# Automatic Hyphenation for Long-Word Languages

> Turns on the browser's built-in hyphenation for post content in languages with long compound words, such as German, Dutch and Finnish, so narrow columns on phones stop showing large gaps.

- Type: CSS
- Runs: Site-wide header
- Category: [Multilingual](https://wpide.com/library/category/multilingual/)
- Tags: hyphenation, typography, css
- Author: WPIDE Team
- Installs: 0
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Page: https://wpide.com/library/i18n-hyphenation-by-language/

## Code

```css
:lang(de) .entry-content p,
:lang(nl) .entry-content p,
:lang(fi) .entry-content p,
:lang(sv) .entry-content p,
:lang(da) .entry-content p,
:lang(nb) .entry-content p,
:lang(hu) .entry-content p,
:lang(de) .wp-block-post-content p,
:lang(nl) .wp-block-post-content p,
:lang(fi) .wp-block-post-content p {
    -webkit-hyphens: auto;
    hyphens: auto;
    hyphenate-limit-chars: 8 3 3;
    overflow-wrap: break-word;
}
```

## Notes

Hyphenation follows the page's lang attribute, so make sure it is set correctly. Headings are left alone.

## How to use it

Install the free WPIDE plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpide/), find "Automatic Hyphenation for Long-Word Languages" in its snippet library and add it in one click; or create a new CSS snippet in WPIDE (or any code snippets plugin) and paste the code above. More snippets: https://wpide.com/library/