Geheimratsecken

The search for the most beautiful word in the German language is almost over.

Entries for a competition to unearth the most stunning example - organised by the German language council - have been flooding in.
More than 20,000 words, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, have been sent in by email and letter.

German, for example, has a word to describe that niggling melody you just cannot get out of your head - "Ohrwurm", literally "earworm".

"Eisenbahnknoten" is a "knot of rail-lines" or, in other words, a railway junction.


Lebenslust - zest for life
Erdbeermund - voluptuous lips
Teufelsbraten - rascal
Wolkenkuckucksheim - cloud cuckoo land
Glueck - happiness
Liebe - love
Mitgefuehl - compassion
Pusteblume - dandelion
Sehnsucht - longing
Vergissmeinnicht - forget-me-not