The classic longest German word is Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän, clocking in with 42 letters. In English, it becomes four words: «Danube steamship company captain.» However, it’s not the only super long word in the German language and, technically, it’s not even the longest.
German Spelling
Most languages, including English, string smaller words together to form longer ones, but the Germans take this practice to new extremes. As Mark Twain said, «Some German words are so long that they have a perspective.»
But is there really such a thing as the longest German word… das längste deutsche Wort? Some of the suggested «longest» words are artificial creations. They are never used in daily spoken or written German, which is why we’ll look at some words that far surpass our 42-letter title winner mentioned above.
For all practical purposes, this longest-word contest is really just a game. It’s more fun than practical and German just happens to offer us some really long words. Even a German or English Scrabble board only has room for 15 letters, so you won’t find much use for these. Yet, if you’d like to play the longest-word game, here are a few selected items to consider.
The 6 Longest German Words (Lange Deutsche Wörter)
These words are listed in alphabetical order, with their gender and letter count.
Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung
(die, 41 letters)
It’s a mesmerizing word that is rather difficult to read. This lengthy one refers to a «regulation requiring a prescription for an anesthetic.»
Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister
(der, 30 letters)
This word may be short in comparison to those below, but it is a real word that you might be able to use someday, but even that’s not likely. Roughly, it means a «head district chimney sweep.»
Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft
(one word, no hyphen) (die, 79 letters, 80 with the new German spelling that adds one more ‘f’ in …dampfschifffahrts…)
Even the definition is a mouthful: «association of subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services» (the name of a pre-war club in Vienna). This word is not really useful; it’s more of a desperate attempt to lengthen the word below.
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
(der, 42 letters)
As mentioned, in classic German this is considered the longest word. Its meaning of «Danube steamship company captain» makes it unusable for the majority of us, though.
Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften
(die, plur., 39 letters)
This is one you might actually be able to pronounce if you take it one syllable at a time. It means, «legal protection insurance companies.» According to Guinness, this was the longest German dictionary word in everyday usage. However, the word below is a longer legitimate and official «longest word»—in semi-everyday usage, anyway.
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
(das, 63 letters)
This hyper word references a «beef labeling regulation and delegation of supervision law.» This was a 1999 German Word of the Year, and it also won a special award as the longest German word for that year. It refers to a «law for regulating the labeling of beef»—all in one word, which is why it is so long. German also likes abbreviations, and this word has one: ReÜAÜG.
German Numbers (Zahlen)
There is another reason why there really isn’t a single longest German word. German numbers, long or short, are written as one word. For example, to say or write the number 7,254 (which is not really a very long number), the German is siebentausendzweihundertvierundfünfzig.
That is a single word of 38 letters, so you could imagine what larger and more complex numbers may look like. For this reason, it’s not difficult at all to make a number-based word that far exceeds any of the other words we’ve discussed.
Longest English Words
For comparison sake, what are the longest words in English? Contrary to popular belief, the record holder is not «supercalifragilisticexpialidocious» (an invented word made famous in the movie «Mary Poppins»). Just as in German, there is disagreement about which word is actually the longest. There’s little argument, however, that English can’t keep pace with German in this department.
The English language’s two contenders are:
Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters): This is a legitimate dictionary word from the 19th century meaning «opposition to the separation of church and state.»
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis (45 letters): The literal meaning of this term is «lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust.» Linguists claim this is an artificial word and that it does not deserve true «longest word» billing.
Likewise, there are many technical and medical terms in English that qualify as long words. However, they are usually excluded from consideration for the longest word game.
The German language is currently the 15th most spoken language in the world. The number of first language speakers according to the 21st edition of Ethnologue is 76 million. Speakers of German are found in 28 countries, located in 6 continents. German has official language status in Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria. You’ll also find German speakers in Kazakhstan, Russia, Brazil, Namibia, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, South Africa and Australia.
Being part of the Indo European language family, the English language and the German language share around 60% of their lexicon. Like most languages, the German language has its own set of quirks and unique features, which at times add to the confusion of German language learners.
