An international jury has for the first time chosen the world's most beautiful word: the Maori term 'kaitiakitanga,' a concept describing humanity's connection to nature and responsibility for its future, reports the website infohub.kz.
The word comes from the Maori language, the indigenous people of New Zealand. It has no direct equivalent in English: 'kaitiakitanga' means not just caring for the environment but a profound duty of humans to be guardians of nature. According to the Maori worldview, people are not masters of the land and its resources. They are part of the natural world, entrusted with maintaining balance and passing it on to future generations.
The winner was determined by the language learning platform Babbel. The project team studied discussions on social media and language forums, after which an international jury of linguists and cultural experts selected the best option from among 223 words in more than 75 languages. The evaluation considered not only the beauty of sound and pronunciation but also the word's meaning, cultural value, and ability to reflect ideas important to people around the world.
Finalists included words with rich history and deep meaning: Portuguese 'Saudade' — a feeling of bittersweet longing for something dear and lost; Japanese 'Ikigai' — a reason for being; Welsh 'Hiraeth' — a longing for home or a lost place; Zulu 'Ubuntu' — the idea of humanity and interconnectedness; and Yiddish 'Luftmensch' — an image of a dreamy person living more by ideas than material possessions.