Bavarian-German Postcard Phrases Posted by Constanze on Apr 16, 2018 in Culture, Holidays, Language
Servus! That’s the informal, Bavarian way of saying hello or goodbye. And it’s relevant because today I’m bringing you a few more Bavarian phrases!
Two Bavarian postcards I’ve been sent. Left means ‘Let’s have a look, then we’ll see’ (German: Schauen wir mal, dann sehen wir’s schon). Right means ‘That’s all I’m saying’ (German: Mehr sage ich nicht).
If you’re anything like me, you collect postcards from all of the places you’ve visited. Whenever you visit a touristic region with a distinct dialect, you’re likely to find postcards in that dialect. Bavaria is no exception – Bavarians are generally very proud of their dialect, so postcards like this are everywhere! But the problem is often that you won’t have a clue what they mean (unless there’s a translation – which there often isn’t). So I’ve collected all of the Bavarian postcard phrases I could find, translated them into Hochdeutsch (High German) and English, and recorded an audio for each of them, so you can hear how the Bavarian is pronounced. There is a tendency to mash several words together on these postcards into one, big word. I’ve broken those down, too. Enjoy!
1.
Ois Guade zum Gebuadsdog
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag
Best wishes on your birthday
2.
Kaafda wos schees
Kauf dir etwas schönes
Buy yourself something nice
3.
Auf jedn Foi schaust jünger aus, ois wiasd bist
Auf jeden Fall schaust du jünger aus, als wie du bist
You look younger than you are
4.
Dahoam is Dahoam
Daheim ist Daheim
Home is home
5.
Imechtnur gratuliern
Ich möchte nur gratulieren
I want to congratulate you/Congratulations
6.
Bassd scho
Passt schon
It’s all good
7.
G’jammert wird ned
Gejammert wird nicht
Don’t complain/There’s no time to complain
8.
Dassidihobdesismeiglück (dass-I-di-hob-des-is-mei-Glück)
Dass ich dich habe, das ist mein Glück
I am so lucky to have you
9.
Schee, dass’s di gibt!
Schön, dass es dich gibt!
It’s so nice you exist!
10.
I bin schdoitz auf di!
Ich bin stolz auf dich!
I am proud of you!
11.
Imogdi (I-mog-di)
Ich mag dich
I like you
12.
Ihobdigern (I-hob-di-gern)
Ich habe dich gern
I like you
13.
Woasst du überhaupt, wia gern dass I di hob?
Weißt du überhaupt, wie gern ich dich habe?
Do you even know how fond I am of you?
*
If you come across any you’d like translating, leave them in the comments and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can! And perhaps next time you’re in Bavaria and you see a Bavarian-language postcard, you’ll recognise its meaning and be inclined to buy it. 🙂
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About the Author: Constanze
Servus! I'm Constanze and I live in the UK. I'm half English and half German, and have been writing about German language and culture on this blog since 2014. I am also a fitness instructor & personal trainer.
Comments:
Maynard Spitzack:
Is the 2nd phrase in each post low German? It looks more like what I am studying through Duolingo. Thanks for an interesting post!
Chirs Marsh:
@Maynard Spitzack It’s High German I believe, the same as Duolingo (that too is high German).
Héctor valderrama:
Hallo from México! My mother tongue is spanish, so i like Deutch because in some sentences sintaxis is more friendly with the way i use to expres thoughts, due to english. I also like svenska and learning it, is more easyer than Deutch. So as soon i can understad and talk svenka maybe Dansk, Norwegen and with luck Finns learning. (Of couse all by my self) Love Skandinavia. Hei då!