10+ Longest Words In The World

So you want to know about the longest words in the world? Fair warning: some of these are going to make you question whether they're actually words or just someone having way too much fun with a dictionary.

In this post, we'll introduce you to the longest words in the world in some of the major foreign languages. After reading this, you'll definitely question why some languages have word-building to absolutely wild extremes.

What Is the Longest Word in the World?

There are two answers to this question: the scientific name of tintin and the 195-character Sanskrit word.

The Chemical Name for Titin (189,819 letters)

This is the full scientific name for titin, the largest protein in the human body. It has 189,819 letters and would take 3 to 5 hours to pronounce. The word exists because scientists name proteins by listing every single amino acid in sequence, creating this absolutely massive chemical formula disguised as a word.

Want to hear it? Check this video.

Sanskrit Compound Word (195 characters)

This Sanskrit word from a 16th-century work has 195 Sanskrit characters (428 letters in Roman alphabet). Based on the book Varadāmbikā Pariṇaya Campū by Tirumalāmbā, it describes travelers being refreshed by water-carrying girls near mango trees.

According to Guinness World Records, it's the longest word ever used in literature. Below is the full Sanskrit and English translation:

What are the longest words in English?

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)

This word refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silica dust. It has 45 letters and was created in 1935 specifically to be the longest English word. Most dictionaries include it even though everyone knows it's artificial—basically a fancy way to say "silicosis."

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)

This word means "fear of long words." It has 36 letters of pure irony. Someone thought it would be hilarious to make the word for "fear of long words" ridiculously long, and honestly, they weren't wrong.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters)

This word from Mary Poppins means something extraordinary or fantastic. It has 34 letters and is completely made up but sounds impressive. Mary Poppins described it as something to say when you have nothing to say.

Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters)

This word describes opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. It has 28 letters and is often mistakenly thought to be the longest English word. It refers to a 19th-century political movement in England.

Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)

This word means "the estimation of something as worthless." It has 29 letters and is often cited as the longest non-technical word in English. Created by combining four Latin words meaning "nothing," it dates back to 1741 and was famously used in British Parliament by MP Jacob Rees-Mogg in 2012.

The Longest Words In Other Languages

In this section, let's first go over the longest words in other languages that are written with the Latin script.

Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz (63 letters)

This German word means "beef labeling supervision duties delegation law." It has 63 letters and was an actual law until 2013, when it was repealed. German creates long words by smashing smaller words together like linguistic Lego blocks.

Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine (70 letters)

This Turkish word roughly means "as if you were from those we may not be able to render unsuccessful." It has 70 letters and is built from the root word "muvaffak" (successful) with 17 different suffixes added on.

Epäjärjestelmällistyttämättömyydellänsäkäänköhänkään (48 letters)

This Finnish word means "I wonder if—even with his/her quality of not having been made unsystematized." It has 48 letters and showcases how Finnish builds words by adding endings that change meaning.

Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért (44 letters)

This Hungarian word means "for your continued behavior as if you could not be desecrated." It has 44 letters and demonstrates Hungarian's extensive use of suffixes to create complex meanings.

Meervoudigepersoonlijkheidsstoornissen (35 letters)

This Dutch word means "multiple personality disorders." It has 35 letters and shows how Dutch, like German, combines smaller words to create specific terms.

Elektrikləşdirdiklərimizdənsinizmişcəsinə (42 letters)

This Azerbaijani word means "as if you were from those ones we have electrified." It has 42 letters and demonstrates the word-building potential of Turkic languages.

Longest Words In The World (Non-Latin Script)

Most of the long words we've looked at use the Latin alphabet, but other writing systems have their own linguistic monsters too.

Arabic: أَفَإِستَسقَينَاكُمُوهما (16 letters)

This Arabic word means "Did we ask you to let us drink them both?" It has 16 letters in Arabic script and is romanized as "afa-istasqaynaakumoohumaa." Arabic builds complex words through its root-and-pattern system, where three-consonant roots get modified with vowels and additional letters to create meaning.

Korean: 청자 양인각 연당초상감 모란 문은구 대접 (24 syllable blocks)

This Korean term refers to a type of ceramic bowl from the Goryeo dynasty and is romanized as "cheongjayang-in-gakyeondangchosang-gammoranmuneun-gudaejeop." It has 24 syllable blocks, though linguists note this is technically multiple words acting as descriptive adjectives rather than a single compound word.

Bulgarian: непротивоконституционствувателствувайте (39 Cyrillic letters)

This Bulgarian word means "do not perform actions against the constitution" and is romanized as "neprotivokonstitutsionstvuvatelstvuvayte." It has 39 letters in Cyrillic script and was introduced in Bulgaria's 1947 Constitution, demonstrating how Slavic languages can build very long words through extensive prefixing and suffixing.

Chinese: 𰻞 (Biáng - 58 strokes)

This Chinese character refers to a type of thick, belt-like noodle from Shaanxi province and is romanized as "Biáng" in pinyin. The traditional form has 58 strokes (42 in simplified Chinese), making it one of the most complex characters in modern usage. The character is so complex it was only added to Unicode in 2020.

