who is left holding the bag; im Gaggo, coll., im letzten Winkel, out in nowhere

 

Galöri,  m.,

Tölpel, m., yokel; vergl. French gouailleur, or balourd, if you want to

​

Gämf,  s.,

Genf, Geneva; in French Genève, Italian Ginevra, Spanish Ginebra, Latin Genava; Gämfersee, m., Genfersee, Lake of Geneva, French le lac Léman

 

Gampfiross,  n.,

Schaukelpferd, n., rocking-horse; see also gigampfe

 

gäng,  adv.,

Bernese (Bärndütsch) immer, always; dasch gäng dr glich, das gleicht ihm, that's just like him

 

gänggele,  v.i.,

kleine, unnütze Einkäufe machen, sich beschenken, to spend one's pin-money; i ha no chli gänggelet, ich hab noch ein paar Sächelchen gekauft, I bought a few little things

 

ganggle,  v.i.,

gaukeln, to trick, to fool; Ganggli, m., a fool; see also göiggle

 

Gänterli,  n.,

Kammer, f., Schrank, m., cupboard, pantry

 

Garette,  f.,

Schubkarren, m., wheelbarrow, handcart; vergl. French charrette, f.; see also Schtoossbähre

 

Gartehüsli,  n.,

Gartenlaube, f., gazebo

 

gartne,  v.i.,

im Garten arbeiten, gärtnern, to work in the garden, to garden; gosch go gartne? gehst du gärtnern? are you going to work in the garden? est-ce que tu vas jardiner?; the French and the Swiss  can say this in a natural way, and it shows in the food; actually, the Italians carry it off too, fare del giardinaggio, but it sounds more like a chore

 

gatlig, adj.,

schicklich, angemessen, bequem gelegen, convenient, appropriate, decent; see also ungatlig

 

Gattig,  f.,

Art, f. und Weise, f., manner, kind; also fig. s'het a ke Gattig, es hat keine Art und Weise, it is ill-mannered; vergl. German Gattung, f.; allergattig, adj., jeder Art, of all sorts; also audergattig, q.v.; see also zwöiergattig

 

gäu,  int.,

gelt, nicht wahr, isn't that so; auch gäll; gäu du chunsch zum Znacht? du kommst zum Nachtessen, gelt? You will come for dinner, won't you?; Jä gäll, so geit's, c'est la vie; gäuiter? (polite form), don't you think so?; as French n'est-ce pas

 

Gäzi,  n.,

Kelle, f., ladle; vergl. German Gebse, f., which is also a large tub, Gelte, f.

 

geifere,  v.i.,

eifern, sich ereifern, schimpfen, toben, to rant, to inveigh, to argue nastily; see also göifere

​

Geisle, f.,

Peitsche, f., whip; the German Geisel f. means hostage

 

Geisseblüemli,  n.,

Buschwindröschen, n., wood anemone, (anemone nemorosa)

 

geitsche,  v.i.,

kreischen, hecheln, to shriek, to criticize (in an irritating and loud way)

 

Gemschi,  n.,

Gemse, f., chamois, a goat-like animal capable of climbing sheer cliffs and leaping through the air with the greatest of ease

 

Gertu,  m.,

kleines Beil, n., hatchet; vergl. German Gerte, f., switch, cane, rod, which is what you cut with a Gertu

 

Getäfer,  n.,

see Täfer

 

gfahre,  v.t.,

zurechtkommen, to handle; eim nid möge gfahre, jemandem nicht Meister werden, to be unable to hold your own against someone

 

gfröit, adj.,

erfreulich, gelungen, erbaulich, pleasing, well-done, worthy; e gfröiti Sach, eine gut gelungene Sache, ein willkommenes Resultat, a pleasing endeavour, a hit, a well-executed task

 

Gfrörlig,  m.,

wer immer kalt hat, somebody who is always cold; also Gfrörni, m., vergl. German frieren

 

gfürchig,  adj.

schreckhaft, erschreckend, dreadtful, scary

 

gheie,  v.i., v.t.,

v.i.: fallen, to fall; as for example inegheie, reinfallen, to be tricked, or umgheie, umfallen, to stumble;

v.t.: werfen, to throw; as for example furtgheie, wegwerfen, to throw away, or usegheie, 'rauswerfen, to expel; or: hesch's Glas umgheit?, did you spill your drink?, ufgheie, zerfallen, to fall apart (of relationships)

 

The word has many meanings in a number of combinations, see also Small Arrays II in the appendix; curiously, the putative Indo-European ghe- is the root of the English verb go.

 

Gheie,  n.,

Aufheben, n., Klamauk, m., Gewese, n., fuss, hullabaloo; es grosses Gheie mache, viel Aufhebens machen, to make a big fuss, to make a big to-do; es Gheie ha, eine Liebesbeziehung haben, to have an amorous affair

 

ghöre, v.t.,

hören, to hear, to listen; pp. ghört, gehört, heard; ghörsch nüüt? hörst du nichts? Are you not listening?

 

Ghüder,  m.,

Abfall, m., garbage; Ghüderchübu, Mülleimer, m., garbage bin

 

ghüslet,  adj.,

kariert, fremdartig, chequered, strange; a ghüsleti Jagge,  eine karierte Jacke, a chequered jacket; ghüslet rede, in einer fremden Sprache reden, to talk in a foreign language

 

Giescht,  f.,

Wasserstaub, m., spray; as in the vicinity of a waterfall; see also Biecht

 

Gieu, m., Bursche, m., Kerl, m., guy; pl. Giele

 

gigampfe,  v.i.,

schaukeln, to rock, to seesaw

 

Gigampfi,  n.,

Schaukelbank, f., seesaw, teeter-totter; also Rittigampfi; vergl. perhaps Fr. gond (hinge, pivot), or Italian ganghero; see also Gampfiross

 

gigele,  v.i.,

kichern, lachen, to giggle

 

Giige, 

f., Geige, f., violin; giige, v.i., geigen, to play the violin; giigele, v.t., to play less seriously; Bassgiige, f., Baßgeige, f., double-bass; see also Mugiige

 

gingge,  v.t.,

einen Fußtritt geben, treten, ausschlagen (Pferd, Kuh), to kick, to lash out (with foot or hoof)

 

Gipfeli,  n.,

Semmel, f., Kipf, m., croissant, crescent roll; see also Nussgipfu

 

gire,  v.i.,

quietschen, to squeak, to creak; see gixe

 

gitig,  adj.,

geizig, knauserig, avaricious, stingy, scrimpy;  the noun is Giz, m., Geiz, m., avarice; there is also a verb, gite, geizen, in the sense of being stingy, rather than being greedy; greed is really more like Habgier, f., than Geiz, though the relationship is close. The roots seem to reach into the depth of the human condition. Habgier (Habsucht) is the mania to amass it. Geiz is the mania not to hand it over; see also huslig, which expresses an acceptable level of both; gite, v.i., geizen, to be stingy;

 

Gitlig,  m.,

Geizhals, m., tightwad, cheapskate

 

Gitnäpper,  m.,

Geizhals, m., miser; see also Knäpperi

 

Gitzi,  n.,

Zicklein, n., kid; offspring of Geiss, Ziege

 

gix,  int.,

kieks! an exclamation accompanied by a little poke in the ribs, mostly in play with kids

 

gixe,  v.i.,

knirschen, knarren, to squeak, to screech

 

Gjät,  n.,

Unkraut, n., weed, weeds; vergl. German jäten

 

Gjufu,  n.,

Gehetze, n., a mad rush; Gjufu should be qualified with an appropriate oath, such as es huere Gjufu, eine unchristliche Hast, screwball haste, or as indicated by the degree of exasperation; also a Juflerei, f.; see also Juflete

 

Glafer,  n.,

Geschwätz, n., Klatsch, m., idle talk, gossip, bafflegab,balderdash, babble, guff

 

glatt,  adj.,

lustig, unterhaltsam, amüsant, fun, amusing, entertaining, droll; s'isch a glattenObe gsi, es war ein vergnüglicher Abend, it was a fun evening; souglatt, or söiglatt, erzlustig, hilarious

 

gleitig,  adv., adj.,(Bernese)

flink, rasch, quickly, speedily; gleitig loufe, to walk quickly; vergl. German gleiten, v.i.; similar to tifig and weidlig, q.v.

 

glesig,  adj.,

gläsern, made of glass, glassy; s'Aschenbrödel het glesigi Schue agleit, Aschenbrödel zog gläserne Schuhe an, Cinderella put on glass slippers

 

Glesli, n.,

Gläschen, n., little glass; es Glesli Wii, ein Gläschen Wein, a small glass of wine; also a jigger, ein Schnapsglas, n., a shot glass

 

Glettise,  n.,

Glätteeisen, n., iron, smoothing iron (to iron textiles)

 

glichlig,  adv.,

gleichermassen, in like manner, likewise; sGlichlige, n., dasselbe, the same; also gliich, adj., gleich, equal, alike

 

glii,  adv.,

bald, soon; i chume glii wider, ich komm gleich wieder, back in a jiffy; das isch glii gmacht, das ist schnell getan, that's soon done; vergl. German gleich

 

Glismets, n.,

Gestricktes, n., Strickware, f., knitware, knitted goods; öppis Glismets, etwas Gestricktes, something knitted

 

Gloggeglüt, n.,

Glockengeläute, n., the ringing of churchbells; a Glogge is a bell, eine Glocke; Chueglogge, f., Kuhglocke, f., cowbell; Glöggeli, n., Glöckchen, n., little bell

 

Gloon,  m.,

Hanswurst, m., clown; pl. Glöön

 

gloub,  adv.,

wahrscheinlich, probably; sisch gloub wohr, es könnte wahr sein, it may be true; vergl. German glauben, which is rarely used adverbially

 

Gluggere,  f.,

Henne, f., hen; vergl. German Glucke, f., a (sitting) hen; a Gluggere is a mother hen, either sitting or with chicks; vergl. also English to cluck

 

Glungge,  f.,

Pfütze, f., Lache, f.,Tümpel, m., puddle, pot-hole; jetz louf nit dür d'Glungge, ghörsch! jetzt geh nicht durch die Pfützen, hörst du! don't step in the puddles, ya hear!

 

Glünggi,  m.,

Tölpel, m., oaf; that would be the one who steps into the Glungge, see above; pl. would be Glünggine; no connection to American slang clunky, apart from a similar lack of nimbleness; the Italians might say un huomo qualunque

 

glunglig,  adj.,

drollig, absonderlich, funny, peculiar; also glunge, glungnig; e Glunglige, (m., man), es Glungligs, (n., woman or child); ein absonderlicher Kauz, a funny chap; vergl. German gelungen

 

Glürliwasser,  n.,

Brausewasser, sparkling drink, a bubbly, carbonated, non-alcoholic drink of any kind, pop; also Blöterliwasser, q.v.

 

Gluscht,  f.,

Eßlust, f., Lust, f., appetite, craving, desire; hesch ke gluscht? möchtest du nicht? aren't you tempted?; gluschtig, appetitlich, appetizing; vergl. German Lust, f., Gelüst, n.

 

glüssele,  v.i.,

lauern, abpassen, to lie in wait for, to lurk; also abglüssele, abpassen, to lurk for

 

Gluxi,  m.,

Schluckauf, m., hiccup; i ha dr Gluxi, ich habe Schluckauf, I have the hiccups; also Higgsi; vergl. German glucksen

 

gmiggerig,  adj.,

karg, gering, armselig, mau, scant, paltry, measley; es gmiggerigs Löhnli, ein armseliges Löhnchen, small pay

 

gmögig, adj.,

liebenswürdig, angenehm, likable

 

gmunggelig,  adj.,

klein, armselig, small, meagre; gmunggeligi Härdöpfeli, kleine Kartoffelchen, meagre potatoes; vergl. Latin homunculus

 

Gnagi,  n.,

Schweinshaxe, f., Eisbein, pig's knuckles, pork hock; vergl. German nagen, v.t.

