The longest word in this world

The longest word in any given language depends on the word formation rules of each specific language, and on the types of words allowed for consideration.

Agglutinative languages allow for the creation of long words via compounding. Words consisting of hundreds, or even thousands of characters have been coined. Even non-agglutinative languages may allow word formation of theoretically limitless length in certain contexts. An example common to many languages is the term for a very remote ancestor, «great-great-…..-grandfather», where the prefix «great-» may be repeated any number of times. The examples of «longest words» within the «Agglutinative languages» section may be nowhere near close to the longest possible word in said language, but is instead a popular example of a text-heavy word.

Systematic names of chemical compounds can run to hundreds of thousands of characters in length. The rules of creation of such names are commonly defined by international bodies, therefore they formally belong to many languages. The longest recognized systematic name is for the protein titin, at 189,819 letters.^[1] While lexicographers regard generic names of chemical compounds as verbal formulae rather than words,^[2] for its sheer length the systematic name for titin is often included in longest-word lists.

Longest word candidates may be judged by their acceptance in major dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary or in record-keeping publications like Guinness World Records, and by the frequency of their use in ordinary language.

Agglutinative languages[edit]

Basque[edit]

The longest Basque toponym is Azpilicuetagaraicosaroyarenberecolarrea (40) which means «The lower field of the sheepfold (located in) the hight of Azpilicueta».^[3]

Esperanto[edit]

Since Esperanto allows word compounding, there are no limits on how long a word can theoretically become. An example is the 39-letter oranĝ-kanton-pafil-limig-aktivul-malamanto, meaning «Orange County gun control activist hater». Such clusters are not considered good style (the 8-word alternative oranĝkantona malamanto de aktivuloj por limigo de pafiloj is more standard), but they are permissible under the rules of Esperanto grammar.^[4] Hyphens are optional in Esperanto compounds,^[5] so oranĝkantonpafillimigaktivulmalamanto is also technically a valid spelling.

The longest Esperanto roots officially recognized by the Akademio de Esperanto are 13 letters long, shown here with the added substantive «-o» ending:

• administracio (administration),
• aŭtobiografio (autobiography),
• diskriminacio (discrimination),
• konservatorio (conservatory),
• paleontologio (palaeontology),
• paralelogramo (parallelogram), and
• trigonometrio (trigonometry).^[6]

The longest word found in the dictionary Plena Ilustrita Vortaro as of its 2020 edition is the 24-letter proper noun Meklenburgio-Antaŭpomerio (the German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), followed by the 21-letter word proviantadministracio (rations administration).

As of March 2022 the longest word found in the Tekstaro de Esperanto text corpus is the 66-letter word unue-volapukista-poste-esperantista-poste-idista-poste-denove-esperantista, meaning «first-volapukist-then-esperantist-then-idist-then-again-esperantist», which was used in a review published in Monato in 1997 to describe František Lorenz.^[7] However, this word does not follow normal Esperanto word formation rules. Other long words found in Tekstaro de Esperanto that do follow regular word formation include:

• sescent-kvindek-mil-kvadratkilometra (consisting of 650 000 square kilometers), 33 letters, used in an Esperanto version of an 2011 article by Marc Lavergne in Le Monde diplomatique,
• tragedio-komedio-historio-pastoraloj (tragical-comical-historical-pastorals), 33 letters, used in L. L. Zamenhof’s translation of Hamlet,
• Nord-Atlantik-Traktad-Organizo (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 27 letters, more commonly translated with two words: Nord-Atlantika Traktat-Organiz(aĵ)o.

Estonian[edit]

• Sünnipäevanädalalõpupeopärastlõunaväsimatus meaning «untiredness of a birthday week graduation party» which is 46 letters.^{[citation needed]}
• 31 lettered word of uusaastaöövastuvõtuhommikuidüll meaning «morning idyll after the new year».^[8]
• There is also the 25 letter long word of põllumajandusministeerium which is «Ministry of Agriculture».^{[citation needed]}
• The word kuulilennuteetunneliluuk meaning «the hatch a bullet flies out of when exiting a tunnel» is 24 letters long and a palindrome. It could be one of the longest palindromes.^{[citation needed]}

Finnish[edit]

Examples of long words that have been in everyday use in the Finnish language are kolmivaihekilowattituntimittari which means «three-phase kilowatt hour meter» (31 letters), liikekannallepanotarkastuskierros («mobilization inspection round», 33 letters),^[9] peruspalveluliikelaitoskuntayhtymä («a public utility of a municipal federation for provision of basic services», 34 letters),^[10] and lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas «airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student» (61 letters), an actual military term, although one which has been deprecated. The longest military term in current use is vastatykistömaalinosoitustutkakalustojärjestelmäinsinöörierikoisupseeri «counter-artillery targeting radar systems engineer specialist officer» with 71 characters, with 2 more if grammatically incorrect extra hyphens added for readability are counted.^{[citation needed]} If conjugated forms are allowed, even longer real words can be made. Allowing derivatives and clitics allows the already lengthy word to grow even longer, although the usability of the word starts to degrade. Because Finnish uses free forming of composite words, new words can even be formed during a conversation. One can add nouns after each other without breaking grammar rules.

If one allows artificial constructs as well as using clitics and conjugated forms, one can create even longer words: such as kumarreksituteskenteleentuvaisehkollaismaisekkuudellisennesk-
enteluttelemattomammuuksissansakaankopahan (102 letters), which was created by Artturi Kannisto.^[11]

The longest non-compound (a single stem with prefixes and suffixes) Finnish word recognised by the Guinness Book of Records is epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydellänsäkäänköhänkään (see also Agglutination#Extremes), based on the stem järki (reason, sanity), and it means: «I wonder if – even with his/her quality of not having been made unsystematized».

Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä and a defunct bar named after it, Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsi-baari, are the longest place names in use.

Hungarian[edit]

Eltöredezettségmentesítőtleníttethetetlenségtelenítőtlenkedhetnétek, with 67 letters is the longest word in the Hungarian language and approximately means «you could defragmentation defragmenting impenetrability defragmentation». It is already morphed, since Hungarian is an agglutinative language.

The Hungarian language has many causes for writing words together, but there are a few rules for avoiding undisciplined length, resulting in unreadability.

Words with less than six syllables can be written in one. Agglutinated words have to be separated by one dash, if they are more than six syllables altogether. If there are more than two words that are already written with a dash and we want to add some more, we have to use a new dash to add it (like C-vitamin-adagolás, meaning «Vitamin C rationing»). If there would be two long words to be written, they are advised to be used separately (possible: békeszerződéstervezet-kidolgozás meaning «peace agreement plan elaboration», but advised rather a békeszerződés tervezetének kidolgozása meaning «the elaboration of the plan of the peace agreement»).
^[12]

The longest dictionary form word is the word megszentségtelenített, with 21 characters (although it ultimately derives from the word szent meaning: «saint» or «sacred»), and it means «desecrated» or «profaned».^[13]

Korean[edit]

There is some disagreement about what is the longest word in the Korean language, which arises from misunderstanding of the Korean language.

