Ways to say it
| Swiss German | Note |
|---|---|
| guet | |
| guat | Eastern Swiss, same word |
guet describes food, weather, a person's character or how something turned out, just like English 'good'. In eastern Switzerland you may hear it pronounced guat instead.
What does it mean word for word?
guet is the Swiss German form of Standard German gut, with the vowel stretched into a diphthong.
Which one should you use?
The word itself does not change with what it describes. What changes is the ending before certain nouns, so e guete Kafi is 'a good coffee' and es guets Ässe is 'a good meal'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
guet is used in every register, from a casual chat to a formal evaluation at work.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Most of German-speaking Switzerland says guet. Appenzell and parts of eastern Switzerland shift the vowel to guat.
How does it change in a sentence?
Before a noun, guet takes an ending that matches the noun's gender: guete before a masculine noun, guets before a neuter one and gueti before a feminine one or a plural.
How do you pronounce it?
guet has two vowel sounds blended together, roughly 'goo-et', not the single short vowel of Standard German gut.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Saying gut the Standard German way is understood everywhere, but it sounds noticeably foreign next to the Swiss diphthong in guet.
Did you know?
- The Swiss diphthong in guet is one of the clearest sound differences from Standard German gut, which keeps a single short vowel.
- In Appenzell the same word is often pronounced guat, one of several vowel shifts typical of that region's dialect.
Examples in context
- Das Ässe isch mega guet gsi.The food was really good.
- Er isch en guete Lehrer.He is a good teacher.
- Isch alles guet bi dir?Is everything good with you?
Example conversation
Elias asks his sister Mirjam how the new restaurant in town is.
- EliasIsch s Ässe dete guet?Is the food there good?
- MirjamJo, mega guet sogar.Yes, really good actually.
- EliasUnd d Bedienig?And the service?
- MirjamAu guet, aber chli langsam.Also good, but a little slow.