1. Quirky German language
- German is a language that is known for being logical. However, the language also has many characteristics that make it confusing as well as inspiring. Here are some of these interesting characteristics.
- Among the languages in Europe, German is the most spoken. It still ranks first among the most common European languages, besting English, Spanish, French and Italian. German is spoken as a first language by 16% of the population in Europe.
- In the past, German and English have three genders, but with the changes in English grammar, it uses masculine and feminine and use a gender-neutral nouns and pronouns for persons of undetermined gender. German on the other hand retained the old rule, so it has masculine, feminine and neuter genders.
- Telling time in German is a bit tricky for language learners. When a German tells you that it’s halb drei or half-three, this does not mean that it is half past the hour of two. Rather, this means that it is 30 minutes to three.
- Germans are also known for their propensity in creating compound words – words that contain several consonants. Here are a few examples:
- der Kühlschrank. The literal meaning of this is cool cupboard, but technically, this refers to a refrigerator.
- das Weichei. This is not a very complimentary word. Literally, it’s translated as soft egg, but wimp is its real meaning.
- der Tagedieb. You might have guessed correctly. This translates to day thief, but it does not really mean that someone is stealing the day. What it actually means is someone who dawdles, someone who is a layabout or somebody who wastes the day doing nothing.
- der Handschuh.This is somewhat understandable, isn’t it. If you guessed that it meant the hand shoe, you got it right! But your hands do not wear shoes. Instead you wear gloves, which is the correct translation of the term.
- das Fingerspitzengefühl. This is definitely not the last in the list of German compound word, but this one is quite meaningful. Its literal meaning isthe fingertip feeling. The accurate translation of this phrase is intuitive instinct or flair. It also means tactfulness.
- Depending on which study results you are looking at, German can be the third or the seventh most studied language in the world. It is safe to say that it belongs to the world’s top 10 most taught languages.
- The Koreans may have invented the movable printing type but Germany introduced mechanical printing to the world. It printed the first book in movable metal type – the Gutenberg Bible. Contrary to what some people believe, the Gutenberg Bible is not German but rather written in Latin.
- The German alphabet has 26 letters just like the English language, but it has three umlauted (letters with two dots on top) letters, ä, ö, ü as well as a ligature, ß that is called ein scharfes (sharp S or double S). It is a peculiar letter. If you use double S for ‘Masse‘ when you do not have a German keyboard, it translates to mass. But if you write Maße, it refers to dimensions.
Despite the confusion that is natural to the German language, do not let this deter you from learning German.
Because Germans love using compound words, it is easy for them to construct very long words by combining these compound texts, resulting in words that could be about 30 to over 60 letters in length. At the same time, expect to see lengthy meanings for these words.
2. Longest words in German
Creating compound words is not exclusive to the German language. There are several more languages where you’ll encounter compound words, although German is legendary for having very long words. Even Mark Twain said that due to their length, some of the German words have their own perspective.
1- Siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzigtausendsiebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig
This word contains 65 letters and looks like you’ll run out of breath before you finish saying it. If you look carefully, you might have a clue as to what it actually is. That’s right; it’s about numbers and number 7 to be precise. Because all numbers can be expressed in long words in German, this one is the compound word for seven hundred seventy-seven thousand, seven hundred seventy-seven or 777,777.
2- Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
This 63-letter term refers to the law for the delegation of monitoring beef labeling. It is officially the longest word that appears in government documents. The law which was passed in 1999 was meant to protect beef consumers from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease. However, the law has been dropped as the EU declared that testing is not needed anymore. Hence the word will now be a part of history.
3- Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften
There are only 39 letters in Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften, which translates to insurance companies providing legal protection. It’s included here because it holds a Guinness Book of World Records recognition as German’s longest word that is commonly used.
4- Kaftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung
At 36 letters, it is one of the shortest compound words in German. Kaftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung equates to motor vehicle liability insurance. It is the longest word that is included in the Duden German dictionary.
5- Sozialversicherungsfachangestelltenauszubildender
This 49-letter word is a modern term. It refers to a trainee assistant social insurance broker.