The longest word appearing in the Standard Korean Dictionary published by the National Institute of the Korean Language is 청자 양인각 연당초상감 모란 문은구 대접 (靑瓷陽印刻蓮唐草象嵌牡丹文銀釦대접); Revised Romanization: cheongjayang-in-gakyeondangchosang-gammoranmuneun-gudaejeop, which is a kind of ceramic bowl from the Goryeo dynasty; that word is 17 syllable blocks long, and contains a total of 46 hangul letters.^[14][15] However, to call this a word would be incorrect. It simply consists of many words which act as adjectives for the one word 대접.

The word 니코틴아마이드 아데닌 다이뉴클레오타이드 (nikotin-amaideu adenin dainyukeulle-otaideu), a phonetic transcription of «nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide», has a larger number of syllable blocks (19) but a smaller number of letters (41), but does not qualify as a single word due to the spaces.

In proper nouns, many Korean monarchs have overly long posthumous names built from many different Sino-Korean nouns describing their positive characteristics, for example Sunjo of Joseon, whose full posthumous name is the 77-syllable-block 순조 선각 연덕현도 경인순희 체성응명흠광석경계천배극융원돈휴의행소윤희화준렬대중지정 홍훈철 모건시태형창 운홍기고명박후강건수정계통수력 공유범문안무정영경 성효대왕 (sunjoseongag-yeondeoghyeondogyeong-insunhuicheseong-eungmyeongheumgwangseoggyeong-gyecheonbaegeug-yung-wondonhyuuihaengsoyunhuihwa-junlyeoldaejungjijeonghonghuncheolmogeonsitaehy-eongchang-unhong-gigomyeongbaghugang-geonsujeong-gyetongsulyeoggong-yubeommun-anmujeong-yeong-gyeongseonghyodaewang).^{[citation needed]} This is simply writing the phrase in Hanja (Hanzi) 純祖先覺淵德顯道景仁純禧體聖凝命欽光錫慶繼天配極隆元敦休懿行昭倫熙化峻烈大中至正洪勳哲謨乾始泰亨昌運弘基高明博厚剛健粹精啓統垂曆建功裕範文安武靖英敬成孝肅皇帝, being transliterate in Hangul. It is not a single word and does not qualify as a lexical entry.

Mongolian[edit]

A popular example of the longest suffixed word in Mongolian is «Цахилгаанжуулалтыхантайгаа» (tsakhilgaanjuulaltykhantaigaa) which is 26 letters long. Here is a table showing, with translations, which suffixes are added.^{[citation needed]}

Word	Translation
Цахилгаан	electricity (power)
Цахилгаанжуул	electrify
Цахилгаанжуулалт	electrification
Цахилгаанжуулалтын	electrifications
Цахилгаанжуулалтыхан	electricians
Цахилгаанжуулалтыхантай	with electricians
Цахилгаанжуулалтыхантайгаа	do (action) with electricians

Ojibwe[edit]

The longest word in the Ojibwe language is miinibaashkiminasiganibiitoosijiganibadagwiingweshiganibakwezhigan (66 letters), meaning «blueberry pie». This literally translates to «blueberry cooked to jellied preserve that lies in layers in which the face is covered in bread».^[16]

Tagalog[edit]

Tagalog can make long words by adding on affixes, suffixes, and other root words with a connector.

The longest published word in the language is pinakanakakapagngitngitngitngitang-pagsisinungasinungalingan, with 59 letters. This compound word means «to keep making up a lie that causes the most extreme anger while pretending you are not.»^[17]

Turkish[edit]

Turkish, as an agglutinative language, carries the potential for words of arbitrary length.

Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine, at 70 letters, has been cited as the longest Turkish word. It was used in a contrived story designed to use this word.^[18][19] The word means «As if you would be from those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones» and its usage was illustrated as follows:

Kötü amaçların güdüldüğü bir öğretmen okulundayız. Yetiştirilen öğretmenlere öğrencileri nasıl muvaffakiyetsizleştirecekleri öğretiliyor. Yani öğretmenler birer muvaffakiyetsizleştirici olarak yetiştiriliyorlar. Fakat öğretmenlerden biri muvaffakiyetsizleştirici olmayı, yani muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştirilmeyi reddediyor, bu konuda ileri geri konuşuyor. Bütün öğretmenleri kolayca muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriverebileceğini sanan okul müdürü bu duruma sinirleniyor, ve söz konusu öğretmeni makamına çağırıp ona diyor ki: Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine laflar ediyormuşsunuz ha?
We are in a teachers’ training school that has evil purposes. The teachers who are being educated in that school are being taught how to make unsuccessful ones from students. So, one by one, teachers are being educated as makers of unsuccessful ones. However, one of those teachers refuses to be maker of unsuccessful ones, in other words, to be made a maker of unsuccessful ones; he talks about and criticizes the school’s stand on the issue. The headmaster who thinks every teacher can be made easily/quickly into a maker of unsuccessful ones gets angry. He invites the teacher to his room and says «You are talking as if you were one of those we can not easily/quickly turn into a maker of unsuccessful ones, huh?»

Other well-known very long Turkish words are:^[20]

• Çekoslovakyalılaştıramadıklarımızdanmışsınızcasına means «As if you are one of those people whom we could not turn into a Czechoslovakian».
• Afyonkarahisarlılaştırabildiklerimizdenmişsinizcesine means «As if you are one of the people that we made resemble from Afyonkarahisar». (Afyonkarahisar is a city in Turkey.)

Word formation[edit]

Turkish	English
Muvaffak	Successful
Muvaffakiyet	Success
Muvaffakiyetsiz	Unsuccessful (‘without success’)
Muvaffakiyetsizleş(-mek)	(To) become unsuccessful
Muvaffakiyetsizleştir(-mek)	(To) make one unsuccessful
Muvaffakiyetsizleştirici	Maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileş(-mek)	(To) become a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştir(-mek)	(To) make one a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriver(-)	(To) easily/quickly make one a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriverebil(-mek)	(To) be able to make one easily/quickly a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebil(-mek)	To be able to not make one easily/quickly a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebilecek	One who is not able to make one easily/quickly a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebilecekler	Those who are not able to make one easily/quickly a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimiz	Those whom we cannot make easily/quickly a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizden	From those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmiş	(Would be) from those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsiniz	You would be from those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones
Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine	As if you would be from those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones

Non-agglutinative languages[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Afrikaans, as it is a daughter language of the Dutch language, is capable of forming compounds of potentially limitless length in the same way as in the Dutch language. According to the Total Book of South African Records, the longest word in the language is^[21]
Tweedehandse­motor­verkoops­manne­vakbond­stakings­vergadering­sameroepers­toespraak­skrywers­pers­verklaring­uitreikings­media­konferensie­aankondiging (136 letters), which means «issuable media conference’s announcement at a press release regarding the convener’s speech at a secondhand car dealership union’s strike meeting». This word, however, is contrived to be long and does not occur in everyday speech or writing.

Arabic[edit]

Currently, the longest word in Arabic is the 15-letter-long word أَفَإِستَسقَينَاكُمُوها.^[22] Which means «Did we ask you to let us drink it?» However, according to some online sources the 16-letter-long word أَفَإِستَسقَينَاكُمُوهما is the longest word in Arabic meaning «Did we ask you to let us drink both of them?». Regardless, official sources supporting such a stance cannot be found.

