Swiss Standard German is mainly a written language, so most of the German you'll meet in Switzerland on a page or in the news is Swiss Standard German. In everyday talk, people speak local dialects that sound very different. Comprehensible input means learning from German you can mostly understand, so the trick is finding Swiss material in the standard language at your level.
These tools help you find that, or make the German you choose easier to follow. For courses and tutors, see our Swiss Standard German app comparison and our resource guide.
To check the level, read a few sentences. If most have about one new word, keep reading. If you can't tell what's happening, pick something easier.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn German. You learn from German you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Swiss Standard German lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
When a Swiss page is hard, send Poppy a photo of it, and she explains it line by line. For a whole newspaper, podcast, or show, the tools in Read and Watch Swiss German You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories in Swiss Standard German about things you like.
- Every lesson is written at your level, with Swiss spelling like Strasse and Swiss words like Velo.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading. You can also export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Lessons are read aloud in standard German, not a Swiss accent.
- You can't turn a Swiss book you own into a lesson.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- LernLaterneIts Swiss page describes Swiss Standard German and lists level-sorted stories and dialogs with audio. The page also says its Swiss course is coming soon, and the free plan has 4 stories or dialogs and 4 grammar units.
- ReadleStories and news articles in German from A1 to C1, read aloud by German speakers. It teaches German in general, with a free trial before the paid plan.
LernLaterne is the one place we found that names Swiss High German for learners. Its page doesn't say which German its texts use, so read a text and check for ss where Germany would write ß.
These tools work with the Swiss articles, shows, and videos you pick yourself.
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to German from its library or bring in your own, such as a Swiss news article. Its reader highlights the words you haven't met yet and the words you are learning.
- Thousands of hours of German audio with matching transcripts.
- Import YouTube videos, books, and songs as lessons.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Language Reactor works with German YouTube videos anywhere in the world, including videos from Swiss channels.
- See German subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
Browser extension
Some Swiss titles play only in Switzerland. Many shows use dialect, so start with the news, which uses the standard language, and read a show's description before you press play.
| What | Why It Helps | Try It When |
|---|---|---|
| SRF Kids | Videos, podcasts, and audio plays for children, with short news episodes for kids | You're just starting |
| SWI swissinfo.ch | Swiss news from the public broadcaster SRG SSR, in short pieces and longer features, with video and podcasts | You can read a short news article |
| SRF News | Swiss news in text, video, and audio, including the 15-minute podcast News Plus | You follow most of a news story |
| SRF Play | Shows, a live stream, and news from Swiss TV (some titles are only for Switzerland) | You follow longer scenes |
Use any German course for shared grammar, and the sources above for Swiss words.
Each number is how many languages you can use the app in, including script variants. The Swiss sites above are in German.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Full list
|
| LernLaterne | — | — |
| Readle | 23 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
Which Swiss Standard German app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning German, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with SRF Kids videos if you'd like short Swiss clips, or with a Nicos Weg video from Deutsche Welle if you want a free German course that begins at A1.
Will Swiss TV and radio match what I learn here?
Sometimes. Swiss Standard German is what people use for the news and in classrooms, but in everyday life, Swiss people speak dialect, and many shows do too. If you can't tell what's happening, the show may be in dialect, and a news program is a safer choice.
Can I use Swiss media outside Switzerland?
Some of it. SRF Play marks certain titles as playing only in Switzerland, so a title that won't load from your country may be one of those.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Swiss Standard German (mainly written; no ß; Billett, Velo, Spital)
- Bubblegum: German (Switzerland)
- LernLaterne: Learn Swiss High German (stories, dialogs and grammar units; course coming soon; 4 stories or dialogs free, 140 texts with audio in the paid plan)
- SRF News (text, video and audio, including the News Plus podcast)
- SRF Play (shows, live stream, news; some titles only play in Switzerland)
- SRF Kids (videos, podcasts and audio plays for children)
- SWI swissinfo.ch German edition (Swiss news, video and podcasts; part of SRG SSR)
- LingQ: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- LingQ: free and premium plans
- Language Reactor: Chrome Web Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Language Reactor: what the paid plan adds
- Deutsche Welle, Learn German (Nicos Weg, a free video course from A1 to B1)
- DW Learn German: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Readle: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Readle: German course (free trial, then paid plan)
- Bubblegum
- LingQ
- Language Reactor