Some of these are not even the longest words Germans ever came up with, but they are quite distinct. Several more are truly unique and tongue twisting.
For example, Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung (regulation for requiring a prescription for an anesthetic), Massenkommunikationsdienstleistungsunternehmen (companies providing mass communications services) and Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit (food intolerance).
3. Keep Learning German!
Don’t stop learning a new language. German is similar to English so in time you’ll be able to pick up the pace as you learn to recognize the German words and their English equivalent. Find the most suitable online lessons on the German language to support your formal language learning. If you need language translation services, find the best translation company that will meet your requirements.
Author’s bio:
Sean Patrick Hopwood is a polyglot whose interests include technology, the Internet, education, and positive thinking. He is the President and CEO of Day Translations, Inc., a company serving international clients with a wide range of language services including translating, interpreting and website and app localization.
10 Longest German Words: How many letters are in the longest German word? How to read and translate “mile” long words and not be mistaken? What words exist in reality, and what have the Germans jokingly invented?
One word instead of ten
German words are actually very long. If you look into the dictionary, you will see that one German word can be translated by more than 5-6 words of the English language. This feature of German word formation is very easy to find in everyday speech. Wherever we say “driver’s license” , the Germans will get by with one word – Führerschein. Some more examples: Tischlampe – table lamp; Briefkastenschlüssel – mailbox key; Sommerschlussverkauf – summer sale.
FYI: The gender of compound nouns is determined by the last “piece/word”.
There are also very nice long words that I would even like to borrow from the Germans, for example, das In-den-Tag-hinein-Leben , which can be roughly translated as “to live in the moment“. However, in this word there may be another context – that a person lives idly, without a purpose, so, from one day to another.
Also a very convenient word: Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung – sick leave .
Long words are very informative and, in a concise form, are whole little stories. Some of them are very funny, for example:
Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitänsmütze
Captain’s cap of the Danube Shipping Company
Frauenfussballeuropameisterschaftsschiedsrichterin
European women’s football championship referee
And there are also simply frightening words – these are mainly the names of German laws. However, in recent years, laws have begun to be named in a completely different way, so that their names are becoming more “human” . For example das KiTa-Gesetz – the law on kindergartens . KiTa is short for Kindertagesstätte – kindergarten. This is not surprising, because German word formation does not stand still just like everything around!
A few more examples of the “condensed words” so beloved by the Germans:
Braunkohlekraftwerkstandorts sicherheitsbestimmungen
Safety regulations for a coal-fired power plant branch
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The Germans themselves like to joke about such words that theoretically can exist, but practically are not used anywhere , for example:
Kugelschreiberzusammenbauanleitungshotmailservicenummer
technical support number for instructions for collecting a fountain pen
Toilettenbürsten benutzungsanweisung
Toilet brush instructions
Well, one more word as an appetizer (btw click here for Restaurant vocabulary), which, by the way, is considered one of the longest in the German:
Donaudampschiffahrtkapitänswitwenundwaisenversicherungsgesellschaft
Danube Shipping Company Captains Widows and Orphans Insurance Company
Now, after we got acquainted with the different compound words, I offer you the top 10 longest German words.
1. Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung (67 characters)
Regulation on the delegation of authority concerning land conveyance permissions
2. Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (64 characters)
Beef labeling regulation & delegation of supervision law
3. Verkehrsinfrastrukturfinanzierungsgesellschaft (46 characters)
Transport infrastructure finance company
4. Gleichgewichtsdichtegradientenzentrifugation (44 characters)
Equilibrium density gradient centrifugation
5. Elektrizitätswirtschaftsorganizationsgesetz (43 characters)
Electricity Industry Organization Act
6. Verkehrswegeplanungsbeschleunigungsgesetz (42 characters)
Traffic Route Planning Acceleration Act
7. Hochleistungsflüssigkeitschromatographie (41 characters)
High performance liquid chromatography
8. Restriktionsfragmentlängenpolymorphismus (40 characters)
Restriction fragment length polymorphism
9. Telekommunikationsüberwachungsverordnung (40 characters)
Corporate Tax Development Act
- Florina Ademi
- November 30, 2022
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As the saying goes: German language, difficult language. But is there a longest German word? Find out in this blog.
