My most favourite English word today is 'sparkling'.

First of all, this word is 'wide', it's so-to-say spread upward (letters k,l) and downward (letter p).

Secondly, it's a very light word as 'the fire leaped and sparkled', 'the candlelight sparkled in the dark'.

Thirdly, it's a very rich word, as one can see 'the sparkle of diamonds'.

Then, it's a very merry word as 'we drink sparkling wine on holidays'.

Finally, it's a very romantic word as 'when moonlight sparkles the water' one can see 'pleasure sparkling her eyes'.

Do you like my favourite English word?

I dont have any favourite English words. Because I know few words :(

Actually, the number of words do not matter in this case)))
You might not think about it yet.

Some people have their favourite words because they like their meaning in Russian. For example, children like such words as 'milk' (they like to drink it and it's usually sweet), 'ice-cream' (who doesn't like ice-cream?!), boys like 'car' and 'football', girls like 'doll' and 'kitten' :)

It helps to know more words because it's very easy to remember the word you like :)
Try to have one favourite word each day) and you'll learn almost all the dictionary by heart ;D

good luck

I am always reminded that traditionally to non-native speakers of English, "cellar door" sounds the most beautiful. I suppose it sounds musical: it has two l's and two o's and is almost Italian or French sounding in its rolling/lilting quality!
I suppose my own favorite word is stellar: it has the two l's to give it a lilt and it means something bright and starlike in the heavens or something of great achievement such as a stellar performance by Milstein at the violin or Horowitz at the piano!

Yes, these combinations of 'st' and 'l-r' seem very attractive))
I also like 'stellar' as it seems to be very high due to 't' and double 'l', and besides its pleasant sound, the word looks beautiful graphically - it reminds me of a weird pyramid pointed upward.

Your question, eksena, seemed me to be strange a little bit. The matter is that I cannot say what English word my favorite one. I like all English words, which express love, friendship, good attitude to someone; I like English words, which elevate and inspire me or someone others.
I am not a great expert in English, and, maybe on this reason, I still have no favorite words.
All words seem equal for me. The main matter is to use them properly.

I am in a similar position as you are , Poseidon, should eksena ask for my favorite Russian word! I have learned only one Russian word since being on this site: bell-kolokol. It would be my favorite and my only Russian word!

Well, Rod! Let it be so!

I kinow borscht in English, Poseidon, is it actually a proper Russian word ?

This is not quite so, Rod. As this meal is more Ukrainian than Russian, so borstch is rather Ukrainian word and means cabbage soup with beet and tomato. The appropriate Russian meal is stchi - the same cabbage soup but not obligatory with beet and tomato.

Dear Poseidon, you can't even imagine how imporatant this question is for a beginner or even for an intermediate student. You might have heard of neurolinguistics which is actually a comparatively new branch of linguistics that deals with the relation between language and the function of the nervous system. Its achievements are widely used in marketting and advertising now. Why not to use them for the benefit of language students, then?
Everyone has his own personal perception of each word. In class we usually practise describing words regarding their size, pronunciation, graphic, meaning, origin, various associations etc. While doing this, the words imprint deep in heart and there's no possibility to forget them)) Moreover, while playing these game, the students learn not just seperate words but through the context (see my first post) so finaly, they know how to use the words correctly)).
There's also a question of styles;) I guess, you know fairly well what I'm talking about. This problem can easily be solved with this language activity.
So, I hope, you won't consider this discussion as an odd one any more)))

Excuse me, eksena, if my answer does not coinside with your expectation. I am probably too pachyderm person to feel all these nuances. But I agree, this quastion, or, to be more exact, these answers may be very interesting for scientists.

Nope, it's not the questions/answers I'm seeking here)) It's the answers the students find for themselves that really matter)))
You may try it for yourself - try to find a new word and learn it - it's really much easier to do it in the way I've described rather than to learn the words by heart as we used to do))
btw, how many words can you learn at a time? (I mean using old methodics)

I dunno. I had never thought of that.

My favorite English word is ''Masterpiece''. I like how it sounds.

I like this word too)) It looks like just a small piece of a great master ;)

The English language sounds almost like music to my ears, a person with a sensitive ear could distinguish between phonetic connotations of certain words. Some of them are more melodic, some are harsh, some aquire a sexy note. So the question is a really good one. I love combinations of S and C, for exapmle "encompass", or "promiscuous". Though it doesn't necessarily mean I try to use these words in every possible context)).

How interesting, Red_solar, to hear English described as sounding musical! That musical quality is the feeling I experience form hearing Italian, French and Spanish, in that order! I just assumed that languages closest to Latin sounded the most melodic! German , Dutch, Danish , Polish , Russian and English all sound somewhat harsh to my ears, in that order.

As for musical features of different languages I'd say it mostly depends on the timbre of the speaker and his accent. Lots of times I enjoyed marvelous German which sounded highly poetic. I like Polish with its lovely mixture of hissing and sonorous consonants, fricatives and vowels. Though both languages may sound very harsh as well.
As for French, it sounds like a dream or a dream of a dream. I can't imagine an ordinary human can produce such perfect sounds.
However, I'd place Greek on the top considering its musical structure.

Anyway, sound is not all that we have in a word, though it may be the most attractive detail. There are lots of minor details about the word one could hardly think of. For example, I'm in love with the word 'weird' )) as the combination of letters is not usual in English) so it's really a kind of enigma.

All I want in this discussion is to show various ways of getting acquainted with new vocabulary in a foreign language in the most amusing way.))

I like the word renaissance! I know it is taken directly from French and that may be why I love the smooth flowing and rolling sound of it! It means something that is reborn or relearned and that , in and of itself , is beautiful as well! It has five vowels and no tall letters..perhaps that appeals to me as well!

Thank you for sharing your favourite word. I like it too)). In fact I like words with letters neither up nor down)) They seem to be so natural)) I'm not sure about five vowels, though, as we get used to say the word with just three vowel sounds, nevertheless, the word is really very nice as it gives some hope))

Another word that I think has beautiful tonal quality to it is carillon: a carillon is a set of four or more bells sounding to produce music ; hence , its derivation from French quarregnon, through Middle English quarteryoun, from original Latin source quarternion - of or pertaining to four parts or things. Not only is the word musical, but what it means is all about bells and musical sound.

I have a lot of favorite words ... because the English at the 2 nd place among 10 international languages. And in this all the words, in principle, easy to remember, without any can not not anywhere else:)

I wonder which language is at the first place then?

I think Chinese is on the first place. Really you don't know that Chinese population is about 1.5 billions men? So, Chinese-speaking people go on the first place.

I am just reading "The Story of English" by Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. They make the point that although more people actually speak Chinese than any other language, the worldwide distribution of English language speaking is many times more extensive and its importance in law, commerce , education , science , medicine and the Internet has no equal! They also point out that English has 1,000,000 words in its lexicon, while German has 200,000 and French only 100,000.
" The English language is the sea which receives tributaries from every region under heaven " , according to Ralph Waldo Emerson!

Thanks for new 'numbers'. Couple of years before they were - more than 450,000; 180,000 & 85,000 correspondingly.

My favourite word is: because i don't know why....just like it=)

We all tend to explain everything, so the word is very useful ;)

My most favourite word: reliable. I realy like meaning

Yes, and the it sounds very reliable - with 'rail', 'lay' and 'lie' all together ;)

sweet itis really sweet world

:D) - Just imagine the way you smile while you say this word)), I like it, too :D

My favourite english word is 'success'. I realy don`t know why... Maybe I want to be successful:))

Such a prominent word and also straightforward, with double C and double S one must really be a success :)