Most Popular Favorite Words
To help you further in finding more favorite words for your list, I’ll provide you with various research and studies on most favorite words including my own research.
A survey in Japan conducted by professor Takeshi Sato of Hitotsubashi University, which was financed by Japan’s Information and Cultural Research Society, surveyed a cross-section of Japanese society and revealed that Japan’s most favorite word is “EFFORT” and current top ten words are:
- Effort
- Sincerity
- Freedom
- Peace
- Love
- Thoughtfulness
- Trust
- Thanks
- Health
- Dreams
The words, according to Sato, seem to reflect a changing national work-ethic. Words like freedom appeared for the first time, which may indicate that workers are starting to chafe at the structure of Japan’s corporate society. Also, differences in answers between young people and older people show a distinctive shift in values and beliefs. People in their twenties ranked “freedom” as the top word, while those who were forty or older ranked “effort” on top with “freedom” far behind. The word “health” also appeared for the first time in Sato’s research and reflects a growing concern held by the aging portion of the population.
As an experiment, Michael Michalko, the author of “Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques” (Publisher: Ten Speed Press, 2006), decided to mimic the Japanese survey. In a period of two years, he asked friends, family, acquaintances, business associates and participants in his seminars and think tanks to freely list, in order of importance, their top ten favorite words that in some way represented their life. 150 people participated. “PEACE” was chosen to be at the top. Here is the result which represents the average of their responses:
- Peace
- Equality
- Security
- Prosperity
- Love
- Fun
- Compensation
- Acknowledgement
- Freedom
- Health
An administrator of a nursing home conducted a similar survey of fifty patients and the following list reflects the average of their top ten word responses, where “GOD” tops it all:
- God
- Faith
- Family
- Health
- Friends
- Thanks
- Giving
- Honesty
- Independence
- Sharing
A group of professional salespeople were asked to list their favorite words that describe their current values and beliefs about selling. The word “CUSTOMER” turned out to be most important. Here is the list, in order of importance, that the group agreed best typified their consensus:
- Customer
- Service
- Freedom
- Independent
- Problem-solving
- Dedication
- Knowledgeable
- Integrity
- Skills
- Motivation
In 1970, Yale University did a study of the most persuasive words in the English language. They claim that the most persuasive word is “YOU”:
- You
- Money
- Save
- New
- Result
- Health
- Easy
- Safety
- Love
- Discovery
- Proven
- Guaranteed
Surveying more than 7,000 English speakers in 46 countries, the British Council decided on “MOTHER” — an unglamorous word, yet one that conveys comfort and the deepness of human relationships. Some 35,000 other people registered their favorites in an online poll run in the non-English speaking countries where the council operates, so here are the top seventy chosen words:
- Mother
- Passion
- Smile
- Love
- Eternity
- Fantastic
- Destiny
- Freedom
- Liberty
- Tranquillity
- Peace
- Blossom
- Sunshine
- Sweetheart
- Gorgeous
- Cherish
- Enthusiasm
- Hope
- Grace
- Rainbow
- Blue
- Sunflower
- Twinkle
- Serendipity
- Bliss
- Lullaby
- Sophisticated
- Renaissance
- Cute
- Cosy
- Butterfly
- Galaxy
- Hilarious
- Moment
- Extravaganza
- Aqua
- Sentiment
- Cosmopolitan
- Bubble
- Pumpkin
- Banana
- Lollipop
- If
- Bumblebee
- Giggle
- Paradox
- Delicacy
- Peekaboo
- Umbrella
- Kangaroo
- Flabbergasted
- Hippopotamus
- Gothic
- Coconut
- Smashing
- Whoops
- Tickle
- Loquacious
- Flip-flop
- Smithereens
- Oi
- Gazebo
- Hiccup
- Hodgepodge
- Shipshape
- Explosion
- Fuselage
- Zing
- Gum
- Hen night
American Heritage Word Frequency Book by John B. Carroll reports these most popular words:
- the
- of
- and
- a
- to
- in
- is
- you
- that
- it
- he
- for
- was
- on
- are
- as
- with
- his
- they
- at
- be
- this
- from
- I
- have
- or
- by
- one
- had
- not
- but
- what
- all
- were
- when
- we
- there
- can
- an
- your
- which
- their
- said
- if
- do
- will
- each
- about
- how
- up
- out
- them
- then
- she
- many
- some
- so
- these
- would
- other
- into
- has
- more
- her
- two
- like
- him
- see
- time
- could
- no
- make
- than
- first
- been
- its
- who
- now
- people
- my
- made
- over
- did
- down
- only
- way
- find
- use
- may
- water
- long
- little
- very
- after
- words
- called
- just
- where
- most
- know
Here are the most popular words by the Guinness Book of World Records:
- the
- of
- and
- to
- a
- in
- that
- is
- I
- it
- for
- as
Frequency Analysis of English Vocabulary and Grammar based on the LOB Corpus by Stig Johansson and Knut Hofland:
- the
- of
- and
- to
- a
- in
- that
- is
- was
- it
- for
- he
- as
- with
- be
- on
- I
- his
Most popular words in the works of William Shakespeare:
- the
- and
- I
- to
- of
- a
- you
- my
- that
- in
- is
- not
- with
- as
- for
- it
- me
- his
- be
- he
And finally, here is a top one hundred most popular favorite words from the first two thousand members of FavoriteWords.com:
(Third column shows how many members have it in their list of favorite words among 2300 members)
- Love 317
- Music 96
- Family 82
- Happy 75
- Life 70
- Peace 70
- Nature 58
- Happiness 57
- Freedom 56
- Fun 55
- God 49
- Beautiful 48
- Awesome 47
- Travel 47
- Serendipity 47
- Passion 43
- Smile 41
- Art 39
- Books 38
- Hope 38
- Money 36
- Beauty 35
- Friends 34
- Creativity 32
- Joy 32
- Writing 31
- Lovely 29
- Rain 28
- Chocolate 28
- Friend 28
- Home 27
- Amazing 27
- Water 27
- Food 27
- Sex 27
- Dream 26
- Trust 25
- Success 25
- Coffee 25
- Sweet 25
- Inspiration 24
- Design 24
- Nice 24
- Creative 24
- Sky 23
- Knowledge 23
- Cool 23
- Truth 22
- Marketing 22
- Light 22
- Business 21
- Gratitude 21
- Faith 21
- Sun 21
- Dog 21
- Adventure 21
- Words 20
- Snow 20
- Dance 20
- Social Media20
- Cat 20
- Friendship 19
- Education 19
- Wisdom 19
- Laughter 19
- Heart 19
- Reading 19
- Ocean 18
- Power 18
- Imagination 18
- Compassion 18
- Dreams 18
- Universe 18
- Serenity 18
- Beach 18
- Soul 18
- Petrichor 18
- Health 17
- Movies 17
- Respect 17
- Science 17
- History 17
- Jesus 17
- Kindness 17
- Funny 17
- Courage 17
- Work 17
- Technology 17
- Grace 17
- Space 16
- Sunset 16
- Integrity 16
- Wanderlust 16
- Energy 15
- Wow 15
- Children 15
- Sleep 15
- Book 15
- Future 15
- Sea 15
All of the above most popular favorite words can be included in your list.
Other Appendices:
Appendix I: Some of My Favorite Words with Thoughts
Appendix III: Three Most Favorite Words Research
Appendix IV: A List of Positive Words
Appendix V: Interesting Word Facts and Word Stats
Appendix VI: Favorite Words of Celebrities
Appendix VII: Favorite Word Quotes
Recent Comments