Speak or show your screen across all three main Swiss language regions. Filter by situation (restaurants, fondue & allergy show-cards, SBB trains, hotels, Alpine trails, emergencies), tap 🔊 Listen to play pronunciation via your browser's speech synthesizer, or tap 📱 Show to Staff for a high-contrast staff card that waiters or station staff can read at a glance.
Grüezi / Bonjour / Buongiorno
GREW-tsee · bon-ZHOOR · bwon-JOR-no
Hello / Good day across German, French & Italian Switzerland
Tips for communicating across Switzerland's 4 language regions
- Start with "Grüezi" (GREW-tsee) in German-speaking Switzerland: in Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, and Zermatt, greeting staff with "Grüezi" (or "Grüessech" in Bern) and saying "Merci vielmal" ("thank you very much" — a beloved Swiss blend of French and German) immediately wins warm smiles.
- Watch for hidden wine/Kirsch in fondue: traditional Swiss cheese fondue is made with white wine and cherry schnapps (Kirsch). If you avoid alcohol or need gluten-free bread/potatoes, show our Dietary Cards to your server. Read our Vegetarian, Vegan & Allergies Guide.
- Match the local language region: use French (Bonjour, s'il vous plaît) in Geneva, Lausanne, and Montreux; Italian (Buongiorno, per favore) in Lugano and Locarno; and German/Swiss German in Central, Northern, and Eastern Switzerland.