German C2: The German of Austria & Switzerland · Grammar

Standard German differs from country to country. In Austria: Jänner (January), Paradeiser (tomato), Erdäpfel (potatoes), Sackerl (bag), and Servus as a greeting. In Switzerland: Velo (bicycle), parkieren (to park), Trottoir (pavement), grüezi (hello), merci (thanks), and no ß: Strasse. In the south, many verbs of position take sein in the perfect: ich bin gesessen.

• Jänner — January (Austria)
• der Paradeiser — tomato (Austria)
• Erdäpfel — potatoes (Austria)
• das Sackerl — bag (Austria)
• das Velo — bicycle (Switzerland)
• parkieren — to park (Switzerland)
• grüezi — hello (Switzerland)
• Servus — hi, bye (Austria, Bavaria)

• Grüezi mitenand! — Hello, everyone! (Switzerland)
• Brauchen Sie ein Sackerl? — Do you need a bag? (Austria)
• Servus, wie geht’s? — Hi, how are you? (Austria)
• Merci vielmal! — Thanks a lot! (Switzerland)