The longest word in Spanish? Here's the top 15 biggest doozies

If learning Spanish seems like a challenge, there’s no better way to put things into perspective than by learning some of the longest words in Spanish. 

Indeed, even if you suffer from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (the fear of long words!), getting accustomed to some of the longest words in Spanish will help you navigate the world of reasonably lengthy words much more adeptly. 

Once you’ve gone over our list of the 15 longest words in the Spanish language, any other word will seem like a piece of cake. Whether you’re a complete beginner or are already an intermediate Spanish speaker, getting acquainted with these words will ensure you don’t trip when you run into them in the wild. 

If you’re still struggling with your Spanish pronunciation, having a stab at these words is one way to let go of any fears or reservations you may have. Once you’ve said some of these hilariously long Spanish words out loud, you’ll scoff at some of the shorter words that may've previously bothered you! And don’t worry, we’re including both the IPA and a simple pronunciation guide to help you along the way!

Truthfully, you won’t be using many of these words regularly, unless you’re learning Spanish for medicine (sorry, doc!). So, don’t worry about memorizing each word. Just sit back, enjoy the ride, and perhaps have a good laugh as you try to say each of these words out loud!

What is the longest Spanish word? 

Colloquially, the longest Spanish word is hipopotomonstrosesquipedaliofobia, which is the fear of long words. As you can probably imagine, this word was designed to be extremely long as a tongue-in-cheek way to make fun of long words. Unfortunately, hipopotomonstrosesquipedaliofobia isn’t in the Spanish dictionary, so it doesn’t count as the longest Spanish word (officially), although it is one of the longest words in English! 

• Word: hipopotomonstrosesquipedaliofobia
• IPA: ipopotomonstɾoseskipeðaljoˈfoβja
• Pronunciation: e-po-po-toe-mons-troh-sehs-key-peh-dah-leo-phobia

What is the longest word in the Spanish language dictionary?

There are 93,111 words in the Real Academia Española (RAE) dictionary, and only one of them is the absolute longest word in Spanish. So, are you ready to find out what it is? Drum roll, please…

Electroencefalografista! 

Electroencefalografista meaning

In the simplest terms, an electroencefalografista is quite simply a person who performs electroencefalogramas. An electroencefalograma (electroencephalogram) is a test that records brain activity and is mainly used to detect medical conditions like epilepsy and seizures. 

How to pronounce the longest word in Spanish

We get it, we get it. Pronouncing the longest word in Spanish isn’t for the faint of heart. In fact, any native speaker would have some problems trying to pronounce this word! 

To make things easier, we’ve broken the word down into more manageable chunks:

To give you even more tools to tackle this monster of a letter, let’s break it down into syllables: e-lec-tro-en-ce-fa-lo-gra-fis-ta. Try pronouncing each syllable individually, and take your time working your way through all 10 of them!

Now, let’s put them all together!

• Word:electroencefalografista
• IPA: elektɾoenθefaloɣɾaˈfista
• Pronunciation: eh-lect-troh-ehn-seh-fah-lo-graph-ees-ta

15 of the longest words in Spanish 

Unfortunately so for hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobics, there are many long words in Spanish that rival electroencefalografista in both length and complexity. Here are the next 15 longest words for your perusal!

1. Esternocleidomastoideo

• Letters: 22
• Pronunciation: ess-tehr-no-cleh-e-doe-mas-troh-e-deh-oh
• IPA: esteɾnoklejðomastojˈðeo
• English translation: Sternocleidomastoid

2. Electroencefalografía 

• Letters: 21
• Pronunciation: eh-lec-troh-ehn-seh-fah-lo-grah-fee-ah
• IPA: elektɾoenθefaloɣɾaˈfia
• English translation: Electroencephalography

3. Otorrinolaringológico

• Letters: 21
• Pronunciation: oh-toe-ree-no-rah-ling-oh-lo-go
• IPA: otorinolaɾinɡoˈloxiko
• English translation: Otorhinolaryngological

4. Internacionalización

• Letters: 20
• Pronunciation: een-tehr-nah-see-oh-nah-lee-sah-see-ohn
• IPA: inteɾnaθjonaliθaˈθjon
• English translation: Internationalization

