Romansh is one of the 4 official languages of Switzerland.

It is spoken by about
60,000 people. It is a descendant of Latin brought to the area by the Romans. If
you are planning on doing some travelling, learning Romansh would be a great way to
make the most of your trip.

Romansh verbs are conjugated for each person. The conjugation consists of an ending
placed on the verb stem. For the third person singular, Romansh verbs typically use
the ending '-a'. Important to note is that pronouns are not used with the verb in
Romansh except to create emphasis. This means that, unlike English, the verb is in
general used without a pronoun.

el curra he runs
el serra he closes
el fa he does
el tegna he holds
el mangia he eats

ella vegn she comes

ella chatta she finds
ella ri she laughs
ella parta she leaves
ella pensa she thinks

Romansh verb conjugation (first person plural [we])

Romansh verbs are conjugated for each person. For the first person plural, verbs in
Romansh typically use the ending '-ain' or the ending '-in'.

nus vesain we see

nus giugain we play
nus perdain we lose
nus preferin we prefer
nus manischain we drive

Romansh verb conjugation (second person plural [you])

Romansh verbs are conjugated for each person. For the second person plural, verbs
in Romansh typically use the ending '-ais' or the ending '-is'.

vus conuschais you know

vus suandais you follow
vus mangiais you eat
vus turnais you go back
vus udis you hear

insaquantas mattas some girls

insaquants mails some apples
insaquantas chasas some houses
insaquants mats some boys

Tge � quai? What is this ?

Ella � ina magistra. She is a teacher.
El � medi. He is a doctor.
Quai � in chaun. This is a door.

I plova. It is raining.
I fa chaud. It is hot out.
I naiva. It is snowing.
I fa bell'aura. It is nice out.

Quai � in chaun. This is a dog.

Quai � ina sutga. This is a chair.
Quai � in giat. This is a cat.
Quai � in cudesch. This is a book.

The Romansh word for 'your'

The Romansh words for 'your' are 'tes' and 'tia'. The word 'tes' is used with
masculine nouns and the word 'tia' is used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'your' in Romansh
tes raps your money
tes giat your cat
tia cuschina your kitchen
tia mamma your mother
tes figl your son

Romansh possessive pronouns (second person singular) 'you'

When the noun is in the plural, the Romansh words for 'your' are 'tes' and 'tias'.
The word 'tes' is used with masculine nouns and the word 'tias' is used with
feminine nouns.

Examples of using the word 'your' in Romansh with a noun in the plural
tes frars your brothers

The Romansh word for 'his'

The Romansh words for 'his' are 'ses' and 'sia'. The word 'ses' is used with
masculine nouns and the word 'sia' is used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'his' in Romansh
sia dumonda his question
sia sora his sister
ses mail his apple
ses figl his son
ses daners his money

Jau hai num Peder. My name is Peter.

Jau na sun betg maridada. I am single.
Jau sun nasch� en l�Engalterra. I was born in England.
Jau sun cuntent. I am happy.

Romansh possessive pronouns (third person singular) 'his'

When the noun is in the plural, the Romansh words for 'his' are 'ses' and 'sias'.
The word 'ses' is used with masculine nouns and the word 'sias' is used with
feminine nouns.

Examples of using the word 'his' in Romansh with a noun in the plural
ses frars his brothers
sias mauns his hands
ses pes his feet

Jau sun naschida en l�Engalterra. I was born in England.

Jau sun cuntenta. I am happy.
Jau sun naschida en il Canada. I was born in Canada.
Jau sun studenta. I am a student.

The Romansh word for 'her'

The Romansh words for 'her' are 'ses' and 'sia'. The word 'ses' is used with
masculine nouns and the word 'sia' is used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'her' in Romansh
sia mamma her mother
sia musica her music
ses mail her apple
ses pledari her dictionary
sia penna her pen

Ils chavals �n gronds. The horses are big.

Ils chavals �n pitschens. The horses are small.
Las mattas �n grondas. The girls are big.
Ils chavals �n alvs. The horses are white.

omansh possessive pronouns (third person singular) 'her'

When the noun is in the plural, the Romansh words for 'her' are 'ses' and 'sias'.
The word 'ses' is used with masculine nouns and the word 'sias' is used with
feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'her' in Romansh with a noun in the plural
ses mails her apples
ses frars her brothers
ses egls her eyes

Anzi You're welcome

Grazia fitg Thanks a lot
Buna notg Good night
A revair Good-bye

he Romansh word for 'our'

The Romansh words for 'our' are 'noss' and 'nossa'. The word 'noss' is used with
masculine nouns and the word 'nossa' is used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'our' in Romansh
noss frar our brother
nossa mamma our mother
noss pledari our dictionary
noss letg our bed
noss giat our cat

Jau sun marid�. I am married.

