What is the longest word (verb conjugations included) you’ve seen actually used so far?

I just now stumbled upon 働かなければならなくなった while reading 坊ちゃん on tafoku sakura reader.

How about you?

8 comments
  1. Well, I see that as three words.

    働かなければ ならなく なった

  2. Just read 保護責任者遺棄致死容疑, but there are easily longer compound words….EDIT: like this I found today: 早稲田大学大学院先進理工学研究科修士課程2年(のXさん). Institution names and names of laws are the usual suspects.

  3. I wouldn’t really take verb modifications and particles into account because if you start doing that, then you may as well look at every single sentence of Japanese as one single word. If particles and various helper attachments all contribute to making a word, then the entire sentence qualifies because it’s all held together with particles and attachments. Unlike most languages, Japanese has no spaces to divide words, all we have are particles and attachments.

    As for actual nouns, there is technically no limit as to how long of a word you can make. You can effectively make indefinitely stacking compound nouns. As you can in most languages in fact.

    I can’t recall what’s the longest word I’ve seen used, but I do believe it had a good 7-8 Kanji in a row at least. But yeah, I’m sure way longer ones have been used.

  4. I post danganronpa often and they say 人類史上最大最悪の絶望的事件 every minute or so

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