Switzerland 
Glossary of words used in Switzerland
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GERMAN

ABFAHRT departure

MITENAND friendly welcoming Swiss-German term for everyone in a group, with the same disarming overtones as “folks” in English: a hotel receptionist or maitre d’ will greet a party with grüezi mitenand (“hello everyone”), a waiter will say enguete mitenand (“enjoy your meal, folks”), and so on

ALTSTADT Old Town

MÜNSTER minster or cathedral

ACHTUNG! Beware!

NACHSAISON low season

ANKUNFT arrival

NORD north

AUSKUNFT information

OBER upper

BACH stream

OST east

BAHNHOF station PLATZ town square
BERG mountain

RATHAUS town hall

BERGFÜHRER mountain guide

RÖSTIGRABEN informal name for the language border – a Graben is a military trench – between French-speaking Switzerland (where they don’t eat the traditional potato dish Rösti) and German-speaking Switzerland (where they do)

BERGWEG mountain path SAMMLUNG collection
BILLETS tickets SBB Swiss Federal Railways
BLAUE ZONE blue zone (city parking) SCHLOSS castle or stately home
BRÜCKE bridge SCHLUCHT gorge
DEUTSCHSCHWEIZ German-speaking Switzerland SCHWEIZ Switzerland
DORF village SEE lake
DURCHGANG passageway STRASSE street
FLUSS river SUD south
FUSSGÄNGERZONE pedestrian zone TAL valley
GASSE alley TESSIN Ticino
GEFAHR! Danger! TOR gate
GEPÄCK baggage TOURISMUS tourist office
GIPFEL summit TOURISTENLAGER dormitory
GLETSCHER glacier TURM tower
GUTBÜRGERLICHE traditional, solidly bourgeois VERBOTEN! Prohibited!
HAFEN harbour VERKEHRSVEREIN tourist office
HAUPTBAHNHOF main station VORSAISON low season
HOCHSAISON high season WALD forest
HOF court or courtyard WANDERWEG footpath
HORN peak

WELSCHLAND informal name for French-speaking Switzerland (the Swiss-German word Choderwelsch means “gobbledy-gook”)

JASS (yass) extremely complicated card game played in taverns by young and old using non-standard Swiss playing cards which feature Rosen (roses), Schilden (shields), Eicheln (acorns) and Schellen (bells) WESTSCHWEIZ formal name for French-speaking Switzerland

JUGENDHERBERGE youth hostel

ZEUGHAUS arsenal

KANTÖNLIGEIST literally “little cantonal spirit”: describes a stubborn Swiss parochialism, a blinkered pride in the attributes and culture of one’s own town or canton above all others (with the same overtones as “Little Englander”)

 

KIRCHE church

 

KLOSTER monastery or convent

 

KUNST art

 

KURVEREIN tourist office

 

MASSENLAGER dormitory

 

MATRATZENLAGER dormitory

 

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