Komposita (compound nouns)

After Mr Oulton's assembly we all know that the Germans are incredibly efficient. And so is their language. Have you ever noticed that German novels are much thinner than their English equivalent? And here is the reason why:
Somewhere in the course of your German studies you will have stumbled across one of the typically long, German words which are referred to as compound nouns. By stringing a number of nouns together, you can create a completely new (and usuallly very long) word.

Here are some examples:

Fussbodenschleifmaschinenverleih

Fussboden: Fuss + Boden (foot + ground) + Schleifmaschine: Schleif + Maschine (polish + machine) + Verleih (rental)
= a place where you can rent floor polishing machines

Fahrtreppenbenutzungshinweise

Fahrtreppen: Fahr + Treppen (ride + stairs) + Benutzung:  (usage) + Hinweise: (directions)
= directions on how to use an escalator




So as you can see, compound nouns are the perfect example of German efficieny. Instead of using long phrases to explain a concept, they'll just make up a word to explain the phenomenon - how efficient! But also - how creative! Read the links attached if you want to find out more about German compound nouns and how much fun it can be to play around with words!
And whilst you're at it, why not try mixing together some words yourself to create completely new words of your own! Post your compound nouns here, the 5 best will be displayed and rewarded!

Find inspiration here:
 
Guardian article about compound nouns

Dartmouth blog about compound nouns