Made in Germany – 10 long German words you can’t pronounce

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How long are long German words really?

Super long German words are like soup.

The kind of soup where you have a tree, a house, a submarine and a railroad beaten up and mixed into a combination that is harder to pronounce than Rumpelstiltskin’s surname.

So in this article we’ll look at some of the longest words in German and while you are navigating between stammering and biting your tongue, try to appreciate Germans for their enormous ways of showing love.

Let’s go…

A very long German word with 49 letters

Sozialversicherungsfachangestelltenauszubildender

Also a long German word with 46 letters

Massenkommunikationsdienstleistungsunternehmen

This word stands for ‘companies providing mass communication services’.

When you are starting your first business, it might help to post that you are looking for affordable ‘massenkommunikationsdienstleistungsunternehmen’.

Do that and then step back and wait for the responses.

These words are long and daunting, and that is exactly why I designed the TPRS method in a way that will get you speaking German fluently without having to remember such words.

Long German word with 41 letters

Betäubungsmittelverschreibungsverordnung

With the typical Germans’ regard for laws, we couldn’t possibly exhaust this list without touching on a regulation.

And so, the above word means ‘regulation requiring the prescription for an anesthetic’.

I guess soon we will be seeing a word to mean ‘regulation for people using the U-bahn to walk faster and avoid stepping on each other’.

39 letters – longest word in German in everyday use

Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften

According to the Guinness World Record, this is the longest German word in everyday use.

It means ‘insurance companies providing legal protection’.

Now you know what search term to use if you are planning a trip to Germany and need more than just travel insurance.

36 letters

Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung

We have another insurance term on the list, ‘Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung (or a little easier ‘Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung‘, which means ‘motor vehicle liability insurance’.

This, fortunately, is much easier on the tongue and will come in handy when you are talking to the customer care attendants at BMW or Mercedes.

33 letters

Arbeiterunfallversicherungsgesetz

In English, there is something called ‘worker’s liability insurance’, which compensates workers in case of injuries or accidents at work.

In Germany, that type of insurance is governed by the ‘occupational accident insurance law‘ which is called ‘Arbeiterunfallversicherungsgesetz’.

It is because of this (almost) daunting word that you can work in Germany knowing that if you are sick when working, the government has got you.

31 letters

Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit

The man in the photo seems to enjoy what he’s doing, so he’s not suffering from ‘Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit’.

But what does this mean?

It means ‘food intolerant’.

It’s a combination of the words ‘Nahrungsmittel’ and ‘Unverträglichkeit’, as if they weren’t difficult enough by themselves! Yes, long words in German can even be combined.

25 letters

Unabhängigkeitserklärung

Everyone loves a spectacular show of fireworks.

That’s why many countries showcase fireworks to celebrate their independence.

But we Germans, decided to save time and came up with ‘Unabhängigkeitserklärung‘ to mean ‘declaration of independence’ and then spend the saved time creating another long German word, so we could save even more time and then spend it creating an even longer word.

24 letters

Streichholzschächtelchen

This tongue-twisting word has actually been shortened. Its full wording is ‘Tschechisches-Streichholzschächtelchen’ which simply means ‘Czech match box’.

Can you believe that?

Tell me you don’t want to punch someone in the face right now.

By the way, we Germans even have a word for a face that desperately needs a punch. We call this face a ‘Backpfeifengesicht‘.

Ok, let’s break the first word down:

• Die Streichholzschachtel – matchbox
• Das Streichholz – a match
• streichen – to stroke
• Das Holz – the wood
• Die Schachtel – box

So we attach all those words to make one word, and we are off to the races!

Yeah… another dose of German efficiency!

23 letters

Freundschaftsbeziehungen

I mean friendship is already a type of relationship, right?

So this not-so-long German word actually means ‘demonstration of friendship’.

I know…I know…we weren’t going to close this without a classic German toast were we?

I mean it’s only fair after such a grueling torment by unearthly long German words, right?

But super long German words are not all there is…

We have already seen that Germans can easily come up with an eye-popping laser-focused ultra-specific word to mean something like ‘big brown leather shoes with a torn rubber sole and mismatching laces.’

Wow.

But in real sense, the German you will use every day is not hard at all.

What you need is a method that can help you learn naturally, in which 80% of learners become fluent within 6-8 months.

No tests, no memorizing, and the German learning is full of fun <- click the link to find out more.