Low German (Northern Germany): Low German strongly differs from the German used south of the Benrath line, the line dividing the yellow from the light orange region. Low German is called low because it is spoken in the low-lying coastal area.

Middle German, or Central German, (the light orange area on the map) and High German, used in Southern Germany, Bavaria and Austria, and represented by dark orange on the map, strongly resemble each other and have been the foundation of standard German. Again the terms "high" and "middle" are chosen because of the topography where the language varieties are used. Middle German is used in the middle eleveations, and High German is used in the highland and mountain areas.

Switzerland's vernacular is Swiss German (Switzertütsch) and derivates strongly from standard German.