Schwäbisch
Swabian
Indo-European
Swabian (autonymously Schwäbisch) is an Upper German Alemannic variety, spoken by around 800,000 people in southwestern Germany — primarily in Baden-Württemberg around Stuttgart, the Black Forest, and the Swabian Jura, with smaller populations in Bavarian Swabia around Augsburg. Swabian is famously the dialect of the Stuttgart region — home to Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch, and the historic Daimler/Benz origin of the German automotive industry. Linguistically, Swabian is part of the Alemannic family alongside Swiss German (gsw) and Alsatian, with distinctive features including the Swabian /a/ → /ɔ/ shift, the diminutive suffix -le replacing Standard German -lein, and characteristic phrases like "Grüß Gott" and "Danggschee". Despite vibrant numbers, UNESCO classifies Swabian as vulnerable due to relentless Standard German pressure in education, media, and urban areas.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Swabian
Water
Wasser
/vasə/
Fire
Feuer
/foiɐ/
Sun
Sonne
/sonə/
Moon
Mond
/moːnd/
Star
Schtern
/ʃtɛrn/
Mother
Mädder
/mɛdɐ/
Father
Vadder
/fadɐ/
I
i
/i/
You
du
/du/
Name
Nama
/ˈnamə/
Eye
Aug
/aʊɡ/
Hand
Hand
/hand/
Heart
Herz
/hɛɐts/
Love
Liab
/liə̯b/
Tree
Baum
/baum/
House
Hous
/haus/
Dog
Hond
/hond/
Cat
Katz
/kats/
Eat
essa
/ɛsə/
Drink
drengga
/dɾɛŋɡə/
One
oine
/ɔinə/
Two
zwoi
/tsvoɪ̯/
Hello
Grüß Gott
/ɡryːs ɡɔt/
Thank you
Danggschee
/daŋkʃeː/
Good
guad
/ɡuə̯d/
Cuckoo
Guckguck
/ˈɡʊkɡʊk/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European languages
| Meaning | Swabian | East Franconian | Bavarian | Walser | Swiss German | Kölsch | German (Luxembourgish) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Wasser /vasə/ | Wasser /vasːə/ | Wåssa /vɔsɐ/ | Wasser /vasːər/ | Wasser /vasːər/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ |
| Fire | Feuer /foiɐ/ | Feier /faɪɐ/ | Feia /fɔɪɐ/ | Für /fyːr/ | Füür /fyːr/ | Füer /fyːɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ |
| Sun | Sonne /sonə/ | Sunn /sʊn/ | Sun /sʊn/ | Sunna /sʊnːa/ | Sunne /sʊnə/ | Sonn /zɔn/ | Sonne /zɔnə/ |
| Moon | Mond /moːnd/ | Maa /maː/ | Moo /moː/ | Maa /maː/ | Mond /moːnd/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ |
| Star | Schtern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stern /ʃtɛrn/ | Stern /ʃtɛɐn/ | Stärn /ʃtærn/ | Stärn /ʃtærn/ | Stään /ʃtɛːn/ | Stern /ʃtɛʁn/ |
| Mother | Mädder /mɛdɐ/ | Mudder /mʊdɐ/ | Muada /muɐdɐ/ | Müeter /myə̯tər/ | Mueter /muə̯tər/ | Moder /moːdɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ |
| Father | Vadder /fadɐ/ | Vadder /fadɐ/ | Voda /foɐdɐ/ | Atti /atːi/ | Vatter /fatər/ | Vatter /fatɐ/ | Vater /faːtɐ/ |
| I | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | ich /ix/ | ich /ɪx/ | ich /ɪɕ/ | ich /ɪç/ |
| You | du /du/ | du /du/ | du /du/ | du /du/ | du /duː/ | do /doː/ | du /duː/ |
| Name | Nama /ˈnamə/ | Nama /ˈnamɐ/ | Nam /nãː/ | Name /ˈnamə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ | Name /ˈnaːmə/ |
| Eye | Aug /aʊɡ/ | Aach /aːx/ | Aug /aʊɡ/ | Oug /oʊɡ/ | Aug /aʊ̯ɡ/ | Auch /aʊx/ | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ |
| Hand | Hand /hand/ | Hand /hand/ | Hand /hɔnd/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hand/ | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hant/ |
| Heart | Herz /hɛɐts/ | Herz /hɛrts/ | Heaz /hɛɐts/ | Hërz /hɛrts/ | Härz /hærts/ | Hätz /hɛts/ | Herz /hɛʁts/ |
| Love | Liab /liə̯b/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liab /liɐb/ | Liebi /liə̯bi/ | Liebi /liə̯bi/ | Leev /leːf/ | Liebe /liːbə/ |
| Tree | Baum /baum/ | Bauma /baʊmaː/ | Bam /bãm/ | Boum /boʊm/ | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Boum /baʊm/ | Baum /baʊ̯m/ |
| House | Hous /haus/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Hus /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ | Haus /haʊ̯s/ |
| Dog | Hond /hond/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnd/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnd/ | Hongk /hoŋk/ | Hund /hʊnt/ |
| Cat | Katz /kats/ | Katz /kats/ | Katz /kʰats/ | Chatz /xats/ | Chatz /xats/ | Katz /kats/ | Katze /katsə/ |
| Eat | essa /ɛsə/ | esse /ɛsə/ | essn /ɛsn̩/ | ässe /æsə/ | ässe /æsə/ | esse /ɛsə/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ |
| Drink | drengga /dɾɛŋɡə/ | trinke /trɪŋkə/ | dringa /dɾɪŋɡɐ/ | trinke /trɪŋkə/ | trinke /trɪŋkə/ | drinke /dʁɪŋkə/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ |
| One | oine /ɔinə/ | ans /ans/ | oans /oɐns/ | eins /æɪ̯ns/ | eis /æɪ̯s/ | ein /aɪn/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ |
| Two | zwoi /tsvoɪ̯/ | zwaa /tsvaː/ | zwoa /tsvoɐ/ | zwei /tsʋei/ | zwöi /tsʋøi/ | zwei /tsvai/ | zwei /tsvaɪ/ |
| Hello | Grüß Gott /ɡryːs ɡɔt/ | Grüß Gott /ɡrʏs ɡɔt/ | Servus /sɛɐvʊs/ | Grüössi /ɡryə̯sːi/ | Grüezi /ɡryə̯tsi/ | Tach /tax/ | Hallo /haloː/ |
| Thank you | Danggschee /daŋkʃeː/ | Vergelt's Gott /fɛɐɡɛlts ɡɔt/ | Vagelts Gott /fɐɡɛlts ɡɔt/ | Vergelts Gott /fɛrɡɛlts ɡɔt/ | Merci /mɛrsi/ | Dankeschön /daŋkəʃøːn/ | danke /daŋkə/ |
| Good | guad /ɡuə̯d/ | guad /ɡuə̯d/ | guad /ɡuɐd/ | guet /ɡuə̯t/ | guet /ɡuə̯t/ | joot /joːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ |
| Cuckoo | Guckguck /ˈɡʊkɡʊk/ | Gutzgauch /ˈɡʊtsɡaʊx/ | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ | Gugger /ˈɡʊɡər/ | Gugger /ˈɡʊɡər/ | — | Kuckuck /ˈkʊkʊk/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.