Bulgarian[edit]

The Bulgarian online etymological dictionary claims that longest word in Bulgarian to be the 39-letter-long непротивоконституционствувателствувайте (neprotivokonstitutsionstvuvatelstvuvayte), introduced in the Constitution of Bulgaria of 1947 (Dimitrov Constitution).^[23] The word means «do not perform actions against the constitution» (addressed to more than one person).

Catalan[edit]

The longest word in Catalan is considered to be Anticonstitucionalment, an adverb meaning «[done in a way that is] against the constitution», however, the scientific word Psiconeuroimmunoendocrinologia, related to endocrinology, has been proposed by the University of Barcelona to be the true longest word.^[24]

Croatian[edit]

The longest known word in Croatian is prijestolonasljednikovičičinima,^[25] meaning «to those who belong to the throne successor’s little wife.» The 31-letter word is the dative case of prijestolonasljednikovičica «the throne successor’s little wife» which is the diminutive of prijestolonasljednikovica «the throne successor’s wife.»

Czech[edit]

Traditionally, the word nejneobhospodařovávatelnější («of the least cultivable», 28 letters) is considered as the longest Czech word, but there are some longer artificial words. Most of them are compound adjectives in dative, instrumental or other grammatical case and derived from the iterative or frequentative verbal form or the ability adjective form (like «-able»).

• Nejnezdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávatelnějšími (47; Instrumental case of the ones least multipliable by a group of ninety-nine on a regular basis)
• Nejnezdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávatelnější (Those who are the least multiplable by a group ninety-nine on a regular basis)
• Nejzdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávatelnější (Those who are the most multiplable by a group ninety-nine on a regular basis)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávatelnější (Those who are more multiplable by a group ninety-nine on a regular basis)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávatelní (Those who are multiplable by a group of ninety-nine on a regular basis)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovávat (Alternative of «multiply out by a group of ninety-nine on a regular basis»)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroroznásobovat (Multiply out by a group of ninety-nine on a regular basis — continuous grammatical aspect)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroznásobovat (Multiply by ninety-nine on a regular basis – continuous grammatical aspect)
• Zdevětadevadesáteroznásobit (Multiply by a group of ninety-nine once)
• Zdevětadevadesáteronásobit (Multiply by a group of ninety-nine)
• Devětadevadesátero (A group of ninety-nine)
• Devětadevadesát (Inverse of devadesát devět = ninety-nine)

Danish[edit]

Danish, like many Germanic languages, is capable of compounding words to create ad hoc compounds of potentially limitless length. Nevertheless, the constructed word special­læge­praksis­planlægnings­stabiliserings­periode – which means «a period of stabilising the planning of a specialist doctor’s practice» – was cited in 1993 by the Danish version of the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest word in the Danish language at 51 letters long. It is however not possible (using Google) to find a text, which actually uses this word, except for in the context of discussing the longest Danish word.

Dutch[edit]

Dutch, like many Germanic languages, is capable of forming compounds of potentially limitless length. The 53-letter word Kinder­carnavals­optocht­voorbereidings­werkzaamheden­plan, meaning «preparation activities plan for a children’s carnival procession», was cited by the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records as the longest Dutch word.^[26]

The longest word in the authoritative Van Dale Dutch dictionary (2009 edition) in plural form is meervoudige­persoonlijkheids­stoornissen;^[27] 38 letters long, meaning «multiple personality disorders». The entry in the dictionary however is in the singular, counting 35 letters.

The free OpenTaal dictionary,^[28] which has been certified by the Dutch Language Union (the official Dutch language institute) and is included in many open-source applications, contains the following longest words, which are 40 letters long:

• vervoerders­aansprakelijkheids­verzekering, «carriers’ liability insurance»;
• bestuurders­aansprakelijkheids­verzekering, «drivers’ liability insurance»;
• overeenstemmings­beoordelings­procedures, «conformity assessment procedures» (38 letters)

The word often said to be the longest in Dutch – probably because of its funny meaning and alliteration – which has also appeared in print, is Hottentotten­soldaten­tenten­tentoonstellings­bouwterrein («construction ground for the Hottentot soldiers’ tents exhibition»); counting 53 letters.

English[edit]

The 45-letter word pneumono­ultra­microscopic­silico­volcano­coni­osis is the longest English word that appears in a major dictionary.^[29][30] Originally coined to become a candidate for the longest word in English, the term eventually developed some independent use in medicine.^[31] It is referred to as «P45» by researchers.^[32]

The 30-letter word pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism refers to an inherited disorder,^[33] named for its similarity to pseudohypoparathyroidism in presentation, which is in turn named for its similarity to hypoparathyroidism. This is the longest word that was not contrived with the sole intention of becoming the longest word.^[34]

Flocci­nauci­nihili­pili­fication, at 29 letters and meaning the act of estimating something as being worth so little as to be practically valueless, or the habit of doing so, is the longest non-technical, coined word in Oxford Dictionaries of the English language.^[29]

Anti­dis­establishment­arian­ism, at 28 letters, is the longest non-coined, non-systematic English word in Oxford Dictionaries.^[29] It refers to a 19th-century political movement that opposed the disestablishment of the Church of England as the state church of England.

French[edit]

German[edit]

In German, whole numbers (smaller than 1 million) can be expressed as single words, which makes sieben­hundert­sieben­und­siebzig­tausend­sieben­hundert­sieben­und­siebzig (777,777) a 65 letter word. In combination with -malig or, as an inflected noun, (des …) -maligen, all numbers can be written as one word. A 79 letter word, Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­elektrizitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesellschaft, was named the longest published word in the German language by the 1972 Guinness Book of World Records, but longer words are possible. The word was the name of a prewar Viennese club for subordinate officials of the headquarters of the electrical division of the company named the Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­gesellschaft, «Danube steam boat operation company».

The longest word that is not created artificially as a longest-word record seems to be Rindfleisch­etikettierungs­überwachungs­aufgaben­übertragungs­gesetz at 63 letters. The word means «law delegating beef label monitoring» but as of 2013, it was removed from the books because European Union regulations have changed and that particular law became obsolete, leading to news reports that Germany «had lost its longest word».^[35]

In December 2016 the 51-letter word Bundes­präsidenten­stichwahl­wiederholungs­verschiebung («deferral of the second iteration of the federal presidential run-off election») was elected the Austrian Word of the Year 2016.^[36] The jury called it a «descriptive word» which «in terms of its content as well as its length, is a symbol and an ironic form of commentary for the political events of this year, characterized by the very long campaign for the presidential election, the challenges of the voting process, and its reiteration.»^[36][37]

Greek[edit]

In his comedy Assemblywomen (c. 392 BC), Aristophanes coined the 182-letter word λοπαδο­τεμαχο­σελαχο­γαλεο­κρανιο­λειψανο­δριμ­υπο­τριμματο­σιλφιο­καραβο­μελιτο­κατακεχυ­μενο­κιχλ­επι­κοσσυφο­φαττο­περιστερ­αλεκτρυον­οπτο­κεφαλλιο­κιγκλο­πελειο­λαγῳο­σιραιο­βαφη­τραγανο­πτερύγων (Lopado­temacho­selacho­galeo­kranio­leipsano­drim­hypo­trimmato­silphio­karabo­melito­katakechy­meno­kichl­epi­kossypho­phatto­perister­alektryon­opte­kephallio­kigklo­peleio­lagoio­siraio­baphe­tragano­pterygon), a fictional food dish consisting of a combination of fish and other meat. The word is cited as the longest ancient Greek word ever written.^[38]
A modern Greek word of 22 letters is ηλεκτροεγκεφαλογράφημα (ilektroenkefalográfima) (gen. ηλεκτροεγκεφαλογραφήματος (ilektroenkefalografímatos), 25 letters) meaning «electroencephalogram».

