Can you guess the most beautiful word in the English language?

由James

HINT: It’s not “chocolate” or “coffee”.

English is not well known for being a romantic sounding language, like say, French or Italian.  It is however, the most recognized on the planet.

In 2004, the British Council set out to show that there is some beauty in the language with 70 of the most beautiful English words.  Over 40,000 people in 102 non-English speaking countries rated their favourite words of the English language.  The survey takers may have chosen words that sounded nice, words that have positive meaning, or some combination of the two.

Mother, passion, smile, love and eternity were their top five choices.

  1. Mother
  2. Passion
  3. Smile
  4. Love
  5. Eternity
  6. Fantastic
  7. Destiny
  8. Freedom
  9. Liberty
  10. Tranquility
  11. Peace
  12. Blossom
  13. Sunshine
  14. Sweetheart
  15. Gorgeous
  16. Cherish
  17. Enthusiasm
  18. Hope
  19. Grace
  20. Rainbow
  21. Blue
  22. Sunflower
  23. Twinkle
  24. Serendipity
  25. Bliss
  26. Lullaby
  27. Sophisticated
  28. Renaissance
  29. Cute
  30. Cozy
  31. Butterfly
  32. Galaxy
  33. Hilarious
  34. Moment
  35. Extravaganza
  36. Aqua
  37. Sentiment
  38. Cosmopolitan
  39. Bubble
  40. Pumpkin
  41. Banana
  42. Lollipop
  43. If
  44. Bumblebee
  45. Giggle
  46. Paradox
  47. Delicacy
  48. Peekaboo
  49. Umbrella
  50. Kangaroo
  51. Flabbergasted
  52. Hippopotamus
  53. Gothic
  54. Coconut
  55. Smashing
  56. Whoops
  57. Tickle
  58. Loquacious
  59. Flip-flop
  60. Smithereens
  61. Oil
  62. Gazebo
  63. Hiccup
  64. Hodgepodge
  65. Shipshape
  66. Explosion
  67. Fuselage
  68. Zing
  69. Gum
  70. Hen night

While mother was voted the most beautiful word in the English language, it’s interesting that father did not make the list at all…