 

Gnoosch,  n.,

Durcheinander, n., clutter, disorder; es Gnoosch, ein Wirrwarr, a jumble; see also noosche

 

gnue, adj.,

genug, enough, sufficient

 

go reiche,  v.t.,

holen, holen gehen, to fetch; gang mers go reiche, hol' es mir, go get it for me; Bernese; vergl. German reichen

 

Godi,  m.,

Gottfried, Godfrey, Geoffrey

 

göffle,  v.i.,

klaffen, offen stehen, von Schuhen: an der Oberlinie seitlich vom Fuß abstehen, to gape, (of shoes: to fit poorly along the topline)

 

goh,  v.i., also impersonal verb

gehen, to go; i goh, du gohsch, är goht, mir göh (göi, gönd), dir göht (göit, gönd), si göh (gönd); p.p. ggange; subj. I giengti (gieng), du giengtisch (giengsch), är giengti (gieng), mir giengte (gienge), dir giengtit (gienget), si giengte (gienge); es goht, es geht, it is possible, not bad (as a reply); gosch go poschte? gehst du einkaufen? are you going shopping?; gosch go schloofe? gehst du schlafen? are you going to bed? mir göh z'Fuess, wir gehen zu Fuß, we'll walk; i goh go luege, ich geh mal sehen, I am going to see

 

Gohn,  m.,

eine grosse Kelle an einem langen Stiel, a large dipper on a long handle; pl. Göhn; used for taking water out of a pond, or for similar purposes; vergl. Old English gawn (jug), wence gallon

​

göifere,  v.i.,

geifern, sabbern (von Kleinkindern), to dribble (of infants); Göiferlatz, m., bib, see Rabättli, Ässmänteli; see also söifere; Göifer, m., Sabber, m.

 

göiggle,  v.i.,

gaukeln, v.i., to gambol; mit em Büsi göiggle, mit der Katze spielen, to play with the cat; see also ganggle

 

göisse,  v.i.,

ausrufen, to scream or yell with joy or surprise; i bi so verchlüpft i ha grad ggöisset, ich erschrak so, daß ich aufschrie, I was so startled I cried out loud; vergl. rejoice, jauchzen

 

Gomfi,  f.,

Konfitüre, f., jam; Orangschegomfi, f., Marmelade, f., marmalade; also name of famous cat who dwelled at 83 King St. E., and formerly at 97 King St. E.

 

Goof,  m.,

Gör, n., Göre, f., Junge, m., brat, kid; Goove, pl.; kommt vorwiegend zur Anwendung wenn das Betragen ungenügend ist, used mostly when their behaviour is on the unruly side

 

Gooli,  m.,

Torwart, m., goal-keeper, goalie

 

Göpf,  m.,

Gottfried, see also Godi

 

gopfridschtutz,  int., moderate oath,

Himmel und Hölle! hell's bells!; from the name Gottfried Stutz, a fine gentleman, no doubt, who had much in common with his German counterpart Mensch Meier; also Gopfridli! which is more tentative

 

Göppu, m.,

Göpel, m., capstan, horse-gin, winch; fig. jalopy, Klapperkiste, f.,; in particular a beat up bike, ein etwas karamboliertes Fahrrad, n.; vergl. German Koppel, f., and Kupplung, f.

 

görpsle, v.i.,

rülpsen, aufstoßen, Bäuerchen machen, to burp, to belch; vorwiegend von Kleinkind, mostly of a baby; Görpsli, n., Bäuerchen, n., Aufstossen, n., burp, eructation

 

Gosche, f., (vulg.)

große Schnauze, f., big mouth; also a grossi Gosche; same meaning as French gueule, f., vergl. Austrian Goschen, f.

 

Gotte, f., s. and pl.,

Patin, f., godmother

 

Götti, m.,

Pate, m., godfather; pl. Göttine

 

Göttibatze, m.,

Patengeld, n., a gift of money from a godparent

 

goume,  v.t.

hüten, sorgen, to babysit, to care for, to look after; especially with respect to children; in the old days, a Ladegoumer, m., was somebody who looked after the store, ein Ladenhüter, in the original sense

​

Gox,  m.,

Zylinder, m., top-hat

 

graagge,  v.i.,

kriechen, to creep, to crawl; graaggele, kribbeln, krabbeln, to crawl, (in a prickly way); Grääggu, m., Schwächling, m., weakling

 

graggere, v.i.,

rackern, schuften, to toil, to drudge, to slave; sganz Läbe lang graggere, zeitlebens schuften, to work all your life like an idiot, to scratch together a living

 

grampe,  v.i.,

früher das Packen des Schotterbettes unter den Eisenbahnschwellen, of old the packing of the gravel under railroad ties; it was mostly done by Italians, by hand, with pick-axes and it may be a way of saying chrampfe, see Chrampf

 

grampoole,  v.i.,

lärmen, Radau machen, to create a row, or a hullabaloo; vergl. German karambolieren, French carambolage, from the game of billiards, carom, to collide; it sometimes happens after carousing; Föifliber, q.v., (5 Franc coins) were also called Grampouschibe, for the noise one of them makes when spun in a Becki (Becken, n., bowl), (one of those smart Swiss games)

​

gramsele,  v.i.

kribbeln, prickeln, summen, to tickle, to itch, to tingle, to buzz; es gramselet wie imene Ameisihuufe, es kribbelt wie auf einem Ameisenhaufen, it buzzes like an anthill

 

gränne,  v.i.,

weinen, to weep, Gränni, m., jemand, der der Gewohnheit des Jammerns heimgefallen ist, one who does it frequently, a complainer; one may gränne from sorrow or joy, or out of the sudden clash of the two, as it comes from one of those strange places in the soul where things unexpectedly meet from opposite directions

​

Grätti, m.,

alter Mann, old fogey, geezer; (probably from the stance of old men walking); vergl. German Grätsche, f., straddle

 

grede, v.t.,

ausrichten, straighten; Negu grede, Nägel gerade machen, to straighten out nails

 

grediuse,  adv.,

geradeheraus, point-blank, bluntly; i ha de grediuse gseit was i ddänkt ha, ich habe mich unverblümt ausgedrückt, I said straight out what I thought; also zgrediuse

 

Grien,  n.,

Kies, m., gravel; griene, v.t., kieseln, to spread gravel; muesch haut die Ihfahrt griene, süsch gits Glungge, du mußt die Einfahrt mit Kies bedecken, sonst gibt es Pfützen, you have to gravel the drive, otherwise you get potholes

 

Grienggeli,  n.,

erbärmliche Gestalt, f., kümmerliches Wesen, n., wisp of a person, runt, wretch, stunted thing, undersized creature; also Gränggeli;  vergl. French grignoter?

 

Grind,  m.,

Kopf, m., (pejorative, vulg.), head; was machsch ou für ne Grind? was machst du auch für eine Birne? why are you making such a face?; also Gring, m., as in ‚hou däm Ching eis ufe Gring, hau dem Gör eins aufs Gehör, hit your kiddo good and often, otherwise it will not soften

 

Gritt,  f.,

Margarethe, Grete, Margaret; the diminutive is Grittli, auch Gritti; Engl. also Maggie, Peggy, Daisy

​

Grittibänz,  m.,

Lebkuchenmännchen, n., gingerbreadman; pl. Grittibänze; made neither from Lebkuchen nor from gingerbread, but from a white, leavened dough. Customary around the time of Santa Claus (December 6). Gritti derives from the spreadlegged stance, vergl. German reiten (Swiss ritte), and Bänz is a short person (Benjamin)

 

gruchse,  v.i.,

ächzen, to groan; vergl. it. grugnire

 

Gruebe, f.,

Schutthalde, f., Kehrrichtablage, f., dump, garbage pit, midden

 

Grüebli,  n., sing. and pl.

Grübchen, n., dimple; same pl.; as in a smiling face,

 

grüentschelig,  adj.,

grünlich, greenisch; usually a somewhat unhealthy colour in the direction of verdigris

 

grüezi,  int.,

Ich grüsse Sie, greetings! hi!; also grüezimitenand, if several are addressed, Grüss Euch alle, hi everybody!; Bernese polite form grüessech, guten Tag, good day

 

Grümpu, m.,

Gerümpel, Unrat, m., rubbish, detritus; Grümplete, f., Unordnung, f., Durcheinander, n., mess

 

grüselig,  adv.,

sehr, very; also grüsli, grüslig, grüseli; chum mir wei go Chrieseli günne, s het amenort gar grüseli veu, a song of old; vergl. German grausig, awful, which can be used similarly, as in awfully rich

 

Grüsu, m.,

Widerwärtiger Mensch, repulsive character

 

gruusig,  adj.,

grausig, grässlich, schmutzig, horrible, horrid, lurid, gruesome, hideous, sordid

 

gschäbig,  adj.,

schäbig, gemein, shabby, shameless

 

gschaffig,  adj.,

arbeitsam, emsig, fleissig, hardworking, industrious, diligent; es Gschaffigs, n., eine arbeitsame Frau, a hardworking woman

 

gschägget,  adj.,

gescheckt, uneinheitlich, piebald, also motley; a gschäggeti Chue, eine gescheckte Kuh, a piebald cow (sometimes called a Schwizerschägg); also tschägget; vergl. American checkered

 

gschämig,  adj.,

schäbig, schmählich, peinlich, shabby, measly, shameful, embarrassing, small-minded

 

Gschichtli, n.,

kleine Erzählung, f., little story; es Gschichtli verzeue, etwas Erfundenes erzählen, to tell a story

 

Gschleipf,  n.,

eine langwierige Sache, a drag; vergl. German schleppen; also fig. a relationship, eine Affäre; also an untidy get-up, eine unordentliche Ausstaffierung,

 

gschliferig,  adj.,

schlüpfrig, glitschig, slippery

 

Gschmöis,  n.,

Wirrwarr, m., Durcheinander, n., jumble, mess; es Gschmöis, a useless mess; not synonymous with the German Geschmause, n., but probably related

 

gschmuech,  adj.,

verschmachtet, übel, unwohl, mulmig, queasy, dizzy, unwell; mir ischs gschmuech worde, mir wurde übel, I felt queasy

 

gschnäderfrääsig,  adj.,

wählerisch (beim Essen); picky, choosy, fussy (with food)

 

gschnätzlet,  adj.,

minced, zerhackt, klein gehackt; Gschnätzlets n., gehacktes Fleisch, minced meat; Zürigschnätzlets, ein damit zubereitetes Gericht, a Zurich specialty; vergl. German schnitzeln, v.t.

