What does “Znacht” mean in Swiss German?

In Swiss German, dinner is Znacht — not Abendessen or Abendbrot, but a word that fuses the preposition zu (“at”) with Nacht (“night”). Swiss German does this for every meal of the day: Zmorge (breakfast, “at morning”), Znüni (mid-morning snack, “at nine”), Zmittag (lunch, “at midday”), Zvieri (afternoon snack, “at four”), and Znacht (dinner). One compact pattern, five meals.

The z- prefix is a worn-down form of zu, the same preposition in standard German phrases like zu Mittag essen (“to eat at midday”). Swiss German collapsed the preposition and the time word into a single syllable, giving learners a shortcut: once you hear the z-, you know someone is talking about eating. In this clip a Swiss German speaker lists ten words her German-speaking audience won’t recognise, Znacht among them. Knowing the full form unlocks the whole family at once.