Three Identical Letters in a Row in 
  the German Spelling Reform 
 (Drei gleiche Buchstaben nacheinander in 
  der deutschen Rechtschreibreform) 

Before the reform, an identical letter could appear three times in a row only rarely (vorher gab es drei gleiche Buchstaben nur selten):

Stickstofffrei (free of nitrogen)

Sauerstoffflasche (bottle of oxygen)

Fetttropfen (drop of fat)

With the new rules, this occurs frequently (mit den neuen Regeln kommt das häufig vor):

Old/Alt New/Neu Meaning /Bedeutung
der See-Elefant der Seeelefant or/oder der See-Elefant elephant seal
die Stoffülle die Stofffülle or/oder die Stoff-Fülle wealth of material
die Hawaiinseln die Hawaiiinseln or/oder die Hawaii-Inseln Hawaiian Islands
stillegen stilllegen or/oder still-legen to close or shut down
die Stammutter die Stammmutter or/oder die Stamm-Mutter ancestress
die Brennessel die Brennnessel or/oder die Brenn-Nessel burning nettle
das Zooorchester das Zooorchester or/oder das Zoo-Orchester zoo orchester
das Kreppapier das Krepppapier or/oder das Krepp-Papier crepe paper
das Sperrad das Sperrrad or/oder das Sperr-Rad ratchet wheel
schußsicher schusssicher or/oder schuss-sicher bullet-proof
das Bettuch das Betttuch or/oder das Bett-Tuch sheet
die Schiffahrt die Schifffahrt or/oder die Schiff-Fahrt shipping
das Flußschiff das Flussschiff or/oder das Fluss-Schiff river boat
die Flußschiffahrt die Flussschifffahrt or/oder die Fluss-Schifffahrt river navigation, river traffic

Sources:

  1. Collins German Dictionary: Unabridged, (PONS-Großwörterbuch für Experten und Universität), 3rd Edition, 1997, Harper-Collins (Ernst Klett Verlag).
  2. Collins German Dictionary: Unabridged, 4th Edition, 1999.
  3. Duden Universal Wörterbuch, 1999.
  4. Wahrig: Deutsches Wörterbuch, 1968.
  5. On line German dictionary: http://quickdic.org/.

Notes:

  1. With the old rules, one could only have three identical letters in a row in case two words were put together with the first ending in two identical consonents and the second starting with the same consonent, followed by another consonent. Of all the words given here, only the words at the start and a few similar words meet this standard: Auspuffflamme, Balletttruppe, Balletttheater, Pappplakat, fetttriefend, Fetttropfen, Sauerstoffflasche, Stickstofffrei.
  2. The word lists at the end of references 1 and 2 give Flussschiffahrt or Fluss-Schiffahrt (page 1758). However the main entry in reference 2 lists Flussschifffahrt. Reference 3 also lists Flussschifffahrt. Thus I assume the word lists are in error.
  3. Refence 4 is a 1968 dictionary that includes Flußschiffahrt, so this is a word that has been in use for a long time.
  4. References 1, 2, and 5 give numerous examples of words with 3 identical letters in a row. Here are all the examples (well, most of them anyway):
  5. Numerous other words with three identical letters in a row, not in the dictionaries, will undoubtedly be constructed. See for example
  6. In spite of the reformers' intention to allow three identical letters when words are combined, they did not have the nerve to change dennoch to dennnoch or Drittel to Dritttel or Mittag to Mitttag. For example, Mittwoch (Wednesday, literally ``mid-week'') is a combination of Mitt (mid) and woch (week), and in the same way Mittag (Mid-day), as a combination of Mitt and tag (day), should be Mitttag. (One other explanation: "Diese Wörter werden nicht mehr als Zusammensetzungen angesehen.")
  7. Here is a recent email: comments.
  8. Until recently, I've never known of a word in English with three identical letters in a row. However, the new Wii video game has led to: `` "The variant in this patient can be labeled more specifically as 'Wiiitis,' " [Dr. Julio] Bonis, a family practice physician, wrote in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine.'' (CNN.com, June 6, 2007, "If it's not tennis elbow, it may be 'Wiiitis' ".)