German to French legal translation. Swiss law across the language border
A Zurich judgment to be read in Geneva. A Basel contract to be signed in French-speaking Switzerland. You need to read Swiss legal German and its abbreviations, then find the French word used in the same Act.
Request a demoEach term, in the official text
Highlight a German word: CHnell shows the French version of the same federal act, with its source.
powered by Neur.onKann die Zahlstelle den fehlenden Betrag zuzüglich Verzugszins nicht mehr der betroffenen Person nachbelasten, zum Beispiel weil diese nicht mehr ihre Kundin ist, so ist die Zahlstelle zur Leistung des fehlenden Betrages zuzüglich Verzugszins verpflichtet.
Si l'agent payeur ne peut plus prélever ultérieurement le montant manquant avec l'intérêt moratoire, notamment parce que la personne concernée n'est plus cliente de son établissement, il reste tenu de verser le montant correspondant.
Feuille Fédérale/Bundesblatt - Source: Feuille Fédérale/Bundesblatt - Data Set: Neur.onArt. 24 Verzugszins Auf Einmalzahlungen, abgeltenden Steuern und Abgeltungszahlungen, die der ESTV verspätet überwiesen werden, ist ohne Mahnung ein Verzugszins nach Ablauf der in diesem Gesetz festgelegten Fristen bis zum Datum des Eingangs geschuldet.
5373 Art. 24 Intérêt moratoire Un intérêt moratoire est dû sans sommation dès l'échéance des délais fixés dans la présente loi sur les paiements uniques, les impôts libératoires et les paiements libératoires virés en retard à l'AFC et jusqu'à réception des sommes dues.
SIF FF20125365 Bundesgesetz-über-die-internationale-Quellenbesteuerung-IQG - Source: fedlex.admin.ch - Data Set: Neur.onArt. 87 Verzugszins Bei verspäteter Zahlung wird ohne Mahnung ein Verzugszins geschuldet.
Art. 87 Intérêt moratoire En cas de retard dans le paiement de l'impôt, un intérêt moratoire est dû sans sommation.
ESTV FF20093929 Bundesgesetz-über-die-Mehrwertsteuer-Mehrwertsteuergesetz-MWSTG - Source: fedlex.admin.ch - Data Set: Neur.onThe official equivalents, in all four languages
Six terms that Swiss law expresses differently in German and in French, with the article that establishes the equivalence. The English column gives the Confederation's translation published on Fedlex where one exists, which has no legal force, and the usual wording otherwise.
| German | French | Italian | English | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verzugszins | intérêt moratoire | interessi moratori | default interest | art. 104 CO |
| Betreibung | poursuite | esecuzione | debt enforcement | art. 38 LP |
| Rechtsvorschlag | opposition | opposizione | objection | art. 74 LP |
| Grundbuch | registre foncier | registro fondiario | land register | art. 942 CC |
| Verfügung | décision | decisione | ruling | art. 5 PA |
| Handelsregister | registre du commerce | registro di commercio | commercial register | art. 927 CO |
Equivalents taken from official Swiss texts, published in German, French and Italian. In Corrext, each term opens in context in Fast lookup CHnell, with its source.
This language pair in practice
Federal acts are adopted and published in German, French and Italian, and all three versions are equally authoritative. Translating from German into French is therefore not a matter of inventing an equivalent. It means finding the word the legislature itself used in the French version of the same article.
Three versions, equal force
A federal act exists in German, French and Italian, and all three texts are authoritative. Translation means finding the official French version, not producing a new one. Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation: SR in German, RS in French and in Italian.
What gets converted
ORCO
Abbreviations to convert
OR becomes CO, ZGB becomes CC, StGB becomes CP, SchKG becomes LP, IPRG becomes LDIP. A German abbreviation left in a French text stands out on first reading.
BGEATF
Federal case law
A decision cited as BGE in German is cited as ATF in French and DTF in Italian, with the same volume, part and page number. The reference is converted, not translated.
ßss
Swiss spelling
The German written in Switzerland has no ß and always uses ss. A document containing ß does not come from Switzerland, which often changes the applicable law. A useful clue for spotting a foreign document in a batch of several hundred pages.
15'000
Figures and amounts
Thousands are separated with an apostrophe: 15'000. The format must survive translation, in the body text as well as in tables and appendices full of figures.
What Corrext guarantees for this pair
An engine trained on Swiss law
LexMachina was trained on Swiss legal and financial texts: more than 15 million multilingual segments, including codes and federal case law.
Confidentiality
Highly sensitive content mode means storage and processing in Switzerland only. It covers German, French, Italian and English, and therefore this pair. Engines hosted abroad remain available, with the Attorney-Client privilege notice.
German compounds
Schadenersatzpflicht, Rechtsmittelbelehrung, Handelsregisteramt: one German word unfolds into three or four French words. The text grows longer, and the layout has to absorb the difference. Corrext returns the file in its original format, tables and text boxes included.
Three situations where this pair shapes the day
Litigation
A German-language judgment to work with
The judgment goes through LexMachina, comes back in its original layout, and the reasons can be read in one go. Sensitive terms are checked by highlighting them in Fast lookup CHnell, which shows the official usage of the word and its source.
Transactions
Zurich general terms and conditions signed in Geneva
The French version must use the terms of the Code of Obligations, not a paraphrase of them. A Full review by a legal translator is ordered in Translation projects, with the delivery time shown before you confirm.
Authorities
A ruling to be notified in French
The vocabulary of administrative procedure is fixed: Verfügung becomes décision, Einsprache becomes opposition, Rechtsmittelbelehrung becomes indication des voies de droit. Corrext keeps these choices consistent from one document to the next.
Frequently asked questions about German to French translation
Is Swiss legal German really different from the German used in Germany?
Yes, and not only in spelling. Switzerland does not use ß, thousands are separated with an apostrophe and quotation marks are guillemets. Above all, the vocabulary refers to different laws: SchKG, OR and ZGB have no direct counterpart in Germany. An engine trained on texts from Germany produces terms that do not exist in Swiss law.
How are abbreviations of Acts handled?
They are converted, never copied. OR becomes CO, ZGB becomes CC, StGB becomes CP, SchKG becomes LP and IPRG becomes LDIP. Where the context leaves any doubt, the full title of the Act is written out instead of an approximate abbreviation.
Are case law references converted too?
Yes. A German BGE is cited as ATF in French, with the same volume and page. The Federal Gazette is cited as BBl in German and FF in French, and the Classified Compilation changes from SR to RS. These conversions are mechanical, but they are what makes a written submission citable before a French-speaking authority.
Does a long document keep its layout?
Yes, the translation is delivered in the original format. Text and document translation accepts up to 25 files of 50 MB per upload, in .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt and .pptx format. The PDF to Word tab turns a scan into an editable document before processing.
Can the text stay in Switzerland from start to finish?
Yes. Projects are stored on Swiss servers in every case, and Highly sensitive content mode or the LexMachina engine also guarantees processing in Switzerland only. If a team member chooses a third-party engine hosted abroad, the Attorney-Client privilege notice appears before anything is sent.