Linguists Name the Most Beautiful Word in the World: What It Means
International experts and linguists have named "kaitiakitanga", a word from the Māori language, as the most beautiful word in the world. Originating from the culture of New Zealand's Indigenous people, the term means "the sacred duty and responsibility to care for and protect nature."
The study was conducted by an international educational platform, which analyzed 223 unique words from 75 languages. The panel of judges included linguists, writers, and cultural experts. The words were evaluated based on four key criteria: phonetic harmony, depth of meaning, rarity, and cultural significance.
The term "kaitiakitanga" was chosen as the winner because it has no direct equivalent in most of the world's languages and embodies one of the defining values of our time — caring for the environment for the benefit of future generations.
The top ten ranking of the world's most beautiful words also included:
• Ikigai (Japanese) — a sense of purpose and meaning in life;
• Kintsugi (Japanese) — the traditional art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer;
• Yakamoz (Turkish) — the silvery reflection of moonlight on the surface of water;
• Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan) — a meaningful shared glance between two people, each hoping the other will make the first move.
According to the project's authors, such unique words help people better understand the worldview and core values of different cultures.
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