Facts about the German language
Here are some facts about the German language:
-
The most common letter is the e. The letter “e” can be found in German-language texts with a relative frequency of about 17.5 percent. It is included in almost every sentence.
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The German language uses the Latin alphabet. However, there is an additional consonant in Germany: the ß, called “eszett”. It represents a double s, follows a long vowel, and is never at the beginning of a word.
-
The Grimm brothers, known for their collection of popular Hausmärchen, were also the first to compile a German dictionary. In 1838, in Berlin, they began compiling words and expressions for the dictionary. The first volume “A – Beer Whey” appeared in 1854.
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There are only five words that end in “nf”: Geneva, Mustard, Sernf, Hemp, Five.
Longest German word in the Duden corpus
According to the Duden, the longest German word with 79 letters is Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz.
In 1999, it was part of a bill with the full name Rinderkennzeichnungs- und Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (RkReÜAÜG). This law should regulate the transfer of monitoring tasks of beef labeling and cattle identification.
Longest German word: the top 5 of the last years
In addition to the word above, the Duden corpus has listed other long words. Here you can find the whole list.
1. land transfer permit jurisdiction transfer ordinance (67 letters).
This ordinance transfers the responsibilities of the Chief Finance President of the Berlin Chief Finance Office with regard to the Property Transactions Ordinance to the Federal Office for the Settlement of Unresolved Property Issues.
2. beef labeling monitoring task transfer act (63 letters).
The law, which was passed on December 15, 1999, and goes by the official short title of the Cattle Identification and Beef Labeling Surveillance Task Transfer Act, included the transfer of tasks for the surveillance of cattle identification and beef labeling. This law was repealed in 2013.
3. llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch (58 letters)
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a Welsh place that translates roughly as “St. Mary’s Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the Red Cave.”
Here you can see how casually a weather presenter pronounced this location during the broadcast:
4. road drainage investment cost debt service levy (58 letters).
Most of the words from this list come from legal and administrative language and are nouns composed of several elements. This word describes a specific apportionment.
5. consumer electronics telephone processing partner (50 letters)
As the individual words already described, this word is about a very special partner of processing.
Longest German word in Duden 2023
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (44)
- Motor vehicle liability insurance (36)
- Danube Steam Navigation Company (34)
- Workers’ compensation insurance law (33)
- Federal Training Assistance Act (33)
- Rhine-Main-Danube Great Navigation (33)
- Financial services companies (32)
- Financial Market Stabilization Act (32)
- Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (32)
- Event information service (32)
Longest German word: Guinness Book of Records
The word
Danube Steamship Electricity Main Plant Construction Suboffice Company
with 79 letters was named the longest published word in the German language by the Guinness Book of Records in 1972. The word was the name of a pre-war Viennese association for subordinate officials of the headquarters of the electrical department of the company called “Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft”.
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Longest words in the whole world 2023
The world’s longest word is so long that it wouldn’t even fit in this blog, as it spans a whopping 189,819 letters. Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl[…]isoleucine is the chemical name for the protein “titin”, which is also known as “connectin”. In this article you can read the whole word.
Do you now also wonder how long it takes to fully pronounce the complete word to Titin? That’s probably what this man thought and recorded himself reading it out. The result: the video is more than 3 hours long. Check it out here:
But in reality, the existence of this word was never really established, that is why it is not considered a real word by most.