 

gschnäu,  adv.,

schnell, rasch, quickly; i mues no gschnäu uf Poscht, ich muss noch rasch zur Post, I have to run to the Post Office; vergl. German schnell

 

Gschnörr,  n.,

Geplapper, n., Klatsch, m., tittle-tattle, twaddle, idle chatter, guff; see also schnöre

 

Gschpängscht,  n.,

Gespenst, n., ghost; s'tunkt eim grad gschpängschtig, es scheint gespenstig, meseems there are ghosts; pl. Gschpängschter

 

Gschpänli,  n.,

Gespan, m., chum; especially of children

 

Gschpass,  m.,

Spaß, m., Lustigkeit, F., Vergnügen, n., Schabernack, m., fun, amusement, merry antic, merriment

 

gschpasse,  v.i.,

spaßen, sich belustigen, to jest, to make fun, to have fun

 

gschpässig,  adj.,

eigenartig, unusual; dasch e gschpässige Chnüüs, q.v., ein eigenartiger Kerl, an odd chap

 

gschprängt, p.p., v.i.,

übereilt, over-eager, hasty, rushed; nume nid gschprängt, not so fast, hold your horses

 

gschpüre,  v.t.,

spüren, fühlen, to feel, to sense; Gschpüri, n., Gefühl, n., Feinsinn, m., feeling, flair; the ü is very open, almost ö

 

Gschpusi,  n.,

Schatz, m., Liebchen, n., sweetheart; it's almost more Austrian, but it'll do in Swiss just as well

 

Gschtabi,  m.,

eine ungelenkige Person, an awkward person; someone who lacks physical agility; pl. would be Gschtabine; see also Äckegschtabi

 

gschtablig,  adj.,

steif (vor Kälte), ungelenkig, linkisch, numb (with cold), stiff, gawky; gschtabligi Finger, steife Finger, fingers numb with cold; also gschtabelig; vergl. German Stab, m., staff, stick, rod

 

Gschtäutli,  n.,

originally a type of one-piece underwear, what the French call une combinaison; now more often an ironic term for outfit, garment, get-up, Bekleidung, f., Gewand, n., Aufmachung, f; vergl. German Gestalt, f.

​

Gschtellaaschi,  n.,

es Gschtellaaschi, eine Unordnung, f., ein unordentlicher Haufen von Sachen, disorder, a pile of junk, a heap of stuff; vergl. German Gestell, n.

 

gschtüberet,  adj.,

leicht meschugge, bescheuert, doof, auf den Kopf gefallen, slightly nuts, wacko, stupid; bisch gschtüberet? Are you nuts?

 

gschtungget, v.i., p.p.,

vollgepfercht, jampacked; also gschtungget vou; see also schtungge

 

Gschtürm,  n., (Gestürm, in Hochswiss)

Wirrwarr, m., Verwirrung, f., Streiterei, f., commotion, confusion, hassle, rumpus, dispute, hurly-burly; see also Schtürmi

 

gschutzig,  adv., adj.,

ungestüm, übereilt, hasty, hastily, rash, rashly, impetuous, impetusously

 

Gschweuti,  f. pl.,

Schalenkartoffeln, weichgekochte Kartoffeln, boiled potatoes; also Gschwellti; gschweuti Härdöpfu; Härdöpfu schweue, Kartoffeln sieden, to boil potatoes; vergl. German schwelen

 

Gschwüschterti,  n.pl.,

Geschwister, pl., brother(s) and sister(s), siblings

 

gseh,  v.t.,

sehen, to see; gsesch? siehst du?, do you see?; gsehsch wieni das meine? siehst du wie ich das meine? do you see how I mean it?

 

gsi,  p.p.,

gewesen, been; i bi nit deheime gsi, ich war nicht zu Hause, I wasn't home; bisch du scho einisch dört gsi? warst du schon mal? have you ever been there?; i bi gsi go schaffe, ich ging zur Arbeit, I went to work; see also sii

 

Gsüchti,  f.,

jede Art von Gelenk- oder Muskelschmerz, aching joints or muscels; i ha Gsüchti, ich habe Gelenkschmerzen, my joints are hurting

 

Gsüff,  n.,

Rachenputzer, m., plonk; a non-descript beverage, a cheap wine

​

gsüffig,  adj.,

gut zu trinken, very drinkable

 

güdere,  v.t.,

verschütten, pantschen, (also panschen), to spill, to splash; hesch ggüderet? hast du gepantscht? did you make a mess? (with a liquid); vergl. French goutter

 

guene,  v.i.,

gucken, gaffen, Maulaffen feilhalten, to gape, to rubberneck, to have a look, to gawk,

 

Guete,  m.,

in the expression "e Guete"; guten Appetit!, Mahlzeit!, bon appétit!

 

Guetzli,  n., s. and pl.

Plätzchen, n., cookie(s)

 

Gufe,  f.,

Stecknadel, f., pin; (in Greek, I am told, góphos means pin, or tooth); Gufechüssi, n., Nadelkissen, n., pin-cushion

 

gufere,  v.i.,

stochern, to pick (one's teeth), to rake, or to stoke (the fire), to prick (as with a needle)

 

Gugeliouge,  n.pl.,

Kugelaugen, n.pl., big round eyes; vergl. English to goggle, goggles

 

gugge,  v.i., v.t.,

schauen, sehen, nachsehen, to look, to look up, to see; muesch gugge, du mußt dich umsehen, you have to look for it; Guggisberg is a hill with a view (near Berne) (bi Bärn); vergl. German gucken (dial.), it is almost a combination of gucken and staunen; see also guusse

 

Guggemusig,  f.,

Fasnachtsmusik, f., Fasnachtsmusikkapelle, f., carnival music band; specifically an off-key band at the carnival of Basel

 

Gugger,  m.,

Kuckuck, m., cuckoo; also as exclamation, was zum Gugger machsch ou du? was Himmels machst du? what on earth are you doing?

 

Guggiere,  f.,

Dachfenster, n., dormer window, mansard window; (in French le vasistas); vergl. also gugge

Güggu,  m.,

Hahn, m., rooster; vergl. German Gockel

 

Guggumere,  f.,

Gurke, f., cucumber; slang; otherwise Gurke, as in German; vergl. Latin cucumis

 

Guguhopf,  m.,

Napfkuchen, m., a kind of cake; also Gugelhupf, Gugelhopf; in the Alsace Kugelhopf

 

guguus,  s., int.,

Guck-Guck-Spiel, n., peek-a-boo; guguus mache, to play peek-a-boo, jouer cache-cache; gugge, guene,  vüregüggele, guusse, all derive from Auge, n., eye

 

gumele,  v.t.,

radieren, to erase; also usgumele, v.t., ausradieren, to erase; vergl. German Radiergummi, m.

 

gumpe,  v.i.,

hüpfen, to jump, to caper; gümpele, also gümperle, hopsen, to skip; umegumpe, herumhopsen, to skip around; a Gump, m., ein Sprung, m., a jump; seiligumpe, v.i., seilhüpfen, to skip rope

 

Gumpiseili, n.,

Springseil, n., skipping-rope; seiligumpe, v.i., seilhüpfen, to skip rope

 

günne,  v.t., v.i.,

gewinnen, ernten, pflücken, to win, to harvest, to pick; particularly of tree-fruit; Chriesi günne, Kirschen pflücken, to pick cherries; pp. ggunne

 

Gunträri,  n.,

Gegenteil, n., contrary; auch Gunteräri; dä mues immer s'Gunträri behoupte, er will immer das Gegenteil wissen, he always contradicts; accent on the u; vergl. French contraire, m.

 

guntschle,  v.t., v.i.,

planschen, schwappen, to splash, to swash; to play with water (and spill some); also describes the swashing of liquid in a partly filled container; probably mainly onomatopoeic

​

Gupf,  m.,

Koppe, f., Kuppe f., rundlicher Hügel, knoll, hilltop, round hill;          

 

Wibi, wäbi, wupf,

z’Bade hets a Gupf,

ssitzet drei Mareie druf.

 

Di eint spint Side,

di ander macht Chride,

und di dritt isch dschtägenabegheit.

 

which is a nursery rhyme for knee hopping, better known in the English version:

 

Clippety, clappety, clop,

in Bolton, way up at the top,

three Marys have set up a shop.

 

Number one is spinning silk,

number two is fetching milk,

and number three fell and tumbled downstairs.

 

When you come to the last line, you open your knees and let the little one fall through. Remember to catchem. Vergl. German Kopf, m.

 

Gürbsi,  n.,

Kerngehäuse n. eines Apfels, apple-core; vergl. German Griebs, m., and Gröbs, m; see also Bützgi

 

Guschti,  n.,

1. Kalb, n., junges Rind, n.

2. Gustav, August (the names); (the month of

   August is Ougschte)

 

Güsel, m.,

Kleinholz, n., zusammengewischtes Geäste oder Stroh, n., scrap, swept-up branches or straw; also Güsu, m.

 

gusle,  v.t.,

stochern, aufstacheln, reizen, to incite, to goad, to stir up; im Ameisihuufe gusle, im Ameisenhaufen stochern, to disturb the ant-hill

 

Gutsch,  m.,

Schuß, m., swig, dash; e Gutsch Wii git dr Soosse Chuscht, ein Tropfen Wein würzt die Tunke,  a dash of wine seasons the sauce; see also Platsch. m.; gutschle, v.i., schwappen, to splash; vergl. Italian goccia, French goutte

 

Gütterli,  n.,

Fläschchen, n., vial; es Gütterli Balsam, a vial of balsam; also Guttere, eine Flasche, a bottle; vergl. French goutte

 

Guu,  m.,

Geschmack, m., taste; from French goût; dia Zahnpaschta het e Guu wia Hubba Bubba, diese Zahnpaste schmeckt wie Hubba Bubba, this toothpaste tastes like Hubba Bubba; see also Chuscht, which is, however, all for food, while Guu can be more general

 

güügge,  v.i.,

pfeifen, heulen (Sirene), to whistle, to wail (Siren, Alarm); i mues go schaffe, si güügge scho, ich muß zur Arbeit, sie pfeifen schon, it's the siren, I have to go to work; e grossi Güügge (f.) ha, groß angeben, to brag, to have a big mouth

 

guusse,  v.i.,

gucken, to peek; see also gugge, güggele; see vüregüggele

 

Güx,  n.,

ein kleines Gläschen Schnaps, a shot of liquor

 

gvätterle,  v.i.,

spielen (mit Spielzeug), to play (with toys); Gvätterlizüüg, n., Spielzeug, n., toy, toys; gvätterle is also used in a derisive sense for very light working

 

Gvätterlizüüg, n., fig.,

kärgliches Werkzeug, armselige Ware, skimpy tools, poor stuff; vergl. German Gevatter, m., whence perhaps originally the sense of playing house

 

Gwafför,  m.,

Barbier, m., Friseur, m., barber; vergl. French coiffeur

 

Gwafföse,  f.,

Friseuse, f., hairdresser; vergl. French coiffeuse

 

gwaggle,  v.i.,

wackeln, to wobble, to be loose, to wag

 

gwagglig, adj.

wackelig, wacklig, loose, wonky; e gwagglige Zahn, ein wackliger Zahn, a loose tooth;  see also lödele

 

Gwaggli, m.,

Tölpel, m., yokel; jemand der eine Schraube locker hat; one who is not quite there, physically or mentally

 

Gwonet, f.,

Gewohnheit, f., habit; e schlächti Gwonet, eine schlechte Gewohnheit, a bad habit

 

Gwunder,  m.,

Neugier, f., curiosity; gwundrig, adj., neugierig, curious

 

gwünne, v.t.

gewinnen, to win; p.p. ggunne, Gwünn, m., Gewinn, m., winnings, profit

H

H

haa,  v.t., v.aux.,

haben, to have; i ha, du hesch, är het, mir hei, dir heit, si hei; p.p. gha; subj. i hätt, du hättsch, är hätt, mir hätte, dir hättet, si hätte; hättsch du? hättest du?

 

Haaghuuri, n.,

Scheuche, f.,scare-crow; see also Poschterli; see also huure

 

häb chläb,  expression,

provisorisch, unsolide, jerry-rigged, patched together; from the admonitions häb! hold!, and chläb! adhere!

 

Habegger, m.,

Ziehhebel, m., Winde, f., winch, come-along; also Waldteufel, m.

