Powermeals blog | Recipes and nutrition

Your language guide for shopping in Switzerland.

Written by Isabel | May 27, 2022 1:58:27 PM

With 4 national languages, plus a high proportion of English and Portuguese speakers, a trip to the supermarket in Switzerland can be an overwhelming experience, and that’s before you even start trying to unpick nutritional labels. In fact, over 40% of the adult population regularly use more than one language. But don’t worry! Here’s our guide to understanding some of the signs and labels you’ll come across in supermarkets and grocery stores around Switzerland.

Supermarket aisles in English, French, German & Italian

Wherever you are in Switzerland you can look out for these phrases when navigating your local grocery store.

English

German

French

Italian

fruit

die Frucht

le fruit

la frutta

vegetables

das Gemüse

le légume

la verdura

meat

das Fleisch

la viande

la carne

fish

der Fisch

le poisson

il pesce

dairy

die Molkerei

les produits laitiers

il latte

frozen food

Tiefkühlkost

aliments surgelés

alimenti surgelati

bread

das Brot

le pain

il pane

drinks

die Getränke

les boissons

le bevande

herbs

das Kraut

l'herbe

le erbe aromatiche

baby

das Baby / der Säugling

le bébé

il bambino

breakfast

das Frühstück

le petit déjeuner

la colazione

dessert

die Nachspeise / das Dessert

le dessert

il dessert

salad

der Salat

la salade

l'insalata

 

Directions in Swiss Supermarkets

You can also keep an eye out for these more general signs to make sure you go to the right queues.

English

German

French

Italian

open

offen

ouvert

aperto

closed

geschlossen

fermé

chiuso

entrance

der Eingang

l'entrée

l'entrata

exit

der Ausgang

la sortie

l'uscita

check-out

die Kasse/Check-out

la caisse

la cassa

 

Common produce vocabulary

If you’re looking for something specific, here are the translations for a few common food items.

English

German

French

Italian

cheese

der Käse

le fromage

il formaggio

butter

die Butter

le beurre

il burro

potato

die Kartoffel

la pomme de terre

la patata

rice

der Reis

le riz

il riso

pasta

die Teigwaren

les pâtes

la pasta

apple

der Apfel

la pomme

la mela

pear

die Birne

la poire

la pera

nut

die Nuss

la noix

la noce

chicken

das Huhn / Poulet

le poulet

il pollo

veal

das Kalbfleisch

le veau

il vitello

beef

das Rindfleisch

le boeuf

carne di manzo

pork

das Schweinefleisch

le porc

carne di maiale

milk

die Milch

le lait

il latte

garlic

der Knoblauch

l'ail

l'aglio

black pepper

der Pfeffer

poivre

pepe

salt

das Salz

le sel

il sale

 

Phrases to look out for in French, German and Italian

These phrases will help you find the good deals or choose high quality produce.

English

German

French

Italian

sale

den Verkauf

la vente

la vendita

half price

halber Preis

demi-prix

metà prezzo

20% off

20% Rabatt

20 % de réduction

20% di sconto

... included

... inbegriffen

... compris

... compreso

local

lokale

locale

locale

organic

Bio

bio

organico

 

Nutritional labelling vocabulary

If you like to look in a bit more detail at what you’re eating, here’s some vocab for understanding nutritional labels. You can also, checkout our guide on nutri-score.

English

German

French

Italian

calories (kcal)

Kalorien (kcal)

calories (kcal)

calorie (kcal)

protein (prot)

Protein

protéine

proteina

carbohydrates (carb)

Kohlenhydrate (KE)

glucides

carboidrati

fat

fett

gras

grasso

 

Bored of shopping?

Powermeals deliver ready-to-eat meals direct to your door so you can save time on a trip to the shops. Have a look at next week’s menu, cooked from scratch in our Swiss kitchen.