According to Guinness World Records, the longest word in the world is written in Sanskrit and it is 195 characters long. This is how it reads:
निरन्तरान्धकारित-दिगन्तर-कन्दलदमन्द-सुधारस-बिन्दु-सान्द्रतर-घनाघन-वृन्द-सन्देहकर-स्यन्दमान-मकरन्द-बिन्दु-बन्धुरतर-माकन्द-तरु-कुल-तल्प-कल्प-मृदुल-सिकता-जाल-जटिल-मूल-तल-मरुवक-मिलदलघु-लघु-लय- कलित-रमणीय-पानीय-शालिका-बालिका-करार-विन्द-गलन्तिका-गलदेला-लवङ्ग-पाटल-घनसार-कस्तूरिकातिसौरभ-मेदुर-लघुतर-मधुर-शीतलतर-सलिलधारा-निराकरिष्णु-तदीय-विमल-विलोचन-मयूख-रेखापसारित-पिपासायास-पथिक-लोकान्
It first appeared in literature and describes a region in Tamil Nadu in India. This officially makes it the longest word in the world.
Longest words in different countries
Not only Germany have a reputation of unnecessary or long words that probably no one uses in their everyday language. Here is a list of countries that have equally long words in their dictionaries.
South Africa
Tweedehandsemotorverkoopsmannevakbondstakingsvergaderingsameroeperstoespra-akskrywerspersverklaringuitreikingsmediakonferensieaankondiging
Roughly translated, this means “a press conference on a speech by a union official at a used car dealership about a strike” and is actually the third longest word at 136.
Italy
precipitevolissimevolmente
It is a adverb that means “very fast” or “swiftly” in English and has 26 letters.
Turkey
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine
The word is 70 letters long and means “As if you were of those whom we cannot easily/quickly make unsuccessful”.
Bulgaria
непротивоконституционствувателствувайте
The word means “take no action against the Constitution” and is 39 letters long.
Useful tips for writing long words
- When you see a long word, remember to split it in half. This will help you read and understand it faster.
- When you see a long word in a sentence, try to connect it with other words in that sentence. This will help you understand the meaning of the sentence faster.
- If you see a long word you don’t know, try breaking it down into smaller parts. This will help you understand the word faster and remember it better.
Summary
This article was about “Longest German word”. Complicated words may seem confusing at first glance, but they often have an interesting history and meaning. The longest German word is a good example of this. Although it looks complicated, it has a deeper meaning. How to pronounce these words is perhaps best left to the experts.
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The German language is known for its complex and difficult to pronounce words. But what some people may not know is that these long, complicated words that exist in the German language can often be efficient because they can take the place of multiple words in a sentence.
These words add an air of sophistication and complexity to your language skills, so be sure to give them a try! In this article, we will explore 10 of the longest German words and their meanings. We will also provide pronunciation tips so that you can correctly say these words yourself. Now, read on, learn the longest words in German and have some fun with them.
Learn German with Langster
But First.. Why Is German Full of So Many Compound Words?
German is full of compound words because of the language’s complex grammar system. In German, it is very important to use the correct word order when forming a sentence. This often leads to the use of many words which can make sentences messy.
Compound words can be very useful in that case, as they allow you to express yourself more clearly and concisely, which makes it easier to form sentences. They also fulfill the Germans need to be precise when expressing something.
This leads to a creation of numerous ferociously long words that can explain an ultra-specific concept such as “regulation requiring a prescription for an anesthetic” (Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung).
German Compound Words Are Not That Tricky, Though
While learning all the long German words can seem challenging for the very beginners, it’s actually not that difficult.
In general, German compound words are made up of two or more words that are put together to create a new word. The meaning of the original words stays though: you can usually guess the meaning of a compound word by deciphering the meanings of its parts.
We have already discussed that in a previous article. For example, the German word for refrigerator – “der Kühlschrank” – is constructed out of two words: Kühl (cool) and schrank (a closet). When you combine these two together, you get a “cold closet.”
You Don’t Have to Use Them Often
Of course, the longer the word, the more problems you might encounter when trying to learn it. However, when it comes to really long words, you won’t actually use them a lot.
German speakers don’t use the longest compound words in daily spoken or written German. They are often used in specific situations, and are part of medical, bureaucratic, or juridical language. Nevertheless, learning them can be a fun memorization game, and who knows – maybe you’ll work in Germany and need to know them
With that said, let’s take a look at the longest German words – and have some fun trying to decipher them.
1. Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung
Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung is a pretty long German word – not the longest, though – that consists of 37 letters. It’s a mouthful, we know.