Hebrew[edit]

The longest Hebrew word is the 19-letter-long (including vowels) וכשלאנציקלופדיותינו (u’chshelentsiklopediotenu),^[39] which means «And when to our encyclopedias…» The Hebrew word אנציקלופדיה (encyclopedia) is of a European origin.

The longest word in Hebrew that doesn’t originate from another language is וכשלהתמרמרויותינו, (u’chshelehitmarmeruyotenu) which crudely means «And when, to our resentments/ grievances»

The 11-letter-long (including vowels) וְהָאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִים (veha’aḥashdarpením) is the longest word to appear in the Hebrew Bible. — Its meaning is «And the satraps». It also does not originate from Hebrew.^{[citation needed]}

Other very long Hebrew words include:

• וכשבהשתעשעויותיהם (u’chshebehishta’ashuateyhem) meaning: «And when they were having fun» or «And while in their playfulness».

Hindi[edit]

Hindi has a finite list of compound words which are based on established grammatical rules of the language. The word commonly cited as the longest in Hindi is लौहपथगामिनीसूचकदर्शकहरितताम्रलौहपट्टिका (lauhpathagāminīsūchakdarshkaharitatāmralauhpaṭṭikā), which consists of 24 consonants and 10 vowel diacritics, making up a total of 34 characters. The word literally means «a green railway warning signboard made of copper-iron». Its plural would be लौहपथगामिनीसूचकदर्शकहरितताम्रलौहपट्टिकाएँ (lauhpathagāminīsūchakdarshkaharitatāmralauhpaṭṭikāẽ), which has an additional vowel and a diacritic. It is a neologism and not in common use.^[40]

A much smaller word borrowed from Sanskrit which is in common use and is also often cited as the longest word is किंकर्तव्यविमूढ़ (kinkartavyavimūṛh). It consists of 8 consonants and 5 vowel diacritics, making up a total of 13 characters. The word literally means «confused about what to do», meaning to be bewildered or flabbergasted.

Icelandic[edit]

Icelandic has the ability to form compounds of arbitrary length by stringing together genitives (eignarfallssamsetning), so no single words of maximal length exist in the language. However, vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúr and vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur are sometimes cited as particularly long words;^[41] the latter has 64 letters and means «a keychain ring for the outdoor key of road workers shed in a moor called Vaðlaheiði».

Analysis of a corpus of contemporary Icelandic texts by Uwe Quasthoff, Sabine Fiedler and Erla Hallsteinsdóttir identified Alþjóðaflutningaverkamannasambandsins («of the International Transport Workers’ Federation»; 37 letters) and Norðvestur-Atlantshafsfiskveiðistofnunarinnar («of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries’ Organization»; 45 letters) as the longest unhyphenated and hyphenated words.^[42]

The longest word occurring at least twice in the University of Leipzig isl-is_web_2015 corpus is Auðmannastjórnvaldaembættisstjórnmálaverkalýðsverðlausraverðbréfaábyrgðarlausrakvóta-ræningjaaftaníossaspilling (110 letters).^[43]

Indonesian[edit]

Indonesian is a part of Austronesian language. According from Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia. The longest word of this language is mempertanggungjawabkan, which is 22 letter meaning «take responsibility» in english and heksakosioiheksekontaheksafobia, 30 letter meaning «hexacosioihexecontahexaphobia» in english.^[44]

Irish[edit]

The longest non-compound word in Irish is grianghrafadóireacht, a 20-letter-long word meaning «photography».^[45]

Italian[edit]

The longest word in Italian is traditionally precipitevolissimevolmente, which is a 26-letter-long adverb.^[46] It is formed by subsequent addition of postfixes to the original root:

1. precipitevole: «hasty»;
2. precipitevolissimo: «very hasty»;
3. precipitevolissimevole: «[of someone/something] that acts very hastily», (not grammatically correct^{[citation needed]});
4. precipitevolissimevolmente: «in a way like someone/something that acts very hastily» (not grammatically correct, but nowadays part of the language).

The word is never used in every-day language, but in jokes. Nevertheless, it is an official part of Italian language; it was coined in 1677 by poet Francesco Moneti:

perché alla terra alfin torna repente / precipitevolissimevolmente

— Francesco Moneti, Cortona Convertita, canto III, LXV

The word technically violates Italian grammar rules, the correct form being precipitevolissimamente, which is three letters and one syllable shorter. The poet coined the new word to have 11 syllables in the second verse.

Other words can be created with a similar (and grammatically correct) mechanism starting from a longer root, winding up with a longer word. Some examples are:

• sovramagnificentissimamente (cited by Dante Alighieri in De vulgari eloquentia), 27 letters, «in a way that is more than magnificent by far» (archaic);^[47]
• incontrovertibilissimamente, 27 letters, «in a way that is very difficult to falsify»;
• particolareggiatissimamente, 27 letters, «in an extremely detailed way»;
• anticostituzionalissimamente, 28 letters, «in a way that strongly violates the constitution».

The longest accepted neologism is psiconeuroendocrinoimmunologia (30 letters).^{[citation needed]}.

Other long words are:

• nonilfenossipolietilenossietonolo (33 letters — chemical)
• pentagonododecaedrotetraedrico (30 letters — 3D geometric figure)
• esofagodermatodigiunoplastica (29 letters — surgery)
• elettroencefalograficamente (27 letters — medical adverb: electroencephalographically)
• diclorodifeniltricloroetano (27 letters — chemical: DDT)

Láadan[edit]

Láadan is not agglutinating as there is no mechanism to combine arbitrary words into one without intermediating grammatical mechanisms (such as the relativizer § In other languages); however, there are a number of affixes that further elucidate the contextual meaning of a word. These are ignored when determining the longest words in the language. The primary reference for vocabulary is the 3rd edition of the official dictionary and grammar.

