High German or Swiss German First? An Honest Answer

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Almost everyone who moves to German-speaking Switzerland asks the same question in their first weeks: should I learn High German or Swiss German first? It is a fair question, because you really do meet two languages here. You read one, and you mostly hear the other.

Our short answer: for most people, Standard German first, until it carries you through everyday reading and simple conversations, and then start listening to the dialect where you live. This post explains why, when we would change that order, and what the official rules actually ask for. KK, who runs our studio, is Thai and learned German as an adult, before and after moving to Switzerland, so this is a learner’s view, not a native speaker’s.

One thing first: language rules for permits and naturalisation change, and cantons and communes add their own. Everything below is general information, not legal advice. Confirm what applies to you with your canton and your commune.

Two languages, two jobs

The Canton of Zurich sums it up on its page for newcomers: in writing, the whole of German-speaking Switzerland uses Standard German (Hochdeutsch); in speech, dialect dominates everyday life. Swiss German is also not one dialect but a family of them, with no single standard written form, so Zurich and Bern sound different and nobody spells a text message quite the same way.

In practice, that split looks roughly like this:

So a newcomer needs both, but not in the same way. Standard German is the one you have to read and write. Swiss German is the one you have to understand.

What the official rules ask for

For naturalisation, the federal Citizenship Ordinance (Art. 6 BüV) asks for B1 spoken and A2 written in a national language: German, French, Italian or Romansh. That is a minimum. Cantons may ask for more, and several do: Nidwalden, Schwyz, Thurgau and Zug require B2 spoken and B1 written, Solothurn requires B2 spoken, and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Basel-Landschaft and St. Gallen require B1 in writing too. The State Secretariat for Migration’s handbook adds that a canton may also ask for the national language spoken where you live, so in a German-speaking canton, that means German. If you are curious how the rest of the procedure changes at the cantonal border, we wrote about how the citizenship test differs by canton.

Neither the ordinance nor the chapter on naturalisation in the federal handbook mentions dialect. What they ask for is German, and proof usually means a certificate based on a recognised language test; the State Secretariat says that online placement tests and course attendance certificates do not count. Native speakers, people who went to compulsory school in a national language for at least five years, and people with an upper-secondary or tertiary qualification in one are treated as having shown it already.

Language levels also matter earlier, for extending a residence permit and for a settlement permit. Your cantonal migration office can tell you which level applies to you.

A sensible order

This part is our advice, not a rule. Here is how we would order things for most people.

Start with Standard German. It is what your post, your forms and the official requirements are written in. It has one spelling and one grammar, so everything you learn applies everywhere, from Basel to Chur. And the people around you learned it at school, so it is always there to fall back on. The Canton of Zurich says so directly: you can speak Standard German and ask the person in front of you to reply in it.

Add dialect by ear. Once everyday Standard German no longer exhausts you, start listening to the dialect around you: greetings at the shop, your colleagues at lunch, a local radio station. You do not need to speak it yet. Understanding it is what lets you follow the conversation instead of waiting for someone to switch for you.

Change the order if your life is in dialect. If your workplace runs in Swiss German, if your partner’s family speaks it at the table, or if your child goes to a kindergarten that teaches in dialect, start listening much earlier, alongside Standard German rather than after it. The written side still has to be Standard German, but your ear can start on dialect from the first month.

Understanding comes before speaking

Many learners worry that they will have to speak two languages. In our experience, understanding dialect comes long before speaking it, and that is fine. You can answer in Standard German, as the Canton of Zurich suggests, and at work, mixing some Standard German into a Swiss German conversation is generally accepted.

Standard German also does a lot of the work for you, because many dialect words follow patterns. Words ending in -ung end in -ig instead: Rechnung becomes Rächnig, Wohnung becomes Wohnig, and Zeitung becomes Ziitig. Learn the pattern once and you recognise dozens of words.

Others you simply have to learn. Guten Tag is Grüezi, Vielen Dank is Merci vilmal, and Tschüss is Tschau. These are the words you hear in your first days, which is a good reason to learn them early, even while Standard German is your main project.

Because dialects differ from region to region, learn the one around you rather than a general average. KK’s own first week, when months of German suddenly felt like no help at all, is the story behind the Swiss German people actually speak.

Where our apps come in

We built three apps for exactly this situation, one for each part of it.

Willkommen teaches Standard German from your very first word to B2, in nine levels that become a train trip from Hamburg to Basel. Every noun comes with its article in colour, and the lessons cover reading, listening, writing and speaking. The first city, Hamburg, is free. Willkommen is on iPhone and Android.

Grüezi teaches Swiss German as it is spoken. You choose your region, and the lessons climb from the first Grüezi to everyday dialogues at the bakery, the train station and the office, with the Standard German shown beside many words so you can see how the two connect. The first unit is free. Grüezi is on iPhone and Android.

Bürgertest is for when naturalisation comes into view. It asks for your canton first, then shows the spoken and written levels that canton requires and how it tests what you know. It is free to start, and it is on iPhone.

To be clear about what they are: all three are private learning apps by KK Studio, with no connection to the Confederation, the cantons or the communes. None of them is a language certificate; for naturalisation, only a recognised test counts. Use the apps to learn, and your canton and commune to check.

Viel Erfolg!