I love the German word ver­bes­se­rungs­be­dürf­tig, meaning in need of improvement. I’m not German, but thought this was a cracking word.

  • @Banthex@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    123 days ago

    The longest officially used German word was:

    Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

    (63 letters)

    Translation:

    “Beef labeling monitoring delegation law”

    This was the name of a law in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It referred to the delegation of tasks related to monitoring beef labeling, especially relevant during the BSE (mad cow disease) crisis. The law was abolished in 2013.


    But German allows theoretically endless compound words. A classic (but not officially used) example is:

    Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft

    (80 letters)

    Translation:

    “Association of subordinate officials of the main building for electrical services of the Danube steamship company”

    This is a joke word created to illustrate how German compounds work. It’s not used in real life, but it’s popular in linguistic discussions and trivia.

      • @dave@feddit.uk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        12 days ago

        I remember hearing a story of a UN or EU real-time translator working German to English suddenly stopping, the English listeners looking a bit confused, and after another 15 or 20 seconds of hearing the German speaker continue with still no translation, just heard a whispered “the verb, dammit, the verb!” through their headsets.

    • @Lumidaub@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      393 days ago

      Anglophonenwortkompositafaszinationsbelustigungsbauchschmerzmittelrezeptdruckerhersteller. Manufacturer of printers for prescriptions for painkillers for belly pain caused by amusement at anglophones’ fascination with word compounds.

    • @espentan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      15
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      Same in Norwegian.

      Looks like this one is a popular candidate for the longest official word:

      Minoritetsladningsbærerdiffusjonskoeffisientmålingsapparatur.

      It’s an instrument for measuring the distance between particles in crystalline materials.

    • Ephera
      link
      fedilink
      English
      9
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      Yeah, Wikipedia tells me the longest word that was actually in use is Grundstücks­verkehrs­genehmigungs­zuständigkeitsübertragungs­verordnung. It was a decree from 2003 until 2007.

      Basically:

      • “Grundstück” is a plot of land.
      • “Verkehr” is traffic “trade” in this context.
      • “Genehmigung” is approval.
      • “Zuständigkeit” is responsibility.
      • “Übertragung” is transfer.
      • “Verordnung” is decree.

      So, it decreed that the responsibility of approving traffic on trade of private plots of land should be transferred (to a different government body).

      • Elvith Ma'for
        link
        fedilink
        3
        edit-2
        3 days ago

        While technically correct, the word Verkehr here does not translate to traffic, but rather belongs to the compound Verkehrsgenehmigung which is roughly a trade permit for selling a plot of land or using it as a collateral on a loan.

        • Ephera
          link
          fedilink
          English
          23 days ago

          Damn, seems you’re right. For folks reading along: That’s not how that word usually works in German, but I guess, it is how it works in German legalese…

          • Elvith Ma'for
            link
            fedilink
            3
            edit-2
            3 days ago

            German legalese has Verkehr as a reference to in Verkehr bringen which means put something on the market / put something on circulation.

            But it’s hard to recognize /learn because

            1. Verkehr almost(?) always means traffic outside of legalese and
            2. There are also traffic laws, that also use Verkehr but really mean traffic
  • @ezdrift@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    73 days ago

    In Estonian, we traditionally consider the word kuulilennuteetunneliluuk - the hatch of the tunnel for the bullet’s flight path, to be the longest, but as with German, arbitrarily large words are possible.

  • @oktoberpaard@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    143 days ago

    Like with German, we can make arbitrarily long compound words in Dutch (for example, “kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamhedencomitéleden”), but if we limit it to words that are in the dictionary, “arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering“ (disability insurance) is one of the longest words that’s also commonly used.

  • 6R1M R34P3R
    link
    fedilink
    English
    93 days ago

    Not the longest ones but the first that came to mind:

    In French, one of the longest words is “anticonstitutionnellement”, which means unconstitutionally. It’s long but not something you’d use in daily conversation.

    For Japanese, it’s trickier because the language doesn’t really form long standalone words like German does. But if we count kanji compounds, something like “超電磁砲” (ちょうでんじほう, chōdenjihō), meaning railgun, is a cool one. Of course, technical or bureaucratic terms can get way longer, but they’re more like phrases than words.