The word describes a motor vehicle liability insurance which German law requires car owners to have. It’s basically car insurance.
Pronunciation: krahft-fow-tsoy-eh-haft-pshift-fear-oong
German
English
Kraftfahrzeug-Haftpflichtversicherung
Motor vehicle liability insurance
2. Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
This 41-letter word describes the captain of a Danube steamship company captain. As you can see, this word is made up of several smaller words that describe different parts of the title.
Pronunciation: doh-nowd-ahmfp-shiff-ahrts-gheh-sell-schaft-skah-pit-en
German
English
Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
Danube steamship company captain
3. Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften
This 39-letter word describes insurance companies that offer legal protection insurance. In other words, these are the companies that you would go to if you need help with legal matters and need representation in court.
Pronunciation: raycht-shoots-fear-oong-zheh-sell-schaften
German
English
Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften
Legal insurance companies
4. Lebensabschnittpartner
This 22-letter word describes a life partner, or someone with whom you share a significant portion of your life. This could be a spouse, a romantic partner, or even a close friend. It’s literally translated as “the person I am with today.”
Pronunciation: lay-bens-ahp-shnitt-part-ner
German
English
Life partner
5. Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit
This long German word (31 letters) describes food allergies. It’s made up of two other long words: Nahrungsmittel (Food) and Unverträglichkeit (Intolerance). While it is pretty long, you should definitely learn it if you have nut allergy or lactose intolerance.
Pronunciation: nah-roongs-mitt-el-oon-fairt-greh-kite
German
English
Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit
Food intolerance
6. Streichholzschächtelchen
This 24-letter word is actually a diminutive form of the word Streichholzschachtel, which means “matchbox.” In this form, it’s mostly used as a tongue twister for foreigners (and sometimes Germans), because it’s particularly challenging to pronounce.
Pronunciation: shtrah-eech-hohlts-eh-ketsh-ell-chen
7. Arbeiterunfallverischerungsgesetz
This 33-letter word describes the German law that regulates worker’s accident insurance. In other words, it’s the legal framework that governs how workers who have been injured on the job are compensated. In English, you might know this as “Worker’s Compensation.”
Pronunciation: ar-bay-ter-oon-fall-fair-shoots-gheh-tsets
German
English
Arbeiterunfallverischerungsgesetz
Workers’ Compensation Act
8. Freundschaftsbeziehungen
This 24-letter word literally translates to “demonstrations of friendship”, and talks about the relationships between friends. While it might not be the longest German word, it’s still pretty challenging to pronounce, because of the way the different syllables are strung together.
Pronunciation: fraynd-shafts-bay-tsay-khungen
German
English
Demonstrations of friendship
9. Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister
This 30-letter word describes the district master chimney sweep. In other words, it’s the person who is responsible for ensuring that all the chimneys in a certain area are clean and safe for use. You might actually use it someday – all German residences are required by law to get a yearly visit from this person.
Pronunciation: bay-tsirkt-shorn-shtain-fey-ger-mayst-er
German
English
Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister
Master District Chimney Sweep
10. Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Last but not least, we have this behemoth of a word: Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. With 63 letters, it’s the longest German word on this list, and the longest word in everyday use in Germany.
This word describes the law that regulates the labeling of beef. In other words, it’s the legal framework that governs how beef products must be labeled in order to be sold in Germany. Thanks to German love of abbreviations, you can also see it looking like that: ReÜAÜG.
Pronunciation: rint-flow-ice-het-ick-et-eer-oongs-ueber-voch-ungs-owf-gahb-en-ueber-trahg-oongs-gheh-tsets
German
English
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Beef Labeling Regulation Act
Final Thoughts on German Words
To close the topic of German words, let us quote Mark Twain, who said that German words are “so long they have a perspective.”
Learning the longest German words can be a fun and challenging way to improve your language skills. While some of these words are difficult to pronounce, all of them have interesting meanings that might even be useful someday. So if you’re looking for a new challenge, why not try learning one of the longest German words on this list? Good luck!