5. Electroencefalograma

• Letters: 20
• Pronunciation: eh-lec-troh-ehn-seh-fah-loh-gra-ma
• IPA: elektɾoenθefaloˈɣɾama
• English translation: Electroencephalogram

6. Otorrinolaringología

• Letters: 20
• Pronunciation: oh-toe-ree-no-rah-ling-oh-lo-he-ah
• IPA: otorinolaɾinɡoloˈxia
• English translation: Otorhinolaryngology

7. Electrocardiografía

• Letters: 19
• Pronunciation: eh-lec-troh-car-dee-oh-grah-ma
• IPA: elektɾokaɾðjoɣɾaˈfia
• English translation: Electrocardiography

8. Desafortunadamente

• Letters: 18
• Pronunciation: dess-ah-fore-too-nah-dah-mehn-teh
• IPA: desafoɾtunaðaˈmente
• English translation: Unfortunately

9. Anticonstitucional

• Letters: 18
• Pronunciation: ahn-tee-cons-tee-too-see-oh-nall
• IPA: antikonstituθjoˈnal
• English translation: Anticonstitutional

10. Desconsoladamente

• Letters: 17
• Pronunciation: dess-con-so-lah-dah-mehn-teh
• IPA: deskonsolaðaˈmente
• English translation: Disconsolately

11. Interculturalidad

• Letters: 17
• Pronunciation: een-tehr-cool-too-rah-lee-dad
• IPA: inteɾkultuɾaliˈðað
• English translation: Interculturality

12. Arteriosclerosis

• Letters: 16
• Pronunciation: are-teh-ree-ohs-cleh-roe-sees
• IPA: aɾteɾjoskleˈɾosis
• English translation: Arteriosclerosis

13. Electrodoméstico

• Letters: 16
• Pronunciation: eh-lec-troe-doh-mess-tee-coh
• IPA: elektɾoðoˈmestiko
• English translation: Home appliance

14. Inconstitucional

• Letters: 16
• Pronunciation: een-cons-tee-too-see-oh-nall
• IPA: inkonstituθjoˈnal
• English translation: Unconstitutional

15. Limpiaparabrisas

• Letters: 16
• Pronunciation: leem-pee-ah-pah-rah-bree-sahs
• IPA: limpjapaɾaˈβɾisas
• English translation: Windshield wiper

Longest words in Spanish video

We get it. It can be difficult to pronounce some of these gargantuan words when you don’t have a clear example to mimic. If you feel like you need a native Spanish speaker to show you how it’s done, check out the following video of the longest words in Spanish!

What is the longest word in Spanish? Fun facts 

If you’re just looking for fun facts to quench your thirst for knowledge of the Spanish language, you might be interested in some of the following words. Longest monosilabic word? Longest palindrome? We’ve got answers to all that, and more!

What is the longest one-syllable word in Spanish?

Spanish isn’t a language that lends itself to extremely long syllables, so the contenders for the longest monosyllabic words are all just 6 letters long. There are three words that are tied for being the longest one-syllable words in Spanish:

What is the longest Spanish word without vowels?

This one’s a trick question — there are no words in Spanish without vowels! Unless you count the conjunction y (and) as a word, in which case, that wins as the longest word without vowels in Spanish!

What is the longest palindrome word?

A palindrome is a word that can be read the same way forwards and backward. For example, the longest palindrome word in English is tattarrattat. See how it can be read the same way from right to left? 

So, what about Spanish? The longest palindrome word in Spanish is: reconocer (to recognize). 

Longest heterogram words in Spanish

A heterogram is a word that doesn’t use any one letter more than once. The longest heterogram in Spanish is hiperblanduzcos, which is the plural of hiperblanduzco. That is an adjective used to refer to something that is excessively white. 

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia no more!

We hope this article helped you get rid of your fear of big words — although perhaps it may have triggered it! Just kidding. No matter what, you’ve gotten through it, and you now know that you are so much stronger than any big words! Still itching for a bigger longer challenge? Check out our list of the hardest words to pronounce in Spanish, followed by the longest tongue twisters in Spanish!

Make sure to check out our Spanish blog if you enjoyed this post. We regularly publish fun new articles that will show you a different facet of Spanish learning, from our guide to asking questions in Spanish to how to wish someone good luck.