Language/Swiss-german/Grammar/Questions

Swiss German Grammar - Questions

Hi Swiss German learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on how to ask questions in Swiss German. Asking questions is essential to keep any conversation going, so it's important to learn this grammar point well. We will cover different types of questions, from simple to more complex ones. We will also give you cultural insights so that you can understand some of the nuances of Swiss German. Ready? Los geits!

Basic Questions

Let's start with basic questions. In Swiss German, as in many languages, you can transform a statement into a question by simply changing your intonation at the end of the sentence. For example:

• Du häsch en Hobby. (You have a hobby.)
• Du häsch en Hobby? (Do you have a hobby?)

Notice how the word order doesn't change. In Swiss German, the subject and the verb always stay together. The only thing that changes is the position of the question particle "ha?" (have?), which is added at the end of the sentence. This particle is equivalent to the English "do" or "does".

Here are some more examples:

Swiss German	Pronunciation	English
Mir gönd jetzt haa.	Me-goend-yetzt-haa	We're leaving now.
Mir gönd jetzt haa?	Me-goend-yetzt-haa	Are we leaving now?
Du bisch müed.	Du-bis-müed	You're tired.
Du bisch müed?	Du-bis-müed	Are you tired?

Question Words

Like in English, Swiss German has specific question words that are used to ask for additional information. Here are the most common ones:

Wer? - Who?

• Wer häsch s das gseit? (Who told you that?)
• Wer isch dases gsi? (Who was it?)

Remember to always put the question word at the beginning of the sentence in Swiss German. Here are a few more examples:

Swiss German	Pronunciation	English
Wer hetti ghulfe?	Ver-hetti-ghulfe	Who could have helped?
Wer will nomal eis Esse?	Ver-wil-noo-mal-aise-S-voress-e	Who wants another serving?
Wer isch das?	Ver-isch-dases	Who is that?

Was? - What?

• Was hesch du gern zum Ässe? (What do you like to eat?)
• Was isch mit däre Täsche? (What about this bag?)

In Swiss German, the question word "was" is also used to ask for definitions, like in the following example:

• Was heisst das uf Schwyzerdütsch? (What does that mean in Swiss German?)

Wann? - When?

• Wänn lütet d Hochzytschelle? (When will the wedding bells ring?)
• Wänn hesch du Zyit? (When do you have time?)

You can also use "wenn" in a sentence like this:

• Wänn d Sunne schynt, gönd mir spaziere. (When the sun is shining, we go for a walk.)

Wie? - How?

• Wie gohts? (How are you?)
• Wie heisst das uf Englisch? (How do you say that in English?)

"Wie" can also be used to ask about manner, as in:

• Wie hesch du das gmacht? (How did you do that?)
• Wie hei mir das immer gmacht. (That's how we always do it.)

Wo? - Where?

• Wo isch d Toilette? (Where is the toilet?)
• Wo wohnsch du? (Where do you live?)

"Wo" can also mean "at what place", as in:

• Wo hesch du das kauft? (Where did you buy that?)

Warum? - Why?

• Warum hesch du das gmacht? (Why did you do that?)
• Warum lachsch du? (Why are you laughing?)

"Warum" can also mean "because of what", as in:

• Warum bisch du nid cho? (Why didn't you come?)

Wieviel? / Wievil? - How much? / How many?

• Wieviel choschtet das? / Wievil koschtet das? (How much does that cost?)
• Wieviel händs gno? / Wievil hend's gno? (How many did you take?)

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are used when asking for more information in a polite or less direct way. In Swiss German, you can use "wüsse" (to know) or "fröge" (to ask) to formulate indirect questions.

Here are two examples:

• Ich wött gärn wüsse, öb du me chasch säge. (I would like to know if you could tell me more.)
• Chöntisch mi de erlääre, wie das funktioniert? (Could you explain to me how that works?)

Notice that, in indirect questions, the word order is the same as in a statement. Also, we use the question word "öb" (if) to introduce the question.

Cultural information

In Switzerland, it's not uncommon to be greeted with questions that are seemingly personal or intrusive. This phenomenon is called "Fragerecht" (right to ask). Swiss people are known for being direct and asking questions right away, especially when meeting someone for the first time. Don't be surprised if you're asked about your marital status, your profession or your hobbies. It's just a way of getting to know you better and showing interest in your life.

Dialogue

Here's a dialogue to help you practice what we've learned:

• Person 1: Wie gohts? (How are you?)
• Person 2: Guet, danke! Und dir? (Good, thank you! And you?)
• Person 1: Mir gönds au guet. Was hesch gschafft hüt? (We're also doing well. What did you do today?)
• Person 2: I ha mengischter Hektik gha im Büro. Und du? (I had a busy day at work. And you?)
• Person 1: Ich ha dis Buch z'Ende gläse. (I finished reading your book.)

Conclusion

In this lesson, we've covered the basic and indirect questions in Swiss German, as well as the most common question words. Remember that Swiss people can be quite direct when asking questions, so don't be surprised by their curiosity. To improve your Swiss German Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Swiss German Language
• Direct and Indirect Questions
• Swiss Culture