• oshetham éelenethilethu, 22 letters not counting the space, or 17 phonemes (since for example ée is a toneme of e, and th is a separate sound from *t or *h separately—the asterisks indicate that neither sound exists in Láadan) — a set phrase for a wreath of grapevine, a common symbol of the language^[48]
• shineshidethóo, 14 letters or 10 phonemes — an invited guest^[49]

Latin[edit]

The longest attested word in Classical Latin is subductisupercilicarptor, which was coined by the obscure poet Laevius in the 1st century. In Medieval Latin, the longest known word is honorificabilitudinitas, which was first attested in a treatise written by the 8th century Grammarian Peter of Pisa. One can further increase the length of the words by adding the Dative plural case to them, which would result in the words subductisupercilicarptoribus and honorificabilitudinitatibus respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Lithuanian[edit]

The longest Lithuanian word is 40 letters long:

• nebeprisikiškiakopūstlapiaujančiuosiuose — «in those, of masculine gender, who aren’t gathering enough wood sorrel’s leaves by themselves anymore.» — the plural locative case of past iterative active participle of verb kiškiakopūstlapiauti meaning «to pick wood-sorrels’ leaves» (leaves of edible forest plant with sour taste, word by word translation «rabbit cabbage»). The word is attributed to software developer / writer Andrius Stašauskas.^{[50][unreliable source?][51][unreliable source?]}

Māori[edit]

The Māori-language 85-letter place name Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu is the longest place name in English-speaking countries and second longest in the world, according to Wises New Zealand Guide and The New Zealand Herald.^[52]

Polish[edit]

Very long Polish words can be created as adjectives from numerals and nouns. For example, Dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesięciodziewięcionarodowościowego, 54 letters, is the genitive singular form of an adjective meaning roughly «of nine-hundred and ninety-nine nationalities». Similar words are rather artificial compounds, constructed within allowed grammar rules, but are seldom used in spoken language, although they are not nonsense words.^{[citation needed]} It is possible to make even longer words in this way, for example:

Dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesiątdziewięćmiliardówdziewięćsetdziewięćdziesiątdziewięćmilionów-dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesiątdziewięćtysięcydziewięćsetdziewięćdziesięciodziewięcioletniego (176 letters, meaning «of 999,999,999,999 years old»).

One of the longest common words is 31-letter dziewięćdziesięciokilkuletniemu – the dative singular form of «ninety-and-some years old one». Another known long word is konstantynopolitańczykowianeczka^{[citation needed]} (32 letters), «a daughter of a man who lives in Constantinople» and pięćdziesięciogroszówka (23 letters), «a 50 groszy coin».^[53]

Romanian[edit]

The longest Romanian word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcaniconioză, with 44 letters,^[54] but the longest one admitted by the Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române («Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language», DEX) is electroglotospectrografie, with 25 letters.^[55][56]

Russian[edit]

Most likely one of the longest Russian words is a chemical term, тетра­гидро­пиранил­цикло­пентил­тетра­гидро­пиридо­пириди­новая (tetra­gidro­piranil­ciklo­pentil­tetra­gidro­pirido­piridi­novaya), which contains 55 letters. It was used in Russian patent RU2285004C2 (granted and published in 2006). This word is an adjective that can describe e.g. a chemical formula. As a noun, it is without the last 4 letters.

Another one is превысоко­много­рассмотрительствующий (prevysoko­mnogo­rassmotritel’stvuyushchiy), which contains 35 letters. It is an adjective in the bureaucratic language of the 19th century «meaning a very polite form of addressing clerks, something like Your Excellency, Your Highness, Your Majesty all together» (Guinness World Records 2003^{[citation needed]}). Its dative singular form, превысоко­много­рассмотрительствующему (prevysoko­mnogo­rassmotritel’stvuyushchemu, with 36 letters) can be an example of excessively official vocabulary of the 19th century.

Numeral compounds can be long as well, such as Тысячево­сьмисот­восьми­десяти­девяти­микро­метровый (Tysyachevo­s’misot­vos’mi­desyati­devyati­mikro­metrovyy), which is an adjective containing 46 letters, meaning «1889-micrometers long».^[57]

Sanskrit[edit]

Sanskrit allows word compounding of arbitrary length. Nouns and verbs can be expressed in a sentence.^{[citation needed]}

The longest sentence ever used in Sanskrit literature is (in Devanagari):

निरन्तरान्धकारितदिगन्तरकन्दलदमन्दसुधारसबिन्दुसान्द्रतरघनाघनवृन्द-सन्देहकरस्यन्दमानमकरन्दबिन्दुबन्धुरतरमाकन्दतरुकुलतल्पकल्पमृ-दुलसिकताजालजटिलमूलतलमरुवकमिलदलघुलघुलयकलितरमणीय-पानीयशालिकाबालिकाकरारविन्दगलन्तिकागलदेलालवङ्गपाटलघनसा-रकस्तूरिकातिसौरभमेदुरलघुतरमधुरशीतलतरसलिलधारानिराकरिष्णुत-दीयविमलविलोचनमयूखरेखापसारितपिपासायासपथिकलोकान्

In IAST transliteration:

nirantarāndhakārita-digantara-kandaladamanda-sudhārasa-bindu-sāndratara-ghanāghana-vṛnda-sandehakara-syandamāna-makaranda-bindu-bandhuratara-mākanda-taru-kula-talpa-kalpa-mṛdula-sikatā-jāla-jaṭila-mūla-tala-maruvaka-miladalaghu-laghu-laya-kalita-ramaṇīya-pānīya-śālikā-bālikā-karāra-vinda-galantikā-galadelā-lavaṅga-pāṭala-ghanasāra-kastūrikātisaurabha-medura-laghutara-madhura-śītalatara-saliladhārā-nirākariṣṇu-tadīya-vimala-vilocana-mayūkha-rekhāpasārita-pipāsāyāsa-pathika-lokān

from the Varadāmbikā Pariṇaya Campū by Tirumalāmbā,^[58] composed of 195 Sanskrit letters (428 letters in the roman transliteration, dashes excluded), thus making it the longest word ever to appear in worldwide literature.^[59][60]

Each hyphen separates every individual word this word is composed of.

The approximate meaning of this word is:

«In it, the distress, caused by thirst, to travellers, was alleviated by clusters of rays of the bright eyes of the girls; the rays that were shaming the currents of light, sweet and cold water charged with the strong fragrance of cardamom, clove, saffron, camphor and musk and flowing out of the pitchers (held in) the lotus-like hands of maidens (seated in) the beautiful water-sheds, made of the thick roots of vetiver mixed with marjoram, (and built near) the foot, covered with heaps of couch-like soft sand, of the clusters of newly sprouting mango trees, which constantly darkened the intermediate space of the quarters, and which looked all the more charming on account of the trickling drops of the floral juice, which thus caused the delusion of a row of thick rainy clouds, densely filled with abundant nectar.»

Slovak[edit]

Traditionally, the word najneobhospodarovávateľnejšieho («of the least cultivable», 31 letters) is considered as the longest Slovak word, but there are some longer artificial words. Most of them are compound adjectives in dative, instrumental or other grammatical case and derived from the iterative or frequentative verbal form or the ability adjective form (like -able).^[61]
[62]

Artificial words, lexically valid but never used in language:

• znajneprekryštalizovávateľnejšievajúcimi, 40 letters, «through the least crystallised ones»
• znajnepreinternacionalizovateľnejšievať, 39 letters
• najnezrevolucionalizovateľnejšiemu, 34 letters ^[63]
• najnerozkrasokorčuľovateľnejšieho, 33 letters

Artificial words using Slovak towns or places, lexically valid but never used in language:

• znajneprehornádskodružstevnianskovávateľnejšievajúcimi, 54 letters
• znajneprechminianskojakubovianskovávateľnejšievajúcimi, 54 letters

Numerals:

• deväťstodeväťdesiatdeväťtisícštyristodeväťdesiatdeväť, 53 letters, «999499» ^[64]
• sedemstodeväťdesiatsedemtisícsedemstodeväťdesiatsedem, 53 letters, «797797» ^[65]

Spanish[edit]

The longest word in Spanish is esternocleidomastoideitis (inflammation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, 30 letters).^[66] Runners-up are anticonstitucionalmente ([proceeding in a manner that is] contrary to the constitution) and electroencefalografistas (specialists that do electrical scans on brains (electroencephalographists)), both 23 letters.

