Counting in Swiss German
Language overview
Swiss German (Schwyzerdütsch, Schwizertütsch, Schwizertitsch) is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland, in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy, as well as in Liechtenstein and Austrian Vorarlberg. It belongs to the Indo-European family, and more precisely to the Allemanic subgroup of Germanic. It counts about 6.5 million speakers.
Swiss German numbers list
- 1 – eis
- 2 – zwöi
- 3 – drü
- 4 – vier
- 5 – füf
- 6 – säch
- 7 – sibe
- 8 – acht
- 9 – nüün
- 10 – zäh
- 11 – euf
- 12 – zwöuf
- 13 – dryzäh
- 14 – vierzäh
- 15 – füfzäh
- 16 – sächzäh
- 17 – sibezäh
- 18 – achtzäh
- 19 – nüünzäh
- 20 – zwänzg
- 30 – dryssg
- 40 – vierzg
- 50 – füfzg
- 60 – sëchzg
- 70 – sibezg
- 80 – achzg
- 90 – nüünzg
- 100 – Hundert
- 1,000 – Tuusig
- one million – en Million
- one billion – e Milliarde
- one trillion – en Billion
Swiss German numbering rules
Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).
- Digits and numbers from one to twelve are specific words: eis [1], zwöi [2], drü [3], vier [4], füf or föif (in Zürich) [5], säch [6], sibe [7], acht [8], nüün [9], zäh [10], euf [11], and zwöuf [12].
- From thirteen to nineteen, the numbers are formed from the matching digits, adding the word for ten (zäh) at the end: dryzäh [13], vierzäh [14], füfzäh [15], sächzäh [16], sibezäh [17], achtzäh [18], and nüünzäh [19].
- The tens are formed by adding the suffix -zg at the end of the digits, with the exception of ten: zäh [10], zwänzg [20], dryssg [30], vierzg [40], füfzg [50], sëchzg [60], sibezg [70], achzg [80], and nüünzg [90].
- From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the tens and units are joined with the word e (and), but the unit is said before the ten (e.g.: füfedryssg [35], zwöiesibezg [72]). When compound, the digits one and seven change slightly (e.g.: einefüfzg [51], sibenenüünzg [97]).
- Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit before the word for hundred (Hundert), separated with a space, except for one hundred: Hundert [100], zwöi Hundert [200], drü Hundert [300], vier Hundert [400], füf Hundert [500], säch Hundert [600], sibe Hundert [700], acht Hundert [800], and nüün Hundert [900].
- Thousands are formed starting with the multiplier digit before the word for thousand (Tuusig), separated with a space, except for one thousand: Tuusig [1,000], zwöi Tuusig [2,000], drü Tuusig [3,000], vier Tuusig [4,000], füf Tuusig [5,000], säch Tuusig [6,000], sibe Tuusig [7,000], acht Tuusig [8,000], and nüün Tuusig [9,000].
- The Swiss German language uses the long scale for big numbers where the naming pattern of the scale words alternates between the -illion and -illiarde suffixes: en Million (106, one million), e Milliarde (109, one billion), en Billion (1012, one trillion).
Write a number in full in Swiss German
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Swiss German. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.
Books
Die Schweizermacher. A Swiss German Tutorial
by Paul G. Schreier, editors Books on Demand GmbH (2003)
[ Amazon.com]
Hoi ! et Après… Manuel de Survie en Suisse Allemand
by Sergio J. Lievano, Nicole Egger, editors Bergli Books Ltd (2008)
[ Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com]
West Germanic languages
Afrikaans, Alsatian, Bavarian, English, German, Gottscheerish, Hunsrik, Luxembourgish, North Frisian, Pennsylvania German, Plautdietsch, Saterland Frisian, Scots, Swiss German, West Frisian, Wymysorys, and Yiddish.
Other supported languages
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.