 

habere,  v.t., v.i., (coll.)

essen, to eat (one can, of course, also say ässe, to eat); Haber, m., Hafer, m., oats, is, as everybody knows, the food of horses and Swiss, whereof Birchermüesli, Haberflocke, and Habersuppe, and Äbberischturm, q.v., (though it's use in cookies is a foreign thing); habere is thus a generic term meaning to eat, also to feed the horses which is done by means of a Habersack, m., tied to the horse's head, (so the horse can keep going while eating); vergl. Englisch haversack (Brotbeutel, Provianttasche, containing the Marschverpflegung, the ration)

 

Habermarch,  n.,

Oranges Habichtskraut, (hieracium aurantiacum), und Wiesen-Habichtskraut (hieracium pratense, gelb, yellow), hawkweed

 

hächle,  v.i.,

klatschen, schwatzen, hecheln, to gossip, to criticize; hecheln is lit. the breaking and combing of the dried flax in preparation to spinning it; it is a boring chore passing more quickly with a bit of village gossip; it produces Chuder, whence Chuderwäutsch (q.v.), verhächle, verklatschen, to gossip about someone, to slander; see also chüderle; Hächle, f., Hechel, f., Heckle, f., originally a flax-comb, now also a grater, Reibeisen, n., Raffel, f., used to grate food; if the grating of fodder is done by machine it is by a Häckerlimaschine, f.; the English verb heckling described the same process of separating the fibers of flax, before it was used to describe the interrupting of a speaker

Häfi,  n.,

Nachtgeschirr, n., chamber-pot, potty; also Nachthafe, m.

 

Häftli,  n.,

Heftel, n., hook; as in Häftli und Öili, hook and eye; ufpasse wiene Häftlimacher, mit größter Sorgfalt vorgehen, to pay the utmost attention

 

Hamme,  f.,

Bernese for geräucherter Schinken, m., smoked or cured ham, prosciutto; (the German Hammel, m., is, however, mutton, or a male sheep, a wether)

 

Hämpfeli,  n.,

Handvoll f., handful; es Hämpfeli Haberflocke, eine Handvoll Haferflocken, a handful of oats

 

Hampflete, f.,

grosse Handvoll f., eine Menge f.; a large handful, a heap; also Hampfele, f.

 

händle,  v.i.,

streiten, to quarrel; vergl. German Händelsucht, f. (tendency to quarrel)

 

handörgele,  v.i.,

Ziehharmonica spielen, to play the accordion; Handorgele, f., Ziehharmonika, f., accordion; if it is small it may be called Schwizerörgeli, n.

 

hänke,  v.t.,

hängen, henken, to hang, to hang up; see also ufhänke, zämehänke

 

Hänklig,  m.,

Henkel, m., loop (on clothes), hanger; see also Ufhänklig; also Hänku

 

Hanneli,  n.,

Johanna; also Hanni

 

Hanthebi,  f.,

Handhabe, f., Griff, m., Heft, n., handle, haft; schad dass dä Chürbis kei Hanthebi het, schade, daß der Kürbis keinen Griff hat, too bad the pumpkin has no handle; also Hanthäbi; pl. Hanthebine; also Anthebi; vergl. German Handhabe, f.

 

Häntsche,  m., pl. and sing.

Handschuh, m., glove; leg d'Häntschena, zieh die Handschuhe an, put your gloves on

 

Harasse,  f.,

rechteckige Lattenkiste, f., oblong crate made of

spaced wooden slats (about bushel size); e Harasse

Öpfu, eine Kiste Äpfel, a crate of apples; also Harassli, n. Dim.; vergl. French harasse, f.

 

Härd,  m.,

Erde, f., soil

 

Härdöpfu,  m., pl. and sing.

Kartoffel, f., potato; Härdöpfuschtock, m., Kartoffelpüree, n., Kartoffelstampf, m., mashed potatoes; Härdöpfutätschli, f., potatoe patties, Kartoffelpuffer, m., potatoe pancakes;  fries are now called ‘pommes’ in CH, pronunciation literal (‘pommas’). In the old days, we called them pommes frites, like the French.

Härdöpfeli, m.pl., are also zeros, i.e. nulls, fig.

 

häre, adv.

her, hither, see also dohäre, wohäre

 

härebängle, v.t.,

hinschmeissen, to fling down

 

häreblettere,  v.t., slang

hinblättern, v.t.(slang), hinlegen, to count out money, to spend indiscriminately

 

häregäh, v.t.,

übergeben, geben, to render, to cede

 

häregheie,  v.t.,

hinwerfen, to cast , to throw; see gheie

 

häregoh,  v.i.,

hingehen, to go there; wo gosch häre? wo gehst du hin? where are you going?

 

häreha, v.i.,

hinhalten, to subject oneself, to submit (to a treatment)

 

häreluege, v.i.,

hinsehen, to look

 

häremache, v.t.,

hinmachen, to cause a mess

 

häremüesse, v.t.,

vollbringen, to get it done

 

häreschiesse, v.t.,

hinschmeissen, to fling down

​

häreschmättere, v.t.,

hinschmettern, to cast down

 

häreschtoh, v.i.,

hinstehen, strammstehen, to stand up, to fess up, to face the music

 

härgäh, v.t.,

erbrechen, to throw up

 

härnäh, v.i.,

annehmen, to accept; belasten, unter Druck setzen, to burden, to stress; das nimmt eim häre, das belastet einen, this is stressful

 

hässig,  adj.,

mürrisch, schlecht gelaunt, gereizt, reizbar, verdrießlich, surly, disgruntled, irritable, short-tempered, ill-tempered, ill-humoured, in a huff; get the idea, gopfridschtutz? (q.v.); vergl. German gehässig, adj.

 

haub,  adj.,

halb, half; haubi zwöi (13:30h oder 1:30h); es haubs Broot und e haubi Wurscht und e haube Liter Bier, ein halbes Brot und eine halbe Wurst und ein halber Liter Bier; half a bread and half a sausage and half a liter of beer

 

haubbatzig,  adj.,

minderwertig, flüchtig, shoddy, careless; e haubbatzigi Arbet, eine ungenaue Arbeit, a careless job; lit. worth half a Batze, q.v., which is 5 cents, or a nickel, oder es Föifi

 

haubi,  num. adj.

halb Uhr, half past (or half to); haubi zwöi, ein Uhr dreissig, half past one; s'isch haubi, es ist halb Uhr, it is half past (or half to); see haub

 

Häumi, m.,

Wilhelm, William

 

haut,  adv., part.,

halt, eben, in my opinion, I'm afraid, I think, to be sure; das isch haut eso, so ist es leider, that's how it is, I'm afraid; muesch haut luege wotloufsch, du mußt achtgeben wo du gehst, you have to watch your step, you know; s'isch haut scho schwirig, es ist ja schon schwierig, it's difficult, to be sure

 

he?  adv., question, exclamation,

wie bitte? pardon? excuse me?; considered impolite and to be replaced by 'wie bitte?' or Entschuldigung? or pardon?

 

hee, int.

Ausruf für Protest oder Vorsicht, exclamation of protest or of caution,

 

hebe,  v.t., v.r.,

halten, sich festhalten, to hold, to hold on; hebdi!, halt dich fest!, hold on!; e Hebi, f., eine Handhabe, f., a handle, a hold, a grip; see also Hanthebi

 

Hedi,  f.,

Hedwig (a female first name); as in are you ready, Hedi?

 

Heerd,  m.,

Herd, m., cook stove; also called Füürplatte, f.; not to be confused with Härd, see above

 

Heftli,  n.,

Zeitschrift, f., magazine; vergl. German Heft, n., a stapled booklet; a Heft is also an excercise booklet used in school

 

hegle,  v.i.,

ärgern, v.t, reuen, v.i.,  peinigen, v.t., to irk, to vex, to annoy, to torment;  es heglet mi das i nid dra tänkt ha, es ärgert mich, dass ich nicht daran dachte, it irks me that I didn't think of it; vergl. Hegu, m.

 

Hegu,  m.,

Messer, n., knife; also Hegel; ein grobes Messer, a coarse all-purpose knife

 

hei,  adv.,

heim, heimwärts, home, homeward; mer göh hei, wir gehen nach Hause, we are going home

 

heiligebeck,  int., mild oath,

meiner Treu! du meine Güte! holy cow! holy moley! Gee Willikers!; also heiterebeck, which is a degree colder

 

Heimetli,  n.,

Bauernhof, m., mit etwas Land, a small farm; es Heimet, n., ein Bauenrnhof, m., a farm; vergl. German Heimat, f., home, native land

 

heimlifeiss,  adj.,

täuschend, deceptive; also noun, Schlaumeier, m., fox; having the means, but not letting on

 

Heiri,  m.,

Heinrich, Henry, Harry; Henry VIII is, at times, called Harry VIII, for instance by Samuel Pepys, in his diary

 

Heiti,  f.,

Heidelbeeren, f., Blaubeeren, f., blueberries; whinberries they called them in the elder days

 

Gib dine Chindere Heitibrei,

bis si di nötigi Breiti hei.

 

Heidelbeeren im Kompott

macht den Nachwuchs rund und flott.

 

Feed your kids blueberry jelly,

till they have a nice round belly.

 

Heiweh,  n.,

Heimweh, n., homesickness; ein Kummer der Schweizer in fernen Landen (i dr Frömdi, q.v.), an affliction of Swiss living away; in the old days, when the rich Swiss sold the poor ones to foreign armies, it was so prevalent that the French had a word for it: hemvé, m.

 

Helge,  m.,

Abbild, n., Bild, n., Photo, f., picture, likeness; also Heuge; vergl. German Heiligenbild, n., saint's image

 

Hemli,  n.,

Hemd, n., shirt; Hemlichrage, Hemdkragen, m., shirt collar; Hemlischteu, m., Hemdenschoß, m., shirt-tail

 

henusode,  phrase, int.,

so ist es nun einmal, so sei's, wie dem auch sei, nun wohlan, so be it, however that may be, so what; jestingly also hesonusode; the accent is on the u; the term expresses a certain mental detachment or resignation; vergl. for instance Papageno in the Magic Flute: "Nun wohlan, es bleibt dabei" and he could have said henusode

 

Herregäägger,  m.,

Eichelhäher, m., jay, blue jay; so named because they yell at you; also Häzle, f.,

 

het,  (v., see halten in the verb table)

hält, holds; es het, es hält, it holds, it sticks;

(see also haben in the verb table: es het öppis, es ist was dran, it sounds true)

 

heuche,  v.t.,

this is heuche, not höiche; verspotten, herausfordern, reizen, sich über jemanden lustig machen, to goad, to provoke, to make fun of someone; vergl. German hecheln

 

Hick,  m.,

Schnitt, m., grober Schnitt, Schnittwunde f., cut, rough cut, gash; which is something you do with a Hegu, q.v.

 

hindedra,  adv.,

dahinter, behind; hindedra hets no meh Schtoub, dahinter hat es noch mehr Staub, there is more dust behind it

 

hindedri,  adv.,

hintennach, hintendrein, hinterher, behind, after; hindedri zottle, hinterher zotteln, to dawdle behind; also pred. adj., zurück, im Rückstand, behind; mir si hindedri, wir sind im Rückstand, we are behind

 

hindedriigheie,  v.i.,

zurückfallen, to fall behind; also v.t. etwas hinten hinein werfen, to throw something in the back; see gheie

 

hindedüre,  adv.,

hintenherum, hintendurch, the back way, in the rear

 

hindere,  adv.,

zurück, back, backward(s), behind, in the rear; also separable pref., hinderegheie, zurückwerfen, to pitch back, hindere schteue, zurückstellen, to put back; hinderelitze, v.t., umkrempeln, to tuck back; the same word and pronunciation also has the different meaning of hindern, to impede, to obstruct, to hamper

 

hinderfürschi,  adv.,

rückwärts, verkehrt, backwards, wrong; also zhingerfürschi, also zhingerför, q.v.