The word anticonstitucionalmente is usually considered the longest word in general use. This word can be made even longer by the addition of the absolute superlative suffix, rendering anticonstitucionalísimamente (i.e.: «very strongly against the constitution»). Some dictionaries (but not the RAE dictionary^[67]) removed its root word (anticonstitucional) in 2005, causing comments about it not «being a valid word anymore» and suggesting the use of inconstitucional as a replacement.^{[citation needed]}

Swedish[edit]

Realisationsvinstbeskattning (28 letters) is the longest word in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista. It means «capital gains taxation», and is usually shortened to Reavinstskatt (same meaning).
However, Swedish grammar makes it possible to create arbitrarily long words. One such word is Spårvagnsaktiebolagsskensmutsskjutarefackföreningspersonalbeklädnadsmagasinsförråd-sförvaltarens (94 letters) which means: «[belonging to] The manager of the depot for the supply of uniforms to the personnel of the track cleaners’ union of the tramway company».^[68]

Toki Pona[edit]

The longest word in Toki Pona is kijetesantakalu (15 letters), which was proposed in 2009 as an April Fools’ joke by the language’s creator Sonja Lang as a word for any animal of the Procyonidae family, which includes raccoons and related species.^[69] The word has since entered into common use, and it has become common to define kijetesantakalu more broadly as any animal from the Musteloidea superfamily.^[70] In 2019 James Flear designed a glyph for kijetesantakalu in Toki Pona’s sitelen pona writing system, which has become a popular icon within the Toki Pona community.^[71]

As a minimalistic isolating constructed language, most words in Toki Pona are much shorter, the median being 4 letters. The longest words featured in the 2014 book Toki Pona: The Language of Good, Lang’s first official Toki Pona publication, are the 7-letter words kepeken («to use, by means of») and sitelen («symbol, picture»). The list of proposed country names in the same book also mentions ma Papuwanijukini («Papua New Guinea»), which includes a 14-letter proper adjective.^[72]

Vietnamese[edit]

Vietnamese is an isolating language, which naturally limits the length of a morpheme. The longest, at seven letters, is nghiêng, which means «inclined» or «to lean».^[73] This is the longest word that can be written without a space. However, not all words in Vietnamese are single morphemes. Indeed, nghiêng can be reduplicated as nghiêng nghiêng.

The written language abounds with compound words in which each constituent word is delimited by spaces, just like any freestanding word. Moreover, the grammar lacks inflection to mark parts of speech, and prepositions are often optional. Therefore, the boundary between a word and a phrase is poorly defined.^[74] Examples of this ambiguity include:

• Chủ nghĩa phân biệt chủng tộc («racism»), which is composed of the words chủ nghĩa («ideology»), phân biệt («discriminate»), and chủng tộc («race»)
• Cơm gà xào sả ớt, which literally describes a dish of grilled chicken sauteed with lemongrass and peppers on rice
• Ông bà anh chị em, a polite pronoun composed of five kinship terms

Unlike locally coined compound words, compound words in Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary are less ambiguous, because of the use of premodifiers (as in English) as opposed to the native postmodifiers. Long Sino-Vietnamese words include bách khoa toàn thư («encyclopedia») and thủy động lực học («hydrodynamics»).

Loanwords and pronunciation respellings from other languages can also result in long words. For example, «consortium» is côngxoocxiom (12 letters), and «Indonesia» may be left as-is or spelled In-đô-nê-xi-a (13 counting hyphens).^[75] The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Vietnam systematically respells foreign names, introducing long names into an official Vietnamese lexicon:

• Kômixacjepxkaia («Komissarzhevskaya», 15 letters)^[76]
• Rôjơđextơvenxki («Rozhdestvensky», 15 letters)^[77]
• Mêtơrôpôliten Ôpêra («Metropolitan Opera», 18 letters)^[78]

Long initialisms in Vietnamese include:

• CHXHCNVN (Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, «Socialist Republic of Vietnam», 8 characters)
• MTDTGPMNVN (Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam, «Viet Cong», 10 characters)

In modern Vietnamese, compound words can be identified fairly easily within title cased text: a morpheme that begins with a capital letter followed by one or more morphemes that begin with a lowercase letter. For example, xã hội chủ nghĩa («socialism») is capitalized as one component within Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam.

Welsh[edit]

Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch, a railway station on the island of Anglesey in Wales, is the longest place name in the Welsh language. At 51 letters in the Welsh alphabet (the digraphs ll and ch are each collated as single letters) the name can be translated as «St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red cave». However, it was artificially contrived in the 1860s as a publicity stunt, to give the station the longest name of any railway station in the United Kingdom.

Long words are comparatively rare in Welsh. Candidates for long words other than proper nouns include the following (the digraph dd is also treated as a single letter, as is ng in many instances including in the last word below):

• gwrthddatgysylltiadaeth (antidisestablishmentarianism)
• microgyfrifiaduron (microcomputers)
• gwrthgyfansoddiaethwyr (anticonstitutionalists)
• lled-ddargludyddion (semiconductors)
• tra-arglwyddiaethasant (they tyrannised)
• cyfrwngddarostynedigaeth (intercession)^[79] (-au can be added to form the plural, and the word can be further lengthened slightly by initial mutation: fy nghyfrwngddarostynedigaethau, «my intercessions»)

See also[edit]

• Morphology (linguistics)
• Longest English sentence
• Coxeter group — mathematical concept whose entities are sometimes called words

References[edit]

Do you ever look through a dictionary, marveling at the sheer length of some words? It’s easy to appreciate the complexity of the language and the diversity of the words used to express ourselves. Words can be incredibly powerful tools, and even the longest can carry a lot of meaning. That’s why we’ve decided to take a moment to appreciate some of the longest words in the world. 

This blog post will explore a list of the “20 longest words in the world.” So join us as we take a closer look at the length of language and celebrate the power of the written word!

Exploring longest words in the world: 20 examples

1. Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine
2. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic
3. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
4. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 
6. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
7. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism 
8. Floccinaucinihilipilification 
9. Antidisestablishmentarianism 
10. Spectrophotofluorometrically 
11. Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy 
12.  Psychoneuroendocrinological 
13. Honorificabilitudinitatibus 
14. Pneumoencephalographically 
15. Thyroparathyroidectomized
16. Otorhinolaryngological 
17. Incomprehensibilities 
18. Dermatoglyphics 
19. Sesquipedalianism 
20. Strengths

1. Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine (189,819 letters)

You know how you can see a word, and it makes you want to say it aloud? That’s what happened when we learned about the world’s longest word. It’s called “methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine,” 189,819 letters long.

This is a technical name for titin’s chemical composition. This word is long because titin is formed by 244 individual protein domains connected into one sequence. That’s almost three hours of speaking time. It’s so long that it doesn’t fit on paper! But we must keep trying: if we can pronounce it, maybe we’ll get a cool nickname like “Methi-Gnome” or “Methi-Gnomy.”

2. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic (52 letters)

This tongue-twister of a word has 52 letters, making it one of the longest words in the English language. It is a technical term used to describe a particular type of acid found in certain rocks. The word was first coined in 1841 by the German mineralogist Friedrich August Rosenbusch.

The word is comprised of seven parts: Aequeo (meaning “equal”), Salino (“saline” or “salty”), Calculi (“lime” or “calcium”), Curacao (“waxy”), Aluminoso (“aluminum”), Cupreo (“copper”) and Vitriolic (“corrosive”). When put together, this lengthy word can be translated to mean “an equal saline-alkaline-waxy-aluminum-copper-corrosive acid.”

3. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)

This long word is the scientific name for a lung disease known as silicosis or miners’ asthma. The word was coined in 1959 by Everett Chapman, an American physician and pathologist attempting to find a suitable name for the condition.

Despite being the most extended term in English and being included in the Oxford English Dictionary, it is rarely used outside the medical industry. The disease can be treated with medications, but once it has progressed, the only option is to avoid exposure to silica dust.

4. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)

If you’ve ever heard of a word that seemed so long and complex that you thought it was made up, you may have heard of the longest word in the English language. This 36-letter monstrosity is known as Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia and is defined as “the fear of long words.” The root of this word can be broken down into four parts: ‘hippopotamus,’ ‘a monster,’ ‘equipment,’ and ‘fear.’

The word was first used in an article written in 1949, where the author referenced the term when talking about a man who had an irrational fear of big words.

5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters)

This is arguably one of the most famous words in the world, made popular by the 1964 musical Mary Poppins. It’s a nonsense word that means “something to say when you have nothing to say.” Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) is the longest word in the English language that doesn’t contain any repeating letters. It has become one of the most beloved words in the world and is often used in popular culture.

While it may seem like a strange and foreign word, it is a combination of several other words: “super-” (meaning “above” or “beyond”), “cali-” (from “calisthenics,” meaning “exercises”), “fragilistic-” (from “fragile,” meaning “breakable”), “expiali-” (from “expiation,” meaning “atonement”), and “docious” (from “dociousness,” meaning “teachable”). Together, these words create an impressive and unforgettable word that has come to signify something more than its parts. 

6. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian (30 letters)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian is an impressive word, standing at a whopping 30 letters long. It comes from the Greek “hippos,” meaning horse, “potamos” meaning river, “monstrōs” meaning monster; and “eskhein” meaning to equip or furnish. The word refers to something very long and complicated, such as a word or phrase.

In addition to being a great conversation starter, Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian has also seen some use in popular culture. In the animated film Monsters Inc., Roz uses the word to describe Mike’s name: “Mike Wazowski? That’s a mouthful – hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian!”

So, It’s sure to get a few laughs; of course, its lengthy length will undoubtedly turn a few heads.

7. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters)

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is one of the longest words in the English language, measuring a whopping 30 letters in length. This medical term is used to describe a rare inherited condition that affects calcium levels in the body. 

The term pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism is derived from the Greek roots “pseudo,” meaning false, “hypo,” meaning under or below, and “parathyroid,” which refers to the four small glands in the neck responsible for regulating calcium in the body. 

8. Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)

This word first appeared in the late 18th century and is derived from Latin. It means ‘the estimation of something as worthless’ or ‘treating something as insignificant.’ 

Floccinaucinihilipilification is a perfect example of how long and complicated English words can be. Although it may appear intimidating at first, it can be broken down into more manageable parts, such as “flocci,” “nauci,” “nihili,” and “pilification.” Understanding the meaning of each part can help you to understand the entire word more quickly, and it can also help you to use the word in your writing.

9. Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters)

It is one of the longest words in the English language, and you may be surprised by its meaning. Antidisestablishmentarianism means opposition to the withdrawal of government support or recognition of an established church or religion. 

The word comprises two parts: anti, meaning “against,” and disestablishmentarianism, which refers to dissolving an established church. The term was first used in the 16th century in England when Anglicans wanted to abolish the Church of England’s official status as the state religion. 

It is also an exciting example of how a single long word can be used to explain a complex idea.

10. Spectrophotofluorometrically (28 letters)

This impressive word first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1967. It is an adjective that refers to the measurement of light or radiation using a spectrophotofluorometer, a scientific device used for measuring the relative amounts of light absorbed and emitted by a substance. 

It’s quite a mouthful, and even the most ardent wordsmiths might struggle to pronounce it! But as complex as the word may sound, its meaning can be explained in just a few short sentences, making it much easier to appreciate its true beauty.

11. Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy (28 letters)

We’ve been amazed by the length of some words! Hepaticocholangiogastrostomy is one of them – 28 letters and counting. This medical term refers to a surgical procedure that connects the liver, bile ducts, and stomach.

To think that surgeons can perform these intricate procedures while saying this mouthful of a word out loud is simply incredible! The skill, precision, and finesse required are awe-inspiring and worthy of admiration.

12. Psychoneuroendocrinological (27 letters)

Psychoneuroendocrinological is a word that will make your jaw drop. At 27 letters, it’s one of the longest words in the world and is a fantastic feat for anyone to be able to say aloud with ease. It references a complex field of medicine that studies how hormones interact with mental and neurological processes. 

The complexity and technicalities behind this subject matter are impressive – understanding them requires expertise and skill. To think that experts can comprehend and work with such long words as psychoneuroendocrinological is simply awe-inspiring!

13. Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters)

This is one of the longest words in the world and is derived from a line in William Shakespeare’s play Love’s Labour’s Lost. It is used to describe someone capable of achieving great honors. The word translates as “the state of being able to achieve honors.” This makes it a fitting way to describe someone capable of doing great things and making a name for themselves.

The word has been used in various forms throughout history, though its most famous use is as part of a line from Shakespeare’s work. The entire line reads: “Honorificabilitudinitatibus: O form of majesty!” This reflects the awe-inspiring power and influence someone of greatness can have.

14. Pneumoencephalographically (26 letters)

It’s astonishing to think that experts can master long words like pneumoencephalographically. With 26 letters, it is among the world’s longest and references a branch of medical science that looks into how hormones interact with mental and neurological activities. This understanding has enabled better diagnosis and treatment plans for physiological and psychological conditions.

Knowing the technicalities behind this subject matter requires skill, knowledge, and expertise – all highly admirable qualities. It certainly puts one in awe when we realize that professionals are capable of mastering such complex topics!

15. Thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters)

Thyroparathyroidectomized has 25 letters and is used to describe the surgical removal of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands. It is commonly used to treat hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland.

Thyroparathyroidectomized is not only long but also complex, having numerous syllables that are difficult to pronounce. The word is derived from several different parts, including thyroid-, parathyroid-, and ectomy. The prefix thyro- means “about the thyroid”; the suffix -ectomy means “surgical removal”; and the root parathyroid- refers to the four parathyroid glands near the thyroid gland.

