mamihlapinatapai

noun

A situation in which all participants want something to be done, but none want to do it.

Scrabble 27
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmamihlapinatapai (uncountable)
  1. uncountableA situation in which all participants want something to be done, but none want to do it.

    As two people stand at a doorway each gesturing 'After you', that is mamihlapinatapai.

    2012, Mark Forsyth, The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt through the Lost Words of the English language
    4 more examples

    By contrast, if that same face looks away from us, the activity in this area diminishes, lire heightened dopamine activity is not rooted in the attractiveness of the gazer per se, but in the potential for interaction signaled by eye contact, mamihlapinatapei.

    2008, Jennifer Ackerman, Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body

    The Volunteer's Dilemma, or mamihlapinatapai, is a game of Chicken with many participants.

    2008, Len Fisher, Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life, page 77

    We knew of this, the secret language grew between my yearning, between her submission, temporary and fleeting, only to be caught again. And there was that word; Mamihlapinatapai

    2013, V. S. Atbay, Epiphany - A Collection of Poems

    Mamihlapinatapai. A naming word. It meant the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.

    2013, Koren Zailckas, Mother, Mother: A Novel

Origin

From a Yámana word mamihlapinatapai, which The Guinness Book of Records listed as the "most succinct word," defining it as "looking at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which both parties desire but are unwilling to do." The word is a regularly-derived form of the verb ihlvpi /iɬəpi/, meaning "to feel awkward" or "to be at a loss for what to do": ma[m]- refl/recp + ihlvpi + :n[a]- stative + -at[a]- caus + -a:pai du. Its literal meaning is therefore roughly "to make each other both feel awkward".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mamihlapinatapai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mamihlapinatapai

MLA

“mamihlapinatapai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mamihlapinatapai. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mamihlapinatapai,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mamihlapinatapai.

Source: mamihlapinatapai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.