Jau sun stanchel. I am tired.
Jau sun da la Germania. I am from Germany.
Jau emprend spagnol. I am learning Spanish.

The Romansh words for 'your' are 'voss' and 'vossa'. The word 'voss' is used with
masculine nouns and the word 'vossa' is used with feminine nouns.

Examples of using the word 'your' in Romansh

voss mail your apple
vossa penna your pen
vossa figlia your daughter
voss letg your bed
vossa cuschina your kitchen

Jau sun nasch� en il Canada. I was born in Canada.

Jau sun studenta. I am a student.
Jau na sun betg marid�. I am single.
Jau hai said. I am thirsty.

When the noun is in the plural, the Romansh words for 'your' are 'voss' and
'vossas'. The word 'voss' is used with masculine nouns and the word 'vossas' is
used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the word 'your' in Romansh with a noun in the plural
voss frars your brothers

Just like English, Romansh has a set of possessive pronouns. The English word
'their' is a possessive pronoun in the first person plural. The Romansh word for
'their' is 'lur'.

Examples of using the word 'their' in Romansh

lur sora their sister
lur cudesch their book
lur figl their son
lur penna their pen
lur mail their apple

Quai � ina fanestra. This is a window.

El � medi. He is a doctor.
El � in um. He is a man.
Ella � ina matta. She is a girl.
Just like English, Romansh has a set of personal pronouns. The English word 'we' is
a pronoun in the first personal plural. The Romansh word for 'we' is 'nus'.
Romansh personal pronouns
nus dain we give
nus durmin we sleep
nus utilisain we use
nus partin we leave
nus tschertgain we look for

I dat bler vent. It is windy.

Igl � surtratg. It is cloudy out.
I dat sulegl. It is sunny.
I fa bell'aura. It is nice out.

Jau sun naschida en il Canada. I was born in Canada.

Jau emprend spagnol. I am learning Spanish.
Jau sun dal Canada. I am from Canada.
Jau hai said. I am thirsty.

Just like English, Romansh has a set of personal pronouns. The English word 'they'
is a pronoun in the third person plural. The Romansh word for 'they' is 'els'.
Romansh personal pronouns
els baivan they drink
els mettan they put
els van they go
els portan they bring
els tegnan they hold

The Romansh indefinite article

The English indefinite article 'a' is 'in' or 'ina' in Romansh. The word 'in' is
used with masculine nouns and the word 'ina' is used with feminine nouns.
Examples of using the Romansh indefinite article
in chaval a horse
in mail an apple
in mais a month
in isch a door
ina maisa a table

Ils chavals �n vegls. The horses are old.

La femna � bella. The woman is beautiful.
L'um � vegl. The man is old.
Ils chavals �n gronds. The horses are big.

The Romansh definite article (singular)

The English definite article 'the' is 'il' or 'la' in Romansh. The word 'il' is
used with masculine nouns and the word 'la' is used with feminine nouns. If however
the noun starts with a vowel, the definite article is shortened to 'l''.

Examples of the Romansh definite article

il mais the month
l'isch the door
la cuschina the kitchen
la figlia the daughter
l'ami the friend

The Romansh definite article (plural)

For nouns in the plural, the English definite article 'the' is 'ils' or 'las' in
Romansh. The word 'ils' is used with masculine words and the word 'las' is used
with feminine words.

Examples of the Romansh definite article

las maisas the tables
ils umens the men
ils figls the sons
las dunnas the women
ils mats the boys

Ils giuvens �n gronds. The boys are big.

Las chasas �n pitschnas. The houses are small.
Las dunnas �n giuvnas. The women are young.
La giuvna � gronda. The girl is big.

Romansh adjectives
Unlike English, adjectives in Romansh are placed after the noun. Adjectives in
Romansh agree with the noun they describe. This means that adjectives that describe
a feminine noun have a special form.
Examples for using Romansh adjectives
l'enviern dir the hard winter
l'enviern lung the long winter
l'enviern miaivel the mild winter
l'enviern stgir the dark winter
l'enviern fraid the cold winter