16. Otorhinolaryngological (22 letters)

With 22 letters, Otorhinolaryngological is one of the longest words in the world! This word is derived from the Greek words “oto” meaning ear, “rhino” meaning nose, “laryngo” meaning throat; and “logical” meaning science or study. It refers to the medical specialty concerned with problems of the ears, nose, and throat.

This is an incredibly specialized field of medicine that requires extensive knowledge and training to master. The name is also so long that most people don’t know how to pronounce it correctly! The correct pronunciation of this word is “oh-toh-ree-noh-luh-ring-goh-lij-ik-uhl.”

17. Incomprehensibilities (21 letters)

Incomprehensibilities is one of the longest words in the English language, with 21 letters. It means “the state or quality of being incomprehensible” or “something that cannot be understood.” It is derived from the Latin word incomprehensibilis, which comes from the prefix in-, meaning “not,” and comprehensibilis meaning “able to be comprehended.”

Incomprehensibilities has become quite popular in recent years, especially with those who are looking for long words to challenge their friends and colleagues. It is often used in scrabble games, other word puzzles, online forums, and chat rooms. It has even been featured on popular TV shows such as Jeopardy!

18. Dermatoglyphics (15 letters)

Dermatoglyphics is a fifteen-letter noun that holds the distinction of being the longest word in the English language that doesn’t contain any repeated letters. It comes from the Greek words derma, meaning “skin,” and glyph, meaning “to carve or engrave.” Dermatoglyphics refers to studying fingerprints and skin patterns, such as ridge count and pattern types. It is used in many fields, such as anthropology, forensics, medicine, and genetics. It is also used to diagnose genetic and hereditary diseases, which is why dermatoglyphics are still studied today.

19. Sesquipedalianism (14 letters)

Sesquipedalianism is a term used to describe the tendency to use long words. It has come to be used to describe someone who uses complex and often obscure words to express their thoughts or ideas.

Sesquipedalian words can create an air of sophistication or make a more precise point. Sesquipedalianism is a handy tool for anyone who wants to express themselves elegantly and precisely. If you want to ensure that your message is getting across without miscommunication, then using these types of words can help you achieve that goal.

20. Strengths (9 letters)

The word strengths is a rather impressive nine-letter word that often gets overlooked when discussing the longest words in the world. It doesn’t come close to the longest word in the world, but it deserves to be on the list for its nearly all-consonant composition. This makes it a unique word, and the fact that it is only nine letters long makes it even more remarkable.

Strengths can refer to a person’s positive qualities or abilities and can be used as a noun or an adjective. No matter how you use it, the word strengths are sure to make an impression.

Commonly asked questions:

Here are a few questions that are asked by the people when it comes to the 20 Longest Words In The World. 

What are some challenging words?

Some tricky English words include:

1. Stationary vs Stationery.
2. Separate.
3. Effect vs affect
4. Embarrassed.
5. Compliment vs. Complement.

Which term is most commonly misspelled?

According to WordTips, “coolly” and “minuscule” are the most commonly misspelled words in the majority of English-speaking countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

What is the world’s most difficult word?

7 of the most difficult English words that will make you forget what you were going to say:

1. Worcestershire
2. Rural
3. Sixth
4. Sesquipedalian
5. Phenomenon
6. Onomatopoeia
7. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Conclusion

The world is full of incredibly long words that many people are unaware of. Understanding the meaning behind these words is key to appreciating their length and complexity. These longer words often have exciting backstories and origins.

Whether you learn more about them for yourself or use them to impress your friends, there’s no denying that these words are fascinating. While these words may seem daunting at first, mastering them can help you better understand language, culture, and the world around you.

So next time you encounter an intimidatingly long word, take the time to appreciate its complexity and the power of language.

10.03.2022

Business News

Did you know that the longest word in the world contains 190,000 letters? The following  is our list of the five longest words in the world:

1. An English word of 189, 819 letters 

The longest word in the world is the English term: «methionylthreonylthreonyl(…)isoleucine».

This term, which has no less than 189, 819 letters, is the chemical name of the largest protein: titin. It would take three hours to recite it from beginning to end! 

1. A Sanskrit word of 195 characters

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-तदीय-विमल-विलोचन-मयूख-रेखापसारित-पिपासायास-पथिक-लोकान् 

The second longest word in the world is a 195-character Sanskrit word (equivalent to 428 letters in the Latin alphabet).

It is a word that has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest word in the world. It first appeared in the 16th century in a book written by Queen Tirumalãmbã, and is actually a description of a region in India called Tamil Nadu.

1. An Afrikaans word of 136 letters

The third longest word is this 136-letter Afrikaans word:

«Tweedehandsemotorverkoopsmannevakbondstakingsvergaderingsameroeperstoespra-akskrywerspersverklaringuitreikingsmediakonferensieaankondiging”

Roughly translated, it means ‘a press conference on a speech by a trade union official at a used car dealership about a strike’.

Afrikaans is a Germanic language derived from Dutch, and is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa.

1. A New Zealand word with 85 letters

This is the fourth longest word in the world:

«Taumatawhakatangihangakoauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu”

This is actually the name of a hill in New Zealand. Its translation is: «The peak where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the surveyor, the mountain climber, the walker who travelled here, played his flute to his beloved.»

Consisting of 85 letters, this word is the longest place name in the world in the Latin alphabet. It has also been included in the Guinness Book of Records.

1. An Icelandic word with 64 letters

«Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur»  

This Icelandic word of 64 letters is the fifth longest in the world. It is literally translated as follows: 

«A ring on a key ring for the outer door of the tool shed used by road maintenance workers on Vaðlaheiði hill.”

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Answers to your questions about the longest words in the world

The longest French word officially recognised by the Académie française is «anticonstitutionnellement», which consists of 25 letters. It is, in other words, the longest word in the French dictionary.

«Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz» is the longest word in the German language with 79 letters.

The longest English word is also the longest word in the world, with almost 190,000 letters. It is the chemical name for titin, the largest protein known. The longest word in the English dictionary however, is the 45-letter word «pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis», which refers to a lung disease. Doctors call it «P45».

About the author

The editorial team, led by the founder of the group Optilingua International, is made up of experts who specialise in language services. Our goal is to regularly provide you with articles related to translation and language services, which will help you with your language services’ needs.

Asked by: Delia Legros

Score: 4.4/5
(75 votes)

Major dictionaries

The longest word in any of the major English language dictionaries is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a word that refers to a lung disease contracted from the inhalation of very fine silica particles, specifically from a volcano; medically, it is the same as silicosis.

What is the full word of Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl?

LONGEST ENGLISH WORD:Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl… isoleucine (189,819 letters) If we’re talking chemistry, the longest chemical name is 189,819 letters long. It is the chemical name for titin, a giant filamentous protein essential to the structure, development, and elasticity of muscle.

Which word takes 3 hours to say?

The word is 189,819 letters long. It’s actually the name of a giant protein called Titin. Proteins are usually named by mashing-up the names of the chemicals making them. And since Titin is the largest protein ever discovered, its name had to be equally as large.

Is there a word longer than Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

The longest words in the dictionary are: antidisestablishmentarianism — opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England — 28 letters. floccinaucinihilipilification — the estimation of something as worthless — 29 letters. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis — a supposed lung disease — 45 letters.

What is the number 1 longest word?

1 Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (forty-five letters) is lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica or quartz dust.

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