Every now and then I see a fascinating German word, like "schlupfst". That baby has a consonant-vowel ratio of 8:1! It means "slip". The first German who ever slipped probably shouted "Schlupfst!" as they hit the icy cobblestone.
Another nice one is pfluckst, weighing in with a 7:1 ratio. It means "pick", when the subject is a girl, boy, or thing. I am pretty sure I saw a long word on food packaging that had only two vowels for nine or ten consonants.
Now, since the German language will slap together adjectives that describe a noun into one word, you can get really long words, for example: "Zahlungsverpflichtung". That word was just lying around on my desk today, in a letter from the city utility provider. Crazy. Let me count it: 16:5!
It seems that the longest German word which is not made up just for fun is: Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitan. The Donau is a river, a dampfschiff is a steamship, a gesellschaft is a company, and a kapitan is, of course, a captain.
Another funny thing that the Germans do is issue Kindergeld. Child-money. A woman will receive 154 Euro per month for having a child, until the child is 18! There is additional money for additional children, and there is also money for the mother while she takes time off work. No home-schooling allowed either, so I guess that money goes for backpacks, pencils, and binders.
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