Thai: กฎหมายป้องกันและปราบปรามการฟอกเงิน (35+ characters)

This Thai term means "Anti-Money Laundering Law" and is romanized as "kotmai pongkan lae prappram kan fokngoen." It demonstrates how Thai builds complex terms by combining multiple morphemes, especially in legal and official contexts.

What Languages Have the Longest Words (And Why)

Some languages are known for super long words. That’s usually because they’re agglutinative. "Agglutinative" comes from a Latin word meaning "to glue together." Each added piece (like a prefix or suffix) brings extra meaning, such as tense, direction, or ownership. Instead of using several words in a sentence, agglutinative languages pack it all into one long word.

Languages like Turkish, Finnish, Hungarian, Japanese, and Korean use this system. So, what English says in a whole sentence, these languages might say in just one mega-word.

One major exception is German. It’s not agglutinative, but it still produces extremely long words. That’s because German has a habit of compounding—it forms new terms by sticking smaller words together, especially for technical or specific concepts.

If a single word doesn’t already exist for something, German just builds one—no spaces needed. For example:

• Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän
  (“Danube steamship company captain”)

It looks intimidating, but it's really just a string of everyday words fused into one.

Fun Facts About The Longest Words In The World

Historical Anecdotes Related to the Longest Words

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

This word was coined in 1935 by the president of the National Puzzlers' League, Everett Smith, as a supposed medical term and has since become a symbol of linguistic curiosity.

Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphiparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon

This Greek word is a playful creation by the ancient playwright Aristophanes in his comedy “Assemblywomen,” reflecting the humor and satirical style of the time.

Record-Holding Long Words and Their Peculiarities

Longest English Word: "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" holds the record for the longest word in English, often cited for its length and complexity.

Longest Greek Word: The Greek word from Aristophanes’ play is notable for its sheer length and the way it combines various food items into a single, humorous term.

Longest Sanskrit Word: The Sanskrit term "Lopāditalavāmasatihobhūtasmaritisaṃārambhopaghātavyākhyānahetukaḥ" showcases the language’s ability to create lengthy and descriptive words, often used in ancient texts and religious scriptures.

Common Misconceptions About Long Words

• Overuse in Everyday Language: Long words are often thought to be used frequently in daily communication, but they are usually confined to specific contexts such as technical jargon or literary works.
• Intentionally Created Words: Some long words are intentionally created for record purposes or as linguistic curiosities, rather than being naturally occurring terms in everyday use.
• Practicality: There is a misconception that long words are impractical or unwieldy, whereas they often serve specific purposes in their respective fields, such as medicine or law, where precision is crucial.

Learn New Languages By Watching Through Lingopie

Long words might look intimidating, but they're usually just smaller pieces stuck together. Once you understand how languages build words (whether it's German compounding or Turkish suffixes) even the scariest vocabulary becomes manageable.

If you're curious about exploring these language patterns in action, Lingopie lets you learn through real TV shows and movies, where you'll naturally pick up how words actually work without memorizing impossible 58-stroke Chinese characters.

If this sounds fun to you, download Lingopie from the App Store or Play Store now and get a FREE 7-day trial!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the longest word in the world?

The longest word in the world is often considered to be a 171-letter Greek word from Aristophanes’ play, "Assemblywomen." It’s a fictional dish name and not used in daily conversation.

2. What are the 10 longest words in the world?

Here are some of the longest words across different languages:

1. Greek: Λοπδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολείψανοδρίμυπoτρίμματοσυλφιππαρόμυλητοκατεχυνόμενoκιχλεπικόσσηφοφαττοπεριστεράλεκτρυόνονπτεφαλλιοκιγκλοπλεϊλόλαγοςειραίοβαφητράγανονπτέρυγος (171 letters)
2. German: Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft (79 letters)
3. Turkish: Muvaffakiyetsizleştiricileştiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmişsinizcesine (70 letters)
4. Icelandic: Vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur (64 letters)
5. Finnish: Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas (61 letters)
6. Sanskrit: लोपादितलवामसतिहोभूतविस्मृतिसमारम्भोपघातव्याख्यानहेतुकः (52 letters)
7. Dutch: Kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamheden (49 letters)
8. Hungarian: Megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért (44 letters)
9. Thai: กรมพระอัษฎางค์ยุทธวิธำรงค์ประสิทธิ์ (35 characters)
10. Korean: 청자전시체취모세혈관검사 (24 characters)

3. What word has 190,000 letters?

There is no practical word with 190,000 letters. This length is often cited for the full chemical name of the protein Titin, which is an extensive, technical term used in chemistry but not in everyday language.

4. What is the 189,819 letter word?

The 189,819-letter word refers to the full chemical name of the protein Titin, which is used in scientific contexts to describe the protein’s structure. It’s an extremely lengthy term but not practical for general use.

5. What is longer than pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis?

Words longer than "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" include various technical or fictional terms such as the Greek word from Aristophanes’ play or the chemical names of complex proteins like Titin. These terms are often used in specialized contexts rather than everyday conversation.