Fruits

1. il mail

   Apple

   Usage

   The word for an apple at a market or fruit stand. The plural is ils mails. The form shown is the written standard Rumantsch Grischun; local idioms may use other forms

   Grammar Note

   mail is masculine, so it takes il; the plural is ils mails

2. la banana

   Banana

   Usage

   The word for a banana when buying or asking for one. The plural is las bananas

   Grammar Note

   banana is feminine and takes la; the plural adds -s: las bananas

3. l'oranscha

   Orange

   Usage

   The orange as a fruit. The colour orange is the adjective oransch / oranscha, built on the same stem. The plural is las oranschas

   Grammar Note

   The feminine noun oranscha starts with a vowel, so the article becomes l' instead of la. Write the apostrophe as plain ASCII '

4. l'iva

   Grape

   Usage

   The word for a grape. Grapes are usually sold by the bunch, and the plural las ivas is often used for "grapes". Canton Graubünden also has wine-growing areas

   Grammar Note

   iva is feminine and starts with a vowel, hence l'iva. The dictionary lists other words such as rasina, but iva is the one used here

5. la fraja

   Strawberry

   Usage

   The word for a strawberry when buying or ordering. The plural is las frajas

   Grammar Note

   fraja is feminine; the plural is las frajas

6. la melona d'aua

   Watermelon

   Usage

   Literally "water melon". An ordinary melon is melona; the watermelon adds d'aua to tell them apart. The plural is las melonas d'aua

   Grammar Note

   melona d'aua is a compound built with "da + noun". Before a vowel da becomes d', written with a plain ASCII apostrophe

7. l'ananas

   Pineapple

   Usage

   The word for a pineapple, sold as an imported fruit in Swiss shops. It is spelled almost like German Ananas, so it is easy to be understood

   Grammar Note

   ananas is masculine; because it starts with a vowel the article is l' rather than il

8. la nusch da cocos

   Coconut

   Usage

   The coconut. Literally "nut of coconut". On ingredient lists for sweets and drinks it often appears simply as nusch da cocos

   Grammar Note

   nusch is feminine, plural las nuschs. The preposition da names the kind or material

9. la citrona

   Lemon

   Usage

   The word for a lemon. A lime is a different word (limetta), so this card covers the lemon only. The plural is las citronas

   Grammar Note

   citrona is feminine; the plural is las citronas

10. il mango

    Mango

    Usage

    The word for a mango, sold as an imported fruit. The plural is ils mangos

    Grammar Note

    mango is masculine; the plural is ils mangos

11. il litschi

    Lychee

    Usage

    The word for a lychee. It uses the German-style spelling tsch, and the plural is ils litschis. You mostly meet it as an imported or canned fruit

    Grammar Note

    litschi is masculine. The letters tsch sound like "ch" and are a common consonant cluster in Romansh

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