Mamihlapinatapai

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Mamihlapinatapai (sometimes also mamihlapinatap e i) is a word from the Yaghan language , which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "most concise word". It is also considered to be one of the most difficult words to translate, but it can be paraphrased with the following phrase: "the exchange of a look between two people who each wish the other would initiate something that both desire, but neither is ready, to do".

The word is described in connection with the volunteer dilemma in the book Schere, Stein, Papier - Spieltheorie im everyday (in the English original: Rock, Paper, Scissors - Game theory in everyday life: strategies for co-operation ) by Len Fisher .

The word consists of the reflexive, passive prefix ma- (mam- before a vowel), the root ihlapi, which means "not knowing what to do next", the static suffix -n, the suffix -ata and the double suffix - apai, which in connection with the reflexive prefix mam- has a reciprocal meaning.