 

hindertschi,  adv.,

rückwärts, backwards; also hinderschi; also hindertsi, see also fürschi

 

hinech,  adv.,

heute abend, tonight; was isch hinech am Färnseh? was gibts heute abend am Fernseh? what's on TV tonight; also hinecht; derives from 'heute Nacht'

 

hingerför,  adv.,

zurück, backward, backwards; wenn i hingerför chönnt, wenn ich neu beginnen könnte, if I could start over; see also z'hingerför

 

hintersinne,  v.r.,

von Sinnen kommen, den Verstand verlieren, in Depression verfallen, to go out of one's mind, to sink into depression; hintersinnig, melancholisch, deprimiert, gloomy, crazy; si het sech hintersinnet, sie kam von Sinnen, she lost her mind; consequently she was then z'hingerför, q.v.

 

Hirni, n.,

Gehirn, n., brain

 

hiub,  adj.,

vom Winde geschützt, beschirmt, protected from wind, in the lee, sheltered; es hiubs Plätzli, ein windstiller Platz, a sheltered place; also hilb

 

höch,  adj.,

hoch, high, tall; höchi Bärge, hohe Berge, tall mountains; höch obe, hoch oben, high up; höch ha, betrunken sein, berauscht sein, to be drunk, to be high; Höchi, f., Höhe, height; i dr Höchi, in den Bergen, high up in the mountains; höcher, höher, higher

 

Höck,  m.,

Häufchen, n., kleine Gruppe, f., Nest, n., mound, small group, nest; a Höck Blueme, ein Grüppchen Blumen, a nest of flowers

 

Hoger,  m.,

Hügel, m., hill; pl. Höger; hogeruf, adj., hogerab, adj., bergauf, bergab; up the hill, down the hill (but downhill, as in skiing, would be Abfahrt, f., as in German); högerig, adj., hügelig, hilly; Höger is also slang for franc (Swiss franc); hesch zwee Höger? do you have two bucks? haste zwei Makrelen?

 

Högerli, n.,

kleiner Hügel, small hill

 

hoi,  int.,

hallo!, hi!; an informal greeting

 

Höibüni,  f.,

Heuboden, m., hay loft

 

Höibürzli,  n.,

Purzelbaum, m., somersault; preferably done in the hay (Heu, n.); es Höibürzli mache, einen Purzelbaum schlagen, to turn a somersault; Bürzel m., is the rear-end of a bird

 

Höier,  m., slang

5 Franken Münze, 5 franc coin; used to be so called because it bears an image of what appears to be an alpine hay gatherer (Heuer); in Québec, a one-dollar coin is sometimes called un huard (a loonie), and I want to assure you that there is not the slightest connection. Once upon a time, coins were minted in Schwäbisch Hall, where there be mountains of silver, and they came to be called Häller Pfennig, and later Heller, m.; see also Föifliber,

 

Höigümper,  m., sing. and pl.

Heuschrecke, f., grasshopper; vergl. gumpe, to jump, and Heu, n., hay

 

Höiptlig, m.,

Hauptmann, m., captain; see also Houpme

 

höische,  v.t.,

heischen, to beg, to ask for; är het mr Gäut ghöische, er bat mich um Geld, he asked me for money

 

Hooggeschtäcke,  m.,

Gehstock, m., Spazierstock, m., walking cane; är het mitem Hooggeschtäcke gwunke, er winkte mit dem Gehstock, he waved his cane; vergl. English hook, stick

 

Hööggli,  n.,

Häkchen, n., small hook; hööggle, v.t., häkeln, to crochet

 

hoope,  v.i.,

rufen, schreien, to yell, to shout, to holler

 

Hooraff, m.,

alter Militär Tornister mit Felldeckel, old-fashioned military back-pack with fur flap; auch spasshalber für 'Coiffeur' oder 'Coiffeuse', also used jocularly for 'barber', or 'hairdresser'; auch verächtlich im Sinne von Idiot, also disdainfully in the sense of idiot; lit. Haar-Affe, hairy monkey

 

hopere,  v.i.,

holpern, rütteln, shake, rattle, jolt; hoperig, adj., holprig, bumpy, es hoperet, es rüttelt

 

hopperla,  int.,

hopsasa, ups-a-daisy; also in the sense of hoppla!, steady!

 

höre,  v.i.,

aufhören, to stop; die chöi nüm höre, die können nicht mehr aufhören, they can't stop; also ufhöre, v.i., aufhören, to stop, to cease

 

Hörnli,  n. pl.,

Makkaroni, n.pl., macaroni; a type of pasta

 

hornusse,  v.i.,

das Spielen eines Berner Schlagspieles, the playing of a Bernese field game, kind of a combination of golf and baseball, whereby a puck is hit astonishing distances across fields; Hornusset, n., the occasion when the game is played; vergl. Hornussi, n., German Hornisse, f. (hornet)

 

Hoschtert, f.,

Obstgarten, orchard

 

Hoselupf,  m.,

Wurf, m., heave-ho; eine gelegentliche Runde schweizerischen Ringenkampfes, an occasional round of Swiss-style wrestling; from the old custom of getting a grip on the rolled up hem of the wrestling breeches; see also lüpfe

 

Houder,  m.,

Holunder, elder (Sambucus Canadensis); also Holder; Houderblüetetee, Holunderblütentee, a tea made from elder blossoms

 

Houe,  f.,

Haue, f., hoe, mattock; Houeli, n., a small version thereof; houe, hauen, to hit; houadr Chatz dr Schwanz ab, houere nid dr ganz ab, lonere nones Schtückli schtoh, dassi cha a Kiubi goh, a thoughtless Swiss ditty

 

Houpme, m.,

Hauptmann, m., captain, see also Höiptlig

 

Hudigääggeler, m.,

ein Stück schweizerischer Ländlermusik, a piece of Swiss folk music, honky-tonk

 

Hudilump,  m.,

Lumpensammler, m., ragpicker; a profession worth reviving, as one can make the finest papers from old rags; a Lumpensammler, incidentally, is the last train or tram at night, a Lump, m., is a scoundrel, and a Hudilump is sometimes a euphemism for a really ragged Lump

 

hudle,  v.i.,

stark regnen und stürmen, to rain cats and dogs; es Huduwätter, n., stürmisches Schlechtwetter, rotten weather; Hudle, m.pl., is Hudeln, m.pl., Lumpen, f.pl., rags; (in Swabian hudle is jufle, q.v.)

 

Hüentschi,  n., sing. and pl.

Hühnchen, n., small chicken; also a scatterbrain, Wirrkopf, m.

 

Hugi, m., Hugo, Hugh

 

hündele, v.i.,

den Hund dressieren, to work the dog, to train the dog

 

Hung,  m.,

Bernese for Honig, m., honey; the g is pronounced; so sorry, not a term of endearment; if you do not pronounce the g, it's Bernese for Hund, m., dog; and yes, it is certainly used contumeliously, tumme Hung, Söihung, fule Hung, Dräckhung, and many other worthy variations

 

Hüpple,  f.,

in the expression öppis i dHüpple näh, etwas in Angriff nehmen, etwas in Ordnung bringen, to tackle something, to straighten something out

 

Hurlibueb,  m.,

Kreisel, m., spinning top; see also Bodesurri; vergl. Engl. to hurl

 

Hurschi,  n.,

see Huschi

 

hurtig, adv.,

behende, rasch, quickly, speedily, in a jiffy

 

husaschte,  v.i.,

rauh oder zerstörerisch arbeiten, in Unordnung bringen, lärmen; to botch, to trash, to work or behave roughly and noisily; vergl. German hausen, ästen (to lop the branches off a tree)

 

Huschi,  n.,

Faselgrete, m., Wirrkopf, m., unordentliches Weib, scatterbrain, muddle-head, blowzy female; also said of someone who is sartorially challenged; dim. Huscheli, n.; see also verhürsche; vergl. German husch, huschelig, huscheln

 

Hüsli, n.,

Häus-chen, n., little house; es Hüsli Schoggi, ein bißchen Schokolade (which is less than ein Riegel); a small bite of candy; Hüslischnägg, m., Gehäuseschnecke, f., shell snail; see also Schnäggehüsli;

(Hüsligass, a lane of small houses in Schönenwerd, properly named Quartierstrasse, where my grandparents lived until they acquired the farm in Gretzenbach in 1907)

 

huslig,  adj.,

sparsam, genügsam, thrifty, frugal; är isch e Huslige, er ist sparsam, he is thrifty; also ghuslig; see also huuse, v.i.;  vergl. German Haus, n.

 

Hüslischnägg,  m.,

Gehäuseschnecke, f., shell snail; the German Schnecke can mean both snail or slug, but Hüslischnägge are the ones with a Hüsli on their back; if you turn it around and say Schnäggehüsli, it is just the empty dwelling, Schneckenhaus, n., snail-shell

 

Hutte,  f.,

Rückenkorb, m., Tragkorb, m., Kiepe, f., pannier, (French would be panier, m.), a large basket fitted with straps, for carrying in backpack manner; Huttli, n., a smaller version thereof; vergl. French hotte, f., and hotter, v.t., to carry things (such as grapes) in a hotte

 

Hutzli,  n.,

Hutzelmännchen, n., goblin; also drone, hag; hutzlig, adj., runzlig, wizened

 

hüüchle,  v.i.,

heucheln, vorgeben, to feign, to pose, to affect; Hüüchlerei, f., Heuchelei, hypocrisy, cant

 

hüüle,  v.i.,

heulen, wehklagen, to cry, to wail; used to describe the activity with the thought that other reactions might be more constructive

​

hüür,  adv.,

im jetzigen Jahr, this year; hüürig, adj., von diesem Jahr, of this year; vergl. Austrian heurig, adj.; Hüürige, m., derjenige von diesem Jahr, this year's; vergl. Austrian Heurige(r), m.

 

Huurbohne,  f.,

Buschbohnen, f. pl., bush beans; vergl. huure

 

huure,  v.i.,

kauern, to squat, to crouch; see also Haaghuuri

​

huuse,  v.i.,

sparsam umgehen, sich einschränken, to economize; see also huslig

​

Hüutschele,  f., sing. and pl.

