Hello friends,
welcome on board again. Today we will discover the longest German compound words and learn basics about their formation.
As for German language, the compound nouns are the words that significantly extend our vocabulary and are widely utilized.
Those words are basically fused together and can contain 2,3,4 or even more single words. In a daily conversations they are short enough (no more than 3 words in a row)
So, for now let’s get started with the longest “exotic” German words.
Awesome German nouns:
- Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung -> 67 letters.
Full title is as follows: Verordnung zur Übertragung der Zuständigkeiten des Oberfinanzpräsidenten der Oberfinanzdirektion Berlin nach § 8 Satz 2 der Grundstücksverkehrsordnung auf das Bundesamt zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen (gültig von Dezember 2003 bis November 2007)
English version says: Regulation transferring the responsibilities of the Chief Finance President of the Berlin Regional Finance Directorate pursuant to Section 8, Sentence 2 of the Real Estate Transfer Act to the Federal Office for the Settlement of Open Property Issues (valid from December 2003 to November 2007)
Lucky news is, this word is “archived” for the time-being, unless the politicians revert back above-mentioned regulation:)
- Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz -> 63 letters.
The word is translated as “Law for the delegation of duties for the supervision of cattle marking and beef labeling.” It is a perfect example of German compound words complexity. Good news is, in 2013 the law had been officially repealed and the word was retired:)
- Vermögenszuordnungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung -> 55 letters. – Regulation on the Transfer of Competence for the Allocation of Assets.
Another insane law (regulation). When looking into description the full title is: Verordnung zur Übertragung der Zuständigkeiten der Oberfinanzpräsidenten der Oberfinanzdirektionen in den neuen Ländern nach dem Vermögenszuordnungsgesetz auf das Bundesamt zur Regelung offener Vermögensfragen. The abbreviation is simple VZOZÜV. By the way, recent article about common German abbreviations you can find under: Nice German abbreviations
Believe me, even if you are a lawyer this word has limited usage, hence no need to worry about.
- Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän -> 42 letters. – Captain of the Danube Steamship Company.
Please pay attention to the triple f in Schifffahrt. That’s not a typo – German spelling rules say when two words merge and both contribute an f, all three letters remain.
- Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaft -> 37 letters. – legal protection insurance company. In official documents and agreements you’ll find it quite often.
- Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung -> 36 letters. – Motor vehicle liability insurance. All drivers soon or later find this noun in their agreements.
- Sozialversicherungsfachangestellter -> 35 letters – Social security specialist. Members of this professional group are public sector employees who perform administrative tasks (e.g., determining insurance status, collecting contributions, granting benefits).
- Arbeiterunfallversicherungsgesetz -> 33 letters – Workers’ Accident Insurance Act. It is a national, compulsory program in Germany that insures workers for injuries or illness incurred through their employment, or the commute to or from their employment
- Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit -> 32 letters – Food intolerance. This word is widely used in healthcare and nutrition. No doubts, we all have food intolerance: milk, white bread, honey etc.
- Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung -> 26 letters – speed limit. When driving a car you’ll see this word on every German road sign.
Basic information about compound words:
Compound words may consits of nouns, adjectives, prepositions and verbs to build the long list of German words. Widely used combinations are:
Noun + Noun: die Tasche + das Buch = das Taschenbuch.
Adjective + Noun: alt + die Stadt = die Altstadt
Verb + Noun: schwimmen + das Bad = das Schwimmbad
Preposition + Noun: mit + der Arbeiter = der Mitarbeiter
Please pay attention: The last word in the compound word determines the meaning and the article. Everything before it just adds extra meaning. Therefore German language allows everyone to “design” words based on our needs. From one point of view this adds extra complexity whereas it extends the vocabulary from another point . With time and experience you will easily build compound nouns.
Compound nouns around us:
das Handtuch -> die Hand + das Tuch – towel
der Apfelsaft -> der Apfel + der Saft – apple juice
die Bettwäsche -> das Bett + die Wäsche – bed linen, bedding
der Fernseher -> fern + sehen – television
der Wasserhahn -> das Wasser + der Hahn – water tap
das Butterbrot -> die Butter + das Brot – sandwich
der Taxifahrer -> das Taxi + der Fahrer – taxi driver
die Glühbirne -> glühen + die Birne – lightbulb
die Fußballmanschaft -> der Fußball + die Manschaft – football team
der Kühlschrank -> kühl + der Schrank – fridge
die Großmutter -> groß + die Mutter – grandmother
der Zahnarzt -> der Zahn + der Arzt – dentist
Now, my dear readers, you understand how German compound word structure look like and feel comfortable with 63-letter word. Who knows, maybe someone from you will “invent” its own long compound word bigger than Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung.
You never know: life is life. Take care.
Learning posts for your individual needs available:
Famous German proverbs – brief and clear
List of common German abbreviations
Small talk in German – real case scenario
