MiCenter: foreigners have chosen the most beautiful Lithuanian word

The International Organization for Migration (IOM Lithuania) through its Migration Information Center MiCenter has concluded the poll for foreigners to choose the most beautiful word in the Lithuanian language. The word that received the most votes and was chosen as the most beautiful was močiutė (grandmother). A little over a quarter of the voters (25.4%) voted for this word. The second place went to ačiū (thank you) with 23.4%, and third place went to laisvė (freedom) with 20.3%.

"We are pleasantly surprised by the level of engagement from foreigners living in Lithuania. We received many suggestions and votes during the election. Moreover, the election was actively discussed by foreigners visiting MiCenter, as well as in the clubs and activities for foreigners that operate here. For those living in Lithuania, the Lithuanian language is beautiful, interesting, and they are sincerely learning it, especially those who work here and plan to build their future in the country," said Edita Urbanovič, the project manager of MiCenter.

The voting took place in two stages. In the first stage, MiCenter invited foreigners living in Lithuania to suggest their most beautiful Lithuanian words through an online form over the course of a week. Active participants submitted as many as 180 word suggestions. From the most frequently mentioned words, a final top ten list was compiled. It included: močiutė (grandmother), laisvė (freedom), meilė (love), saulė (sun), myliu (I love you), ačiū (thank you), labas (hello), šviesa (light), rankšluostis (towel), and šlapdriba (sleet). For the second week, foreigners were invited to vote online for a word from this list. Foreigners were even more active in this stage, with 296 votes cast.

The most active participants in the election were Ukrainians, Turks, Americans, Belarusians, Italians, and Spaniards. The suggestions reflected a lot of creativity and humor, with words like žinutkė (small message), alus (beer), bučkis (little kiss), žlibas (cross-eyed), and blaivininkas (teetotaler) among the entries—words that may not be preferred by linguists but are widely used in colloquial speech.

"If a man with the last name Vakaras (evening) marries, his wife would be Vakarienė (dinner) – how beautiful!" one voter mused.

"Among the suggestions, words starting with š and ž were frequent, such as širdelė (little heart), šermukšnis (rowan tree), šikšnosparnis (bat), šiurpuliai (shivers), šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup), žvaigždė (star), and žara (glow). Perhaps the sounds of these letters, which are distinctly pronounced in Lithuanian, sound particularly unique to foreign ears?" speculated E. Urbanovič.

MiCenter used an image of the Lithuanian writer Žemaitė for the final illustration.

“It was no coincidence that we chose writer Žemaitė in our visuals – her profile has become one of the symbols of Lithuanian identity. Many Lithuanians might imagine a typical scarf-wearing grandmother this way. But to us, Žemaitė represents a worldly figure, an example of a person seeking knowledge and new experiences. Many such people visit MiCenter as well," said E. Urbanovič.

According to the State Data Agency, more than 220,000 foreigners currently live in Lithuania, accounting for about 8% of the country's population.

“A new website, www.micenter.lt, has just been launched, where more information will be provided about living and integrating in Lithuania, as well as learning the Lithuanian language. With the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) deciding that foreigners providing direct services must learn at least the basic level of Lithuanian, it's important to ensure that those who want to study the language are informed about the opportunities to do so, not only at MiCenter but across the country”, said E. Urbanovič.

MiCenter provides services to foreigners settled in Lithuania, including consultations on integration issues, career guidance, and legal aid. It also organizes socio-cultural courses for newcomers, offers Lithuanian language learning opportunities, provides psychological support, and hosts integration events. You can contact them via a free telephone line at 0 800 22922.