Schale, f., Hülse, f., skin; also Höutschele; Zibele-Hüutschele, f., Zwiebel-Schale, f., onion-skin;  (used to dye Easter eggs); Chefe-Hüutschele (q.v.) are quite tasty (chüschtig, q.v.), while the Hüutschele of Schpanischi Nüssli (q.v.) are not; also used as v.t., hüutschele, schälen, to shell, and as v.r., sich hüutsche, sich häuten, to shed skin, to cast the slough; see also Schindti; vergl. German Haut

I

I

i,  pers. pron.,

ich, I; pronounced with a very open i, almost e; also ig

 

ichegheie,  v.i., v.t.,

reinfallen, to be tricked; hinein werfen, to throw in; this is the Bernese version of inegheie, see below; see also gheie

 

Idehli,  n.,

eine winzig kleine Idee (in all senses), ein Hauch, ein winzig kleines Bisschen, a smidgen, a tiny bit; es Idehli nach rächts, ein klein wenig nach rechts, a smidgen to the right, as for instance when you are framing a house, and you would like it  perpendicular

 

iibeize,  v.t.,

einbeizen, to pickel; Chriesi iibeize, Kirschen ins Fass legen, to ferment cherries (to make Kirsch)

 

iicheere,  v.i.,

einkehren, in ein Gasthaus gehen, in eine Wirtschaft gehen, to stop at an inn, to stop at a pub

 

iihänke, v.i..

einhängen, einrastern, to engage; si hei iighänkt, sie gingen eingehängt, they went arm in arm

 

iluege,  v.i.,

das Nachsehen haben, to be left holding the bag, to be the dummy; from the routine of the person doing the seeking in the game hide-and-seek, where you have to have to shield your eyes with your arm while the others hide

 

iiränke, v.i.,

nachgeben, beistimmen, to yield, to agree, to give way to common sense

 

Iisch,  n.,

Eis, n., ice; iischglatt, eisglatt, slippery as ice; but you say di Iis-heilige, die Eisheiligen, Pankraz, Servaz, Bonifaz, Mai 12th to 14th; and Sophie, (die Kalte Sophie, Mai 15th). Better wait with the planting of tender crops, except maybe peas, until after Sophie. In Toronto, wait until Victoria Day (first Monday preceding May 25)

 

iitue,  v.t.,

zumachen, to fasten, to button; chöntsch du mir dChnöpf iitue? könntest du mir die Knöpfe zumachen? could you button me up?; the opposite is uftue, aufmachen, to unfasten, German auftun

imene,  prep.,

in einem, in a; imene Schachteli, n., in einer Schachtel, in a box

 

ine,  adv., separable prefix

hinein, in, into; goosch uf Aarau ine? gehst du nach Aarau? are you going to Aarau?; chömet ine, kommt herein, please come in

 

inegheie,  v.i., v.t.

v.I reinfallen, to be fooled; v.t. hineinwerfen, to toss in; i bi inegheit, ich wurde überlistet, I was fooled; see gheie

 

inehocke, v.i.,

nachsitzen, to get detention, to be kept after school

 

inere,  prep.,

in einer, in a; inere Guttere, f., in einer Flasche, in a bottle; inere Wuet, f., im Zorn, in anger

 

ineschlüfe,  v.t.,

hineinschlüpfen, to slide in

 

innedra,  adj., adv.

innen, inwendig, im Innern, inside, on the inside of; innedra hets es warms Fueter, auf der Innenseite ist ein warmes Futter, inside there is a warm lining

 

ineschtäche, v.i.,

einstechen, to insert (a knitting needle); see lisme

 

innert,  adv., prep.,

innerhalb, within; innert emene Johr, innerhalb eines Jahres ( innerhalb zwei Jahren, so when you cannot hear the Genitiv, it takes Dativ), within a year

 

ischtandschteue,  v.t.,

instandsetzen (which to the Swiss is instandstellen), to repair, to fix; heitr das Velo ischtandgschteut? habt ihr das Fahrrad repariert? did you fix the bike?

​

Isebahn, f.,

Eisenbahn, f., railroad; Isebähnler, m., jemand der für die SBB/CFF/FFS arbeitet; someone who works for the Swiss railroad

 

item,  int.,

wie dem auch sei, immerhin, anyway; item, d'Chue isch ou es Chaub vo wiitem, wie dem auch sei, in der Nacht sind alle Katzen schwarz, anyway, it doesn't matter; serves to change the subject

J

J

jää,  adv.,

wohl, ja, aber, well, but, no doubt, (little doubt); jää das cha scho si, es ist ja durchaus möglich, it is, of course possible; jää gäll, so geits, so geht es eben, such is life; jää nei, kaum,  hardly; jää so, ach so, you don't say, jää meinsch? glaubst du? you really think so?; the pronunciation is long (if it is short it is Baselditsch for ja)

 

Jäggli,  f.,

Jacke, f., Strickweste, f., jacket, cardigan; also Jagge, f.,

 

Jammeri, m.

Jammerlappen, m., Wehklager, m., Heulsuse, f., sissy, complainer; jommere, v.i., jammern, to whine, to lament, to yammer

 

Jäner, m.,

Januar, January

 

jeminee, int.,

herrje!, lawks!, good grief! lawks-a-mussy!; also oh jeminee!

​

jesses!, int.,

ein Ausruf der (unangenehmen) Überraschung, des Entsetzens, der Missbilligung; an exclamation of (unpleasant) surprise, of fright, of disapproval; jesses nei, bestimmt nicht, certainly not; jesses maria! um Gottes Willen, Great Scott!

 

jo, adv.,

ja, yes; jo nei, eigentlich nicht, not really, well, no; jo bigoscht! kaum zu glauben! yes indeed!

 

Joggeli m.,

Jakob, Jacob; also Joggi; fig. also Dummerchen, a mildly silly person

​

Joggelizüüg, n.,

nutzlose Sache, f., worthless stuff

​

jöhre!, int.,

ein Ausruf der Überraschung, der Bewunderung, des Mitgefühls; an exclamation of surprise, of admiration, of empathy; jöhre nei, hoffentlich nicht, one hopes not; jöhre Gottes, um Himmels Willen, leider, for heaven’s sake, unfortunately; jöhre! wie niedlich! how cute!

 

Jucherte,  f.,

Juchart, f., ein Flächenmaß, 36 Aren (q.v.) Feld oder 28 Aren Rebberg; a surface measure, 3600 square meters of field or 2800 sq. m. of vignard, a little less than an acre; originally the size of a field a man could plough in one day; called iugerum

(pl. iugera) in Roman times, when it was about .625 of an acre

 

Juchzger,  m.,

Jauchzer, m., shout of joy; which is the opposite of a Süfzger, q.v.

 

jufle,  v.i.,

eilen, rasen, rasch und ungenau arbeiten, to work fast and carelessly, to rush, to scramble;

 

Juflete, f.,

Übereilung, f., Hastigkeit, f., Gehetze, n., over-haste, hastiness, scramble, mad rush;

see also Gjufu, n. (auf schwäbisch: hudle, in Swabian)

juhui!  int.,

juchhe, hurrah, woo hoo!; also juhee; in jest also hudihui; a Juchzer, m., ein Jauchzer; a shout of joy; juchzge, v.i., jauchzen, to shout with joy; juchzge und jupetere, jauchzen und johlen, to yip and yap

 

Jumpfere,  f.,

Jungfer, f., spinster

 

Juno,  m.,

Juni, June; an old way to distinguish it from Juli

 

jupetere,  v.i.,

jauchzen, ausrufen (im Übermut), gröhlen, to yip and yap; see also juhui

 

jutze,  v.i.,

jodeln, jauchzen, to yodel; also jutzge

K

K

Kaff,  n., slang

abgelegene Ortschaft, remote village

 

Kafi,  m.,

Kaffee, m., coffee; es Kafi, n., eine Tasse Kaffee, a cup of coffee

 

Kappäueli,  n.,

Kapelle, f., small chapel

 

Kaput,  m.,

Wintermantel, m., (im Militär), greatcoat (military); vergl. German Kapuze, though a Kaput doesn't have one, French capote; (kaputt, adj., ruined, is kabut in Swiss)

 

Kapuzinerli,  n.,

Brunnenkresse, f., Nasturtium (nasturtium officinale); a Kapuziner is a capuchin monk; the name of the plant comes from the hoodlike shape of the seed

 

Kari,  m.,

Karl, Charles, Chuck

 

karisiere,  v.i.,

flirten, to flirt; vergl. French caresser

 

Kärli, m.,

Kerl, m., chap; a luschtige Kärli, a funny chap

 

Kässeli, n.,

Sparschwein, n., Piggybank

 

ke,  pron., adj.,

kein, no, none, not any; keis (also kes), keines (n. or f.); kei, kene, kein (m.); keni, keine (pl.); ke Mönsch (also kei Mönsch), kein Mensch, no one

one;dasch ke Sach; das ist kein Problem, that's no problem; keis vo beedne, keines von beiden, neither; uf ke Fau, keinesfalls, on no condition; kei blasse Dunscht, keine Ahnung, not the foggiest idea

 

Kläri,  f.,

Klara, Clair; also Klärli

 

Klus,  f.,

Klamm, m., Spalte, f., chasm, gorge; a passage between mountains or cliffs

 

Knäpperi,  m.,

Geizhals, m., miser; see also Gitnäpper

 

knäpperig, adj.,

geizig, knauserig, miserly, stingy

 

Knippe, f.,

Schustermesser, n., Ledermesser, n., cobbler's knife, leatherknife; vergl. German Kneif, m., or Austrian Kneipe, f., or Engl. knife, for that matter

 

Köbi,  m.,

Jakob; Jacob; siehe auch Joggeli

 

Köferli, n.,

Koffer, m., Köfferchen, n., suitcase, small suitcase; a large suitcase is a Kofere, f.

 

Komedi, f.,

accent on o: Komödie, f., swank; accent on e: Aufhebens, n., Getue, n., fuss (about nothing)

 

Köutsch,  m.,

Gingan, m., gingham, ein kariert bedruckter Stoff, a checkered linen fabric; often used in red and white, or perhaps in blue and white, as tablecloth in country inns

 

kurlig,  adj.,

eigenartig, amusing, strange; vergl. German kurios

L

L

Läbchueche,  m.,

Lebkuchen, m., gingerbread, literally "lasting cake", a honeyed and flavoured bread, popular at country fairs and around Santa Claus time; pl. Läbchüeche; Basler Läckerli, see Läckerli, and Biberli belong to a related family of baked sweets, but are not really from my own past; nor are Brunsli, which are brownies from Basel; I am just referring to  these in case the offer is limited, but the need is great

 

Läbhaag,  m.,

Hecke, f., Grünhecke, Baumhecke, hedge; the sense is that of a living hedge as opposed to a man-made fence, such as a Gartehaag; vergl. German Hag, m.

 

läbig,  adj., pred.,

lebendig, lebend, live, alive

 

Läbtig,  f.,

Lebtage, m.pl., lifetime; mi Läbtig lang, meiner Lebtage, all my life; mi Läbtig nie, nie in meinem Leben, never in my life

 

Läckerli,  n.,

ein Plätzchen, a kind of cookie; specifically Basler Läckerli, "little licks" from Basel, which are spiced honey cookies; vergl. German schlecken, v.t.

 

lädele,  v.i.,

einkaufen gehen, Schaufenster ansehen, to shop, to do the shops; in the sense of shopping for fun without necessarily buying anything; mir göh chli go lädele, wir gehen den Geschäften entlang, we are going for a tour of the shops; vergl. German Laden, m. (shop)

 

Lädeli,  n.,

kleines Einzelhandelsgeschäft, n., small shop, cornerstore; see also lädele

 

lafere,  v.i.,

schwätzen, palavern, plaudern, to gossip, to chat; Laferi, m., Schwätzer, m., Plappermaul, n., chatterbox, blabbermouth; es Glafer, n., ein dummes Gerede, idle talk; vergl. German Laffe, m.

 

Laffli,  n.,

Schulterstück n. (meist geräuchert), smoked blade; also called Schüfeli, q.v.; vergl. German Laffe, f., which is related to Löffel, m., spoon

​

Lagugere,  f.,

Laterne, f., lantern; Stall-Laterne, f., stable lantern

 

lamaaschig,  adj., adv.,

träge, langsam, sluggisch; dasch e lamaaschigi Sach, das ist eine müde Sache, this is a bore; tüet nit so lamaaschig, macht vorwärts, get going; Lamaaschi, m., Saumseliger, m., Faulpelz, m., laggard, sluggard, slowcoach

 

lampe, see lolampe

 

länge,  v.i.,

langen, ausreichen, to be enough, to suffice; längts? genügt es? is it enough? es het glängt, es reichte aus, it was enough

 

länge, v.t.,

längen, lengthen, to stretch; a Bode länge, to touch the floor, den Boden berühren

 

Längizit,  f.,

Heimweh, n., home-sickness; Längizit ha, Heiweh ha, sich nach der Heimat sehnen, to be home-sick; also Längiziti

 

Lappi,  m.,

Narr, m., fool, simpleton; vergl. German läppisch

 

larifari,  adj.,

liederlich, unbekümmert, slovenly, happy-go-lucky; es Larifari, n., eine Schlamperei, a mess, a muddle; a Larifari, m., ein Taugenichts, a ne'er-do-well; vergl. Italian lasciare fare, French laisser faire

 

läts,  adj.,

falsch, verkehrt, wrong; es isch läts usecho, es ist falsch geraten, it came out wrong; di lätsi Site, the reverse side (when knitting); dr läts Wäg ume, verkehrt, the wrong way 'round; also dr Läts, der Falsche, the wrong one; vergl. German links

 

Lätsch,  m.,

Schleife f., Schlaufe, f., Masche, f., bow (of ribbons), bow-tie; fig. the opposite of a smiley face, sometimes known as a zwänzgabachti Schnöre, a twenty past eight mouth; worum machsch esone Lätsch? hesch dr Nuggi verlore? why so sad, have you lost your pacifier?

