Comments on: Lego block building

By: InWebDesignClass

InWebDesignClass — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:10:04 +0000

well i see all these long words here. I am just trying to make a personal webpage for my class so I’m just exploring these sites that claim to have really long words and i am seeing all this about wiki. I hope these words truly exist because wiki isn’t a reliable source since any1 can edit. So when u check if something is real or not don’t use wiki. It is a good starting place but not a place to end your research on something with

By: fronten

fronten — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:35:54 +0000

according to wikipedia the Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft actually never existed, at least no proof of it.

Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung has the actual lead with 67 letters for an officially used word.

german words of the year:
http://www.gfds.de/index.php?id=11

By: Caitlyntx

Caitlyntx — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:05:27 +0000

thank you, man

By: Dr. Huch

Dr. Huch — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:01:43 +0000

For every mutant word our esteemed lawmakers create they normally invent an official abbreviation, “ReÜAÜG” stands for the above mentioned “Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz”. Much shorter but much more frequently used is my all time favorite, the good old “BAföG” (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz), the federal student loan and grant law.
And once in a while an innocent hyphen slips past the guards into Berlin, producing things like the “Telekommunikations-Universaldienstleistungsverordnung”
(telecommunication universal services ordinance) which will give your word processors spellchecker a hard time.

By: Erik

Erik — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 08:18:51 +0000

Hmm, I’ll take a jab at this:

Siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzigmillionsiebenhundertsiebenundsiebzigtausendsiebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig
(777 777,777)
*cracks knuckles* I’m fairly sure that’s 101 letters, but it’s probably cheating…

By: Miss-Verständnis

Miss-Verständnis — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:58:38 +0000

@Andrew: Yeah, Donaudampfschi… and its derivatives have been described as a ‘desparate attempt to create the lengthiest word possible.’

According to ‘the Wik’ (as I now affectionately call it) “The longest German word verified to be actually in (albeit very limited) use is Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. [which, literally translated, breaks up into: Rind (cattle) - Fleisch (meat) - Etikettierung(s) (labelling) - Überwachung(s) (supervision) - Aufgaben (duties) - Übertragung(s) (assignment) - Gesetz (law), so "Beef labelling supervision duty assignment law".]”

But nonetheless, you outdid my 80 letters. Are you still living in Germany? Send your current whereabouts to me@miss-verstaendnis.com and I’ll reply with your prize options!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:21:59 +0000

70 and 96 letters respectively, btw.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:21:03 +0000

The fight is on! In the blue corner, weighing in at 80 letters – Donaudampfschi….yeah, anyway. And in the red corner, weighing in at umpteen mistakes and more than a couple of splashes in the face, Zungenbrecher thumbnail!

The two words I found for contenders for the longest German word were:
Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänskajütentürschlüsselanhänger
Which – apparently – is the Keychain to the door of the cabin of the Captain of the Danube Steamboat Shipping Company.
Seems like it’s all about the Danube steamships, eh?

The other I found was:
Jahresendflügelpuppenschnitzmesserschleifmeistersfrauenunterrocksmusterdruckmaschinenputzerskind
Which – also apparently – means:
The child of the person who cleans the machine that prints ornaments on the piece of clothing that the wife of the person who sharpens the knife that makes the Christmas tree angel wears.

And no, I didn’t attempt to actually pronounce them.

By: Miss-Verständnis

Miss-Verständnis — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:23:13 +0000

I realise how supremely uncool it is to be the first commenter on one’s own blog, but how awesome is it that the word above is so long that it almost tussles with the Zungenbrecher thumbnail?

Well, I thought it was awesome, at least.

By: Sue Massey

Sue Massey — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:46:02 +0000

I like your writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.

- Sue.