German orthography
Compound words, including nouns, are written together, e.g. "Haustür" (Haus+Tür; house door), "Tischlampe" (Tisch+Lampe; table lamp), "Kaltwasserhahn" (Kalt+Wasser+Hahn; cold water tap/faucet). This can lead to long words: the longest word in regular use, "Rechtsschutzversicherungsgesellschaften" ("legal protection insurance companies"), consists of 39 letters; while the longest German word ever published ("Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft", "Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services") has 79 letters.
List of placeholder names by language
German also sports a variety of placeholders; some, as in English, contain the element "Dings", "Dingens" (also "Dingenskirchen"), "Dingsda", "Dingsbums", cognate with English "thing". Also, "Kram", "Krimskrams", "Krempel" suggests a random heap of small items, e.g. an unsorted drawful of memorabilia or souvenirs. "Apparillo" (from "Apparat") may be used for any kind of machinery or technical equipment. In a slightly higher register, "Gerät" represents a miscellaneous artifact or utensil, or, in casual German, may also refer to an item of remarkable size. The use of the word "Teil" (part) is a relatively recent placeholder in German that has gained great popularity since the late 1980s. Initially a very generic term, it has acquired a specific meaning in certain contexts. "Zeug" or "Zeugs" (compare "Dings", can be loosely translated as 'stuff') usually refers to either a heap of random items that is a nuisance to the speaker, or an uncountable substance or material, often a drug. Finally, "Sache", as a placeholder, loosely corresponding to Latin "res", describes an event or a condition. A generic term used especially when the speaker cannot think of the exact name or number, also used in enumerations analogously to "et cetera", is the colloquial "schlag-mich-tot" or "schieß-mich-tot" (literally "strike/shoot me dead", to indicate that the speaker's memory fails him/her).