 

Lätt,  m.,

Lehm, m., clay; vergl. German Letten, m., (potter's clay)

Läue,  f.,

Zunge (eines Tieres), f., tongue  (of an animal):

vergl. German lallen, v.i.

 

Laui,  f.,

Lawine, f., avalanche; pl. Lauene

 

Legi,  f.,

Schicht, f., Lage, f., layer; a Legi Äbbeeri, und denn a Legi gschwungni Nidle, eine Schicht Erdbeeren und eine Schicht Schlagrahm, a layer of strawberries, then a layer of whipped cream, etc.

 

Liibli,  n.,

Leibchen, n., Unterhemd, n., undershirt, T-shirt

 

liislig,  adv.,

leise, softly; mach liislig! leise! shush!

 

lind,  adj.,

gar, milde, cooked, mild; si dHärdöpfu lind? sind die Kartoffeln gar? are the potatoes cooked?; es linds Lüftli, ein milder Wind, a soft breeze

 

lire,  v.t.,

winden, to wind; ablire, v.t., loswickeln, to unwind; abelire, v.t., aufzählen, to reel off; uflire, v.t., aufwickeln, to wind on a reel, to coil up; drumumelire, umwickeln, to wind something around someting; verlire, v.t., verwickeln, to tangle; vergl. German Leier, f., and leiern

 

Liseli,  n.,

Elisabeth, Elise, Lise

 

lisme,  v.t.,

stricken, to knit; (here is how: ineschtäche, umeschloh, ufezie und abeloh); was lismisch? was strickst du? what are you knitting? Lismer, m., Strickjacke, f., knitted cardigan

 

Lismete, f.,

Strickzeug, n., the knitting

 

lo,  v.t., v.aux.,

lassen, to leave, to let; i lo, du losch, är lot, mir lö (löi), dir löt, si lö; p.p. glo; subj. i löij, du löijsch, är löij, mir löje, dir löijit, si löije; as v.aux. lo mache, machen lassen, to have done, also to let proceed; lo sii, bleiben lassen, to leave alone; lo mi lo sii, laß mich in Ruhe, leave me in peace; lo gfaue, sich gefallen lassen, to put up with; är löij lo danke, er lasse danken, he sends his thanks; lo goh, loslassen, to let go; loh lo goh! laß los! let go!

Löchersibli,  n.,

Durchschlag, m., Sieb, n., colander

 

lödele,  v.i.,

wackeln, to be loose, to wobble; also lödle; die Hanthebi lödelet, dieser Griff ist lose, this handle is loose; see also gwaggle

 

logoh,  v.t.,

loslassen, locker lassen, to let go; lo logoh! laß los! let go!; är het logoh, er hat losgelassen, he let go

 

Löi,  m.,

Löwe, lion; pl. Löie; Löiemüli, n., Löwenmaul, n., snapdragon

 

löie,  v.i.,

rasten, ausruhen, to rest, to take a break; jetz mues i echli löie, bevor mr witergöh, jetzt muß ich mich ein wenig ausruhen, bevor wir weitergehen, I have to rest a bit, before we go on; also uslöie

 

Löiemüüli,  n.,

Löwenmaul, n., (Antirrhinum), snapdragon

 

Löifterli,  n.,

Schiebegatter, n., sliding hatch, sliding door

 

Loki,  f.,

Lokomotive, f., locomotive; Dampfloki, steam engine; pl. Lokine

 

lolampe,  v.t.,

hängenlassen, to droop, to let your head hang; dr Chopf lolampe, den Kopf hängenlassen, to hang one's head

 

löle,  v.i.,

Possen treiben, den Narr machen, to fool about, to act like a clown

 

Löli,  m.,

Trottel, m., Guckindieluft, m., sillyburger, git, jerk, yahoo; Lölibuebezüg, n., Unsinn, m., Narrheit, f., Narretei, f., nonsense, foolishness, tomfoolery; also Löu, m., dr Löu mache, sich närrisch betragen, to fool around

 

Löntschtäsche,  f.,

Imbißtasche, f., a lunch bag, worn on the hip by a strap across the other shoulder, from before the time when every Haaghuuri had a rucksack; vergl. Engl. lunch

 

Loschii,  n.,

Wohnung, f., apartment, flat; from French logis; Wohnung is also Wonig in Swiss, which has no connection to wonig (als ich), see wo, and no connection to wonnig, which is the same in German and means delightful, though one could say d'Wonig wonig ha isch wonnig (weme wett, wenn man wollte, if one wanted)

 

lose,  v.i.,

hören, lauschen, horchen; losemol, hör mal, listen; jetz losemol, nun hör mal hin, now listen here; ablose, v.i., lauschen, to eavesdrop; zuelose, v.i., zuhören, to listen; many Swiss address each other with "losemol", whence the erroneous impression abroad that this is the most popular first name; also losemou

 

Löu,  m.,

see Löli

 

Loubfläcke,  m.,

Sommersproßen, f., freckles

 

Ludi,  m.,

Ludwig; also Lui

 

luege,  v.i.,

gucken, schauen, kieken, to look, to peep; lueg emol, sieh mal hin, look here; abeluege, hinunterschauen, to look down; ufeluege, hinaufsehen, to look up; also v.t. aaluege, lueg mi nid so aa, sieh mich nicht so an, don't look at me like that; abluege, absehen, nachahmen, kopieren, to copy; äneluege, hinsehen, to watch; useluege, fig. Gewinn bringen,  to show a profit, s'het nüüt usegluegt, es lag nichts drin, it wasn't profitable; nocheluege, v.t., nachsehen, to look up; go luege, hingehen um zu sehen, to go and see; öpperem luege, auf jemanden achtgeben, to look after someone; there is a German verb lugen, to look out, (rarely used); see also entries under the various prefixes, abluege, iiluege, nocheluege, überluege, umeluege, umenandluege, zueluege, etc.; and vergl. guene

 

lufte,  v.i.,

winden, v.i., to blow; es luftet, es windet, it is windy; Luft, in Bernese, is Wind

 

lugg,  adj.,

lose, locker, loose, slack; luggloh, v.t., to let go, to ease off, to relent, loslassen, aufgeben, verzichten

 

Lugi,  f.,

Lüge, f., lie, untruth; also at times one who tells one; dasch e Lugi, das is eine Lüge, that's a lie

 

lüpfe,  v.i.,

sich übergeben wollen, to heave; es het mi glüpft, ich hatte Brechreiz, I gagged

 

lüpfe,  v.t.,

heben, to heave, to lift; sich überlüpfe, v.r., sich zuviel zumuten, to take on too much; Hoselupf, m. (q.v.), Ringkampf, m., heave-ho, wrestling match

 

lüpfig, adj.,

munter, anregend, uplifting, cheerful; to make you want to dance; often said of music

 

lurge,  v.i.,

lallen, to babble

 

lut,  adv., adj.,

laut, loud, aloud; lut rede, laut sprechen, to talk in a loud voice; e luti Schtimm, eine laute Stimme, a loud voice;

 

lut,  prep.,

laut, according to; lut Befäu, laut Befehl, m., as per orders

 

Lüt, pl.,

Leute, pl.,people, persons; dLüt hei sech ufgregt, die Leute haben sich aufgeregt, people were irritated

 

luter,  adv., (used as indecl. adj.)

lauter, nichts als, nothing but, downright, pure and simple; luter chliini Outo, nichts als kleine Autos, nothing but small cars; luter Wasser, lauter Wasser, nothing but water; also used as adj. with the meaning of lauter: luters Wasser, lauteres Wasser, pure Water; s'luter Wasser briegge, untröstlich weinen, to weep despondently

 

Lüti,  n., at times f.

Klingel, f., Schelle, f., door-bell, bicycle-bell; also a family name; sLütis Lüti lütet, Lüti's Klingel läutet, the door-bell of the Lüti's is ringing; hesch kes Lüti a dim Velo? hat dein Fahrrad keine Klingel? don't you have a bell on your bicycle?; vergl. German läuten, v.t., v.i.

M

M

Ma, m.,

Mann, m., man; pl. Manne, Männer, men;

familiar names and titles may follow the same pattern: Buuma (Baumann), Grossma (Grossmann), Amme (Ammann), Houpme (Hauptmann); for German names the German version is customary: Gerhard Hauptmann, Clara Schumann

 

Määndig,  m.,

Montag, Monday; also Määndi

 

Madli,  f.,

Schwaden, m., swath of mowed grass; ein Schwaden m., gemähtes Gras; also Made, f.

 

magere,  v.i.,

abmagern,  to lose weight, to waste away; vergl. German mager; for the opposite see feisse;

 

Wos Puurli vo sinere Ängland-Reis isch heichoo hei sis gfrogt wiesem gange sig, so mitem Änglisch und so, und mit dene frömde Lüt. Guet, heter gseit, die si ganz fründlech. Scho uf dr Fähre isch dr Kondüktör zuemerchoo und het mi eso aagluegt und gfrogt "Have you a ticket?" und i ha de sofort gseit "Yo nei, eigetlech ehnder gmageret."

 

Mailänderli,  n. pl.,

eine Art Plätzchen, a type of cookie; perhaps from Milan, (butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, and flour, and glazed with eggyolk and sugar, more or less; about as elementary as you can get in cookie land

 

Malletschlössli,  n.,

Vorhängeschloß, n., padlock; vergl. French mallette,f.

 

Malör,  n.,

Unglück, n., mishap; vergl. French malheur

 

Manco,  n.,

Fehlbetrag, Manko, shortage; also fig. dä het echli es Manco, der ist nicht voll da, he is not quite there, vergl. Italian manco;

 

mänge,  adj., pron.,

mancher, many a one; mänge gloubti es gieng nid, mancher glaubte es unmöglich, many a one would think it impossible; auch mängi (pl. or f.), mängs (n.)

​

mängisch,  adj., adv.,

öfter, often, frequently; i ha mängisch müesse nochesitze, wöu i mängisch nit ha ufpasst, ich mußte öfter nachsitzen, weil ich nicht aufpaßte, I often had to stay behind, because I didn't pay attention; wie mängisch, wie oft, how often

 

Manöggeli,  n.,

Männchen, n., Spielfigur, f., manikin, figurine

 

Manschester,  m.,

Kordstoff, m., corduroy

 

märggele, v.i.,

Marken sammeln, to collect stamps

 

Margritli,  n.,

Maßliebchen, n., daisy, Bellis perennis

 

Märit,  m.,

Markt, m., market; hüt gö mir z'Märit, heut gehn wir auf den Markt, today we go to market; es wott es Froueli z'Märit goh, which is from an old song; also Märet

 

Märli,  n., sing. And pl.,

Märchen, n., fairy-tale; Märli verzeue, q.v., Märchen erzählen, to narrate fairy-tales

 

märte,  v.i.,

feilschen, to bargain, to haggle; vergl. German markten

 

Maschineli,  n.,

Vorrichtung, f., Apparat, m., Dingsda, n., contraption; zum Beispiel eine Vorrichtung welche einem Behinderten das Gehen erleichtert, for example a contraption that helps a handicapped to walk; also a small mechanical device

 

matsch,  adj., coll.

erschöpft, exhausted, worn out, tired to death, fagged; bisch matsch?, bist du erschöpft? are you exhausted?

