The Longest German Words
The longest German word in official use was Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz, a 63-letter law that existed from 1999 to 2013. The longest word in the Duden dictionary has 44 letters, and the Guinness record holder has 79. This page lists the record holders with their meanings, explains why German words get so long, and shows the long words you will actually use as a learner.
The record holders
Every one of these is a real word that was printed, used in a law, or listed in a dictionary. The letter count does not include hyphens.
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
63 letterslaw on the transfer of duties for monitoring beef labelling
Parts: Rindfleisch + Etikettierung + Überwachung + Aufgaben + Übertragung + Gesetz
The most famous one. It was a real law in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern from 1999 until 2013, when the EU rules it was based on changed and the law was removed. For 14 years it was the longest word in official use in Germany.
Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung
67 lettersregulation on transferring the authority to approve land sales
Parts: Grundstück + Verkehr + Genehmigung + Zuständigkeit + Übertragung + Verordnung
Even longer than the beef law, but less famous because it was a regulation and not a law. Legal German produces words like this because a title has to say exactly what the text is about, in one noun.
Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft
79 lettersassociation of subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services
Parts: Donau + Dampfschiffahrt + Elektrizitäten + Hauptbetriebswerk + Bau + Unterbeamten + Gesellschaft
The Guinness Book of World Records named this the longest published German word in 1972. It was the name of a club for lower officials in Vienna before the war. It uses the old spelling Schiffahrt with two f; in current spelling it would be Schifffahrt with three, and 80 letters.
Bundespräsidentenstichwahlwiederholungsverschiebung
51 letterspostponement of the repeat of the run-off election for federal president
Parts: Bundespräsident + Stichwahl + Wiederholung + Verschiebung
Austria had to repeat its presidential run-off in 2016, and then postpone the repeat because of faulty envelope glue. The word for that mess became the Austrian Word of the Year 2016.
Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-Hyperaktivitätsstörung
44 lettersattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Parts: Aufmerksamkeit + Defizit + Hyperaktivität + Störung
The longest headword in the Duden, the standard German dictionary. The hyphen is part of the official spelling. Unlike the record holders above, this is a word you can find in a normal medical text.
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
42 letterscaptain of the Danube Steamship Company
Parts: Donau + Dampfschifffahrt + Gesellschaft + Kapitän
The classic example that German teachers love. The Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft is a real company in Vienna, founded in 1829, and it really had captains. People keep adding parts to it as a joke, which is where the 79-letter club name above comes from.
Why German words are so long
German does one thing that English does not: it writes compound nouns as a single word. English says "health insurance card" with two spaces. German says Versichertenkarte with none. The vocabulary is the same size; only the spaces are missing.
Because there is no rule that limits how many nouns you can join, a word grows as long as the idea needs. A law about who monitors beef labels has to say beef, label, monitor, duty, transfer and law, so the title has six parts. Nobody planned a 63-letter word. It happened because the grammar allows it.
Often a small linking letter appears between the parts, usually an s or n: Arbeitserlaubnis, Krankenschwester. This is called a Fugenelement (joint element). It has no meaning of its own, and you learn it word by word.
How to read a long German word
Read it from the right. The last part is the head noun. It tells you what the thing is, and it decides the article. Everything before it only narrows the meaning down.
- Find the last noun you recognise. In Krankenversicherung it is Versicherung (insurance). The word is feminine because die Versicherung is feminine.
- Cut off the front part and ask what it adds. Kranken comes from krank (sick), so this is insurance for sick people: health insurance.
- Repeat if there is more than one part. Wettervorhersage is a Vorhersage (forecast) about Wetter (weather). Vorhersage itself is vorher (before) plus sagen (to say).
For pronunciation, put the stress on the first part and pause very slightly between the parts: SEH-ens-würdig-keit, VOR-stellungs-gespräch. Native speakers hear the parts, not a single long string.
Long German words you will actually use
The longest nouns on the Goethe A1, A2 and B1 word lists. These are exam vocabulary, not curiosities. Every word links to its own page with the plural and example sentences.
Long words for simple things
Not every compound is long, but many are funny when you translate the parts one by one. These are the ones learners remember first.
| German | Word for word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| der Handschuh | hand shoe | glove |
| der Kühlschrank | cool cupboard | fridge |
| der Staubsauger | dust sucker | vacuum cleaner |
| die Glühbirne | glow pear | light bulb |
| das Zahnfleisch | tooth meat | gums |
| der Krankenwagen | sick-people car | ambulance |
| das Fernsehen | far seeing | television |
| die Nacktschnecke | naked snail | slug |
Rebuild nine German words against the clock
9 Words gives you the shuffled letters of one word and 30 seconds. Words grow from 4 to 7 letters. Pick your level, no signup.