    • @9point6@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      10
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      Antidisestablishmentarianism

      opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England

      Also bonus Welsh town name:

      Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

      Literally translated, the long form of the name means: “[The] church of [St.] Mary (Llanfair) [of the] pool (pwll) of the white hazels (gwyn gyll) near to [lit. “over against”] (go ger) the fierce whirlpool (y chwyrn drobwll) [and] the church of [St.] Tysilio (Llantysilio) of the red cave (gogo[f] goch)”

  • Skua
    link
    fedilink
    93 days ago

    We’ll have lots of English speakers here given the language the question was asked in, so I’ll do Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) instead: dìochuimhneachadh, at 17 letters. It means “forgetting”, and it is pronounced /ˈd̥ʲĩə̃xənəxəɣ/. No, I can’t say it smoothly.

    Gàidhlig isn’t one of those languages that can compound words like Finnish or German, this one is just a consequence of a few different things. Firstly, the language’s spelling rules result in a lot of letters that do impart information but aren’t directly pronounced. Consonants have two forms depending on which of two sets of vowels they are next to, so any consonant or consonant cluster must always have vowels from the same set on either side. For example, the “i” in the “imhne” bit in the middle is basically only there to match the “e” at the end, since u and e aren’t in the same set of vowels and we need to know which version of the consonants between them to use. Every h is a modifier on the consonant preceding it as well. Second, the root of it is “un-remember”, so it’s already a shorter word with a prefix. Third, we’re using the verbal noun version, so it’s “the act of forgetting” rather than present-tense as in “currently forgetting something”

    There are probably longer words in the language, but I don’t know it very well yet and this was the longest one I could find on a word list. I think there’s actually a version of dìochuimhnich that includes a suffix marking it as being a conditional first person plural doing the forgetting, so “we would forget”, but I don’t understand how that part of the language works. If I was to say that at the moment, I would use two words to do it, so I don’t feel like I can give it as an answer here

  • @Benaaasaaas@group.lt
    link
    fedilink
    English
    33 days ago

    Lithuanian: “Nebeprisivaizdotinklaraštininkaujantiesiems”

    Meaning: To those who are no longer satiated by the amount of vlogs they create

  • @Mobiuthuselah@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    73 days ago

    In English, I understand it to be pneumonoultramicropicsilicovolcaniconiosis, although I may have misspelled it from memory. It’s a medical condition resulting from inhaling fine particles of silica.

    • @Albbi@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      63 days ago

      The longest non-medical word (because c’mon, that’s Latin) is antidisestablishmentarianism. I think it is basically being pro-establishment (government) because of the double negative in the word.

      • @Mobiuthuselah@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        63 days ago

        Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcaniconiosis is English, but it is a medical word. The roots of it are Greek and Latin, like much of English. Are you aware of the etymology of antidisestablishmentarianism?

      • SanguinePar
        link
        fedilink
        43 days ago

        I think it also has something to do with believing that the monarch should or shouldn’t be head of the Church of England. But yeah, pro-establishment, definitely.

  • Random_Character_A
    link
    fedilink
    93 days ago

    In Finnish language you can compose compound words freely, so the question is a bit odd. Your imagination is the limit.

    • @Diddlydee@feddit.ukOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      63 days ago

      Google says the longest cited Finnish word is “lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas,” meaning “airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student.” Can you make one longer?

      • Random_Character_A
        link
        fedilink
        43 days ago

        I’m guessing this means official titles, names or otherwise somehow constricted words.

        I can easily extend it by adding few words: “Antiikkilentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilasehdokas” meaning “antique airplane jet turbine engine auxiliary mechanic non-commissioned officer student candidate”.

  • @Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    63 days ago

    In English it’s usually “FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU–…” (trimmed due to character limit per post)

    Meaning varies with context, but it’s most often an assessment of current events.

  • M137
    link
    fedilink
    63 days ago

    The actual longest word according to the Swedish academic word list is “Realisationsvinstbeskattning” (Capital gain taxation)

    But as with many languages we can add together several words in some ways so according to Guinness world records (yeah, they suck) it’s “nord-väster-sjö-kust-artilleri-flyg-spanings-simulator-anläggnings-materiel-underhålls-uppföljnings-system-diskussions-inläggs-förberedelse-arbeten.” (North western lake coast artillery flight reconnaissance simulator construction material maintenance follow-up system discussion posts preparation work.)