Which language has the most words?

Counting the total number of words used in a language is complex. 

No standard defines what constitutes a unique entry. Comparisons are particularly difficult between alphabetic and non-alphabetic languages.

Dictionary size comparison

With European languages, dictionary size is a useful reference point. Although each is compiled differently, evidence suggests the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has the largest vocabulary. 

• The Second Edition of the OED was published in 1989. It has 20 volumes and defines over 600,000 words.
• The Swedish and German dictionaries have around 500,000 entries, but many of them are compounds. 
• A Russian language dictionary has around 160,000 words 
• A French edition has fewer than 150,000 words, but this is partly because of stricter rules about accepting foreign 'loanwords. 

What is a word? A surprisingly complex question