 

Matte,  f.,

Wiese, f., meadow

 

Matteschümeli,  n.,

Wiesenschaumkraut, n., cuckoo-flower, cardamine pratensis

​

mäuche,  v.t.,

melchen, to milk

 

Mäuchtere,  f.,

Melchter, f., Milchkübel, m., milk-bucket; more redundantly also Miuchmäuchtere; one of the swisser words; sometimes fitted with a nipple on the lower front for giving milk to young calves, in which case it is a Chauberchübu, m., verbo swississimo, ein Kübel zum Tränken der Kälber, a bucket for giving milk to calves

 

me,  indef. pron.,

man, one, they; me seit, man sagt, it is said; me weis nie, man kann nicht wissen, you never know

 

meer,  pers.pron.,

wir, we; sometimes also short: mer, mr

 

Mehbessere,  m.pl.,

die höheren Kreise, m.pl., die Oberschichten, f.pl., the upper crust, the upper ten thousand; lit. those who are more better, sardonically speaking

 

mei-mei!  int.,

nicht doch!, no-no!; baby talk; usually accompanied by a wagging of one's finger, mit dem Finger drohen; these little interjections are fascinating and somebody who has nothing better to do should try to get to the bottom of them

 

Meie,  m.,

Blumenstrauß, m., bunch of flowers; dBrut het e schöne Meie übercho, die Braut erhielt einen schönen Strauß, the bride received a lovely bouquet; vergl. Mai, the month of May

 

Meieriisli,  n.,

Maiglöckchen, n., lily of the valley, convallaria majalis

 

meisele,  v.i.,

häppchenweise essen, langsam und ohne Lust essen, to pick one's food; the expression is "wie ein Spatz essen", but the Swiss word refers to the bird Meise (tit mouse)

 

Meiteli,  n.,

kleines Mädchen, baby girl

 

Meitschi,  n.,

Mädchen, n., girl; es Meitschi und e Bueb, a girl and a boy; also Meitli; vergl. English maiden, German Mädel

 

Metzg,  f.,

Metzgerei, f., butcher's shop; gosch i'd Metzg? gehst du zur Metzgerei, are you going to the butcher's?; Metzgete, f., Schlachttag, m., slaughtering day on the farm, and the ensuing feast

 

Miesch,  n.,

Moos, n., moss; vermieschet, v.t., mit Moos durchwachsen, overgrown with moss

 

Miggu,  m.,

Emil

 

mingere,  v.i.,

sich vermindern, to decrease, to grow less; said mostly of countable things; dBeeri hei gmingeret, es hat weniger Beeren, there are fewer berries; mingerig, adj., weniger, lesser, fewer

 

mira,

adv.

meinetwegen (von mir aus), for all I care; jo mira, nun so sei es, see if I care; see also wägemir

 

mischle,  v.t.,

mischen, to mix, to shuffle (cards); Charte mischle, Karten mischen, to shuffle a deck of cards

 

Mischlete,  f.,

Mischmasch, m., hodge-podge, hotchpotch

 

misexi,  int.,

sage und schreibe, tatsächlich, in der Tat, by Good!, indeed, really; jo misexi, wirklich, really; I ha misexi fasch müessenabhocke vor Schreck, ich hab mich vor Schrecken fast hinsetzen müssen, I was so startled I had to sit down; somewhat ironic, it expresses Verblüffung, perplexity, and some doubt at the reality of the situation

 

Mitteli,  n.,

Mittel, n., Arznei f., medicine, medicament, drug, remedy; gäges autwärde gits kes Mitteli, dem Altern ist kein Kraut gewachsen; there is no cure for old age

 

Miuchmäuchterli,  n.,

Milcheimer, m., Milchmelchter, n., milk bucket; see also mäuche and Mäuchtere

 

Möckli,  n., sing. and pl.

Stücklein, n., small piece, morsel; also Mocke, m., Stück, n., Bruchstück, n., chunk

 

Mödeli, n.,

es Mödeli Anke, eine Stange Butter, a stiock of butter; also in the sense of a minor bad habit, eine Unart, f., was isch ou das fürnes Mödeli? What new tick is this?

 

möge,  v.t., v.i., v. aux.,

mögen, want, may; i mag (i ma), du magsch (du masch), är mag (är ma), mir möge, dir möget, si möge; p.p. möge; subj. i möcht (I would), i mögt (I could); i ma nümme, ich mag nicht mehr, I can't anymore; i mags nid verliide, ich kann es nicht ertragen, I can't stand it; magsch no? magst du noch (kannst du noch)?, do you want to go on?

​

Momäntli, n.,

Augenblick, m., Moment, m., moment, instant; es Momäntli, bitte, Moment bitte, one moment, please (hold your horses)

 

Montur,  f.,

Aufmachung, f., Putz, m., Staat, m., Ausstaffierung, f., Uniform, f., get-up, outfit, uniform; vergl. Fr. monture, f.

 

möögge,  v.i.,

brüllen, to howl; vergl. French meugler and mugir, to low (of cow), to moo

 

Moralisch,  m.,

Melancholie, f., Niedergeschlagenheit, f., depression; dr Moralisch ha, bedrückt sein, to feel depressed

 

morn,  adv.,

morgen, tomorrow; morn am Morge, morgen früh, tomorrow morning; übermorn, übermorgen, the day after tomorrow; morndrig, adj., von morgen, tomorrow's; i dr morndrige Uusgab, in der Ausgabe von morgen, in tomorrow's edition; verl. German gestrig

 

möschig,  adj.,

aus Messing (messingen), of brass (brazen); fig. not golden; es möschigs Ührli, eine billige Uhr, a cheap watch; vergl. also French moche (shoddy, ugly, lousy)

 

moschte,  v.i.,

pressen, pferchen, to press, to squeeze, to pack closely; vergl. German Most, m., cider; lit. to press fruit to make cider; fig. to jam things or people together; jetz höret uuf moschte, es het ke Platz meh, stop pushing, there is no more space

 

Mose,  m.,

Flecken, m., Quetschung, f., stain, bruise; Grasmöse, Grasflecken, m., grass-stains; blaui Möse, blaue Flecken, blue bruises; also Müüssi, n.; vergl. French ecchymose, f.

 

motte, v.i.,

schwelen, to smoulder, to burn without a flame; Mottfüür, n., schwelendes Feuer, smouldering fire; see also Mupfüür

mou,  adv.,

mal, times; zwöimou, zweimal, twice; chumm emou, komm mal her, come here

 

mou,  conj.,

doch! yes!; mou! das isch eso, doch, dem ist so! yes! that is so; mo-mou (contraducting a negative) yes! aber sicher!

 

Moudi,  m.,

Kater, m., tom-cat; probably onomatopoeic, (it would be cute if it were French); see also Röiu

 

Mouggere,  f.,

ein brummiges Gesicht, a sad face; e Mouggere mache, schmollen, to pout, to sulk; see also Zwänzgabachtischnörre; vergl. French faire une moue

 

mudere,  v.i., v.r.,

mausern, to moult

 

Müesli,  n.,

Mus, n., a gruel and fruit mixture; vergl. Birchermüesli, the recipe of Dr. Bircher; Muesli is a well-known Swissism in English, sans Umlaut; soak some large oats in water overnight, if you like with a few raisins or dried blueberries in it, and in the morning add some Nidle, q.v., and a grated apple and/or fresh berries, the juice of a lemon, and perhaps honey, sugar, grated nuts; stir and serve

 

müesse,  v.i.aux.,

müssen, to be obliged to, to have, must; i mues, du muesch, är mues, mir müesse (also mir müend), dir müesset (also dir müend), si müesse; p.p. müesse; i ha müesse go schaffe, ich mußte zur Arbeit, I had to go to work

 

Muetergottes-chäferli, n.,

Marienkäfer, m., lady-bird, ladybug; also Muetergottes-chäberli

 

Müeterli, n.,

Schraubenmutter, f., screwnut

 

Mueti, n.,

Mutter, f., mother

 

Müeti,  n.,

Großmutter, Mütterchen, grandmother, mummy; a bit older than Mueti or Muetter

​

Mugge, f., s. and pl.

Mücke, f., s., Mücken, f., pl., mosquito, midge

 

Mugiige,  f.,

Mundharmonika, f., harmonica; accent on the u; mugiigele, to play the harmonica

 

Mümpfeli,  n.,

Mundvoll, m., mouthful, titbit, tidbit; es Mümpfeli Beeri, ein Happen Beeren, a mouthful of berries; es Bettmümpfeli, n., a sweet at bedtime; see also Versuecherli, which is about the same size; vergl. German mampfen, Engl. to munch

 

mune,  v.t.,

etwas erzwingen, um etwas ringen, to obtain something by force, to force something, to wrestle with something; see also vermune

 

Muni,  m.,

Stier, m., bull

 

Müntschi,  n.,

Kuß, m., kiss, smacker; the Bernese version of Schmützli, q.v.; vergl. German Mund; good sample of onomatopœia, much better than Hand/Häntsche

 

Münz,  n.,

Kleingeld, n., small change; hesch Münz? hast du Kleingeld? du you have change?; vergl. German Münze, f. (coin); a coin would be a Münze, f., in Schwizerdütsch; (vergl. also Swiss  Münzetee, m., German Minzentee, mint tea)

 

munzig,  adj.,

winzig, tiny

 

Mupf, m.,

Stubs, m., push, shove; see also Schupf

 

müpfe,  v.t.,

schubsen, stubsen, einen Rippenstoß geben, to nudge, to dig in the ribs; also to shove someone playfully; vergl. English to move

​

Mupfüür,  n.,

schwelendes Feuer, garbage fire; a contraction of Muttfüür; a fire of more smoke than flame, such as a fire made with garden refuse; see also Mutte, and motte; vergl. French motte, f., clod of earth

 

Murmeli,  n.,

Murmeltier, n., marmot, wood-chuck

 

Muschgetnuss,  f.,

Muskat, m., nutmeg, mace; Muschgetnussraffle, f., Muskatreibe, f., nutmeg-grater

 

Müschterli,  n.,

Kostprobe, f., Musterbeispiel, n., a taste, a sample, an example; see also Versuecherli

 

Musig,  f.,

Musik, f., music; accent on the u, in German the accent is on the i.

 

Mutsch,  m.,

Stoß, m., push; mutsche, stoßen, to push, to nudge

 

Mutschli,  n.,

Klumpen, m., chunk; also fig. something or somebody compact and plump; etwas oder jemand kurzes und festes; also a small round bun, ein Brötchen, n.

 

Mutte,  f.,

Erdklumpen, m., Scholle, f., clod (of sod), tussock; vergl. French motte

 

Mutz,  m.,

Bär, m., bear; mutz, mutzig, adj., kurzgeschoren, close-cropped, short-haired (as a Teddy-bear)

 

Muu, n.,

Mund, m., mouth; pl. Müler; vergl. German Maul., n.

 

muule,  v.i.,

murren, widerreden, widersprechen, sich nicht fügen wollen, to grumble, to gainsay, to quarrel; hör uf muule! widersprich nicht! stop arguing! not synonymous with the German maulen; see also umegää

 

Müüssi, n.,

see Mose

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