Knowing local Swiss customs and avoiding pitfalls

Have you ever wondered why Swiss people kiss so often when they meet? Do you know what to expect when friends invite you to an apéro? Find out more about local customs here.

1. Dos and don’ts in Switzerland

You don’t want to offend Swiss locals and want to be seen as highly integrated by your acquaintances as quickly as possible? If this applies to you, it’s worthwhile keeping the following local customs and possible pitfalls in mind.

Dos

• Three kisses as a greeting: When meeting someone for the first time in Switzerland, it is customary to shake hands. From the second time you meet, things become a little more complicated. When greeting a woman, it is normal to give three kisses on the cheek. If you’re more acquainted, it may only be one kiss or a hug (also for male friends).

• Repeat the name during introductions: This is not compulsory, but the Swiss often say or repeat the name of their counterpart when they hear it for the first time: “Hello, my name is Hansruedi.” – “Nice to meet you, Hansruedi. My name is Susanne.”

• Always say “please” (German: “bitte” / French: “s’il vous plaît” / Italian: “per favore”), “thank you” (“danke”/ “merci” / “grazie”) and “you’re welcome” (“bitte” / “de rien” / “prego”): This verbal politeness may seem almost excessive in some situations, like at the supermarket checkout. But it’s better to say “please”, “thank you” or “have a nice day” one too many times than one too few.

• Clink your glasses: It is customary at an “apéro” (an aperitif often served with finger food), at dinner and, depending on the situation, when enjoying a nightcap to clink your glass with everyone before taking a drink.

• Switch down a gear: As a rule, the Swiss work in an efficient and productive manner. This may seem surprising given the slowness they display in almost all day-to-day situations, be this boarding a tram, paying at the supermarket checkout or at a meeting. Pushing in, rushing around and impatiently tapping your foot will not help you get to where you want to go quicker and you’ll also be considered rude.

• Hiking: It comes as no surprise that the Swiss love hiking. But please bear in mind: a “Swiss hike” will involve ascending several hundred vertical metres. A 2-hour tour around a lake does not count as a hike – the Swiss will smile and dismiss this as a long walk. To join a hike, make sure you have the right equipment: good hiking boots and a light rucksack are a must. Please also be careful when referring to the official hiking scale: light climbing or scrambling is also deemed to be hiking in Switzerland!

Don’ts

• An invite without an “apéro”: If Mr and Mrs Swiss are invited over for dinner, they’ll expect to receive an aperitif and some appetisers or finger food before the meal is served. This need not involve too much effort: depending on the occasion, beer or white wine with crisps, nuts or olives are quite acceptable. Particularly popular apéro drinks also include sparkling wine, Hugo (a Swiss cocktail), Aperol Spritz and Campari varieties. If, however, you don’t want to wait until serving your delicious meal to impress, you can take your apéro to the next level. For example, you can serve up a selection of aperitif cocktails together with small home-made treats or canapés. Also, inviting guests for just an apéro will also be welcomed. This may last late into the night and should absolutely involve more work and preparation than “finger food” prior to a meal.

• Stinginess: Kicking up a fuss because you’re being charged a franc or two more than you expected or complaining to supermarket, restaurant or amusement park staff about excessive prices is not only unusual in Switzerland. This kind of behaviour is also viewed as miserly and impolite.

• Loudness: Complaining or telling jokes loudly, shouting into a phone or even raising your voice above the normal level during an argument will not be received well. Doing so is considered rude, unfriendly and inconsiderate.

• Being late: Being more than 15 minutes late is simply unacceptable. If this is unavoidable, you must inform the person waiting for you about the delay as soon as possible and, of course, apologize. 

• Irony or sarcasm in daily situations: The Swiss are not quite as humourless as widely assumed. Nevertheless, you should be careful when using irony and sarcasm in everyday situations. If someone doesn’t know you well, they may not recognize the irony or sarcasm as such and, if they do, they may view it as inappropriate. The situation is different when you’re with friends who are well positioned to judge how you mean something.

2. Living in German-speaking Switzerland: should I learn Swiss German?

In the German-speaking part of Switzerland, Swiss people don’t generally speak High German in their day-to-day life. Swiss German is the main language spoken there.

When foreigners move to Switzerland, it’s expected that they should be able to understand and speak standard German, French or Italian passably well after spending some time in the country. In the case of German-speaking Switzerland, it is important to learn standard German. This is used in writing and also allows you to communicate with the locals.

Should I try to speak Swiss German?

Many Swiss view the effort to acquire the language as a sign of successful integration. However, it is unlikely that a non-Swiss person will ever perfect Swiss German due to the complexity and the wide variety of the dialects that exist. This is usually only achieved by the children of immigrants who practise from an early age and grow up with Swiss German speakers.

For this reason, foreigners are not expected to speak Swiss German. However, at least learning to understand Swiss German is helpful when it comes to integration.