Ugly in Different Languages
Discover 'Ugly' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'ugly' is a common English term used to describe something that is unpleasant to look at or find unattractive. However, the concept of ugliness is not universal and can vary greatly across different cultures and time periods. In fact, what one culture considers ugly, another might find beautiful or intriguing. This makes the translation of 'ugly' in different languages a fascinating exploration of cultural differences and perspectives.
Throughout history, the concept of ugliness has been explored in art, literature, and philosophy. In ancient Greece, for example, ugliness was often associated with evil and moral corruption. However, in more modern times, ugliness has been reclaimed as a form of beauty, with many artists and designers embracing imperfections and flaws as a source of creativity and innovation.
So why might someone want to know the translation of 'ugly' in different languages? For one, it can help us better understand and appreciate the diversity of human experiences and perspectives. Additionally, it can be a fun and interesting way to learn about new cultures and languages. Below, you'll find a list of translations of 'ugly' in various languages, from Spanish and French to Mandarin and Arabic.
Ugly
Ugly in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | lelik | ||
| Lelik is derived from Proto-West Germanic *lailitjaz, meaning 'loathsome, hateful' | |||
| Amharic | አስቀያሚ | ||
| The Amharic word "አስቀያሚ" can also mean "repulsive" or "disgusting" | |||
| Hausa | mara kyau | ||
| In Hausa, the term "mara kyau" carries an additional connotation of "poorly crafted" or "lacking in beauty and elegance" | |||
| Igbo | jọrọ njọ | ||
| Malagasy | ratsy tarehy | ||
| The Malagasy word ratsy tarehy has a literal meaning of 'ugly-faced', reflecting the importance of physical appearance in the Malagasy culture. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | zoyipa | ||
| The word 'zoyipa' can also mean 'bad' or 'evil' in Nyanja. | |||
| Shona | zvakashata | ||
| Possibly derives from 'zvaka' which means to 'rub' or to 'scrape', alluding to scratching or scraping off something unwanted. | |||
| Somali | fool xun | ||
| The Somali word "fool xun" translates to "ugly" but originally meant "one with a wide nose". | |||
| Sesotho | hampe | ||
| The Sesotho word "hampe" also means "dark" or "cloudy". | |||
| Swahili | mbaya | ||
| The word "mbaya" in Swahili can also mean "bad" or "evil" in a moral sense. | |||
| Xhosa | mbi | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'mbi' is also used figuratively to describe something that is unpleasant or worthless. | |||
| Yoruba | ilosiwaju | ||
| The Yoruba word "ilosiwaju" can also mean "disgrace" or "shame". | |||
| Zulu | kubi | ||
| The word "kubi" can also mean "difficult" or "troublesome" in Zulu. | |||
| Bambara | cɛjugu | ||
| Ewe | vlo | ||
| Kinyarwanda | mubi | ||
| Lingala | mabe | ||
| Luganda | -bi | ||
| Sepedi | befile | ||
| Twi (Akan) | tan | ||
Ugly in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | البشع | ||
| The word 'البشع' ('ugly') in Arabic is derived from the root 'ب-ش-ع', which also means 'to be deformed' or 'to be repulsive'. | |||
| Hebrew | מְכוֹעָר | ||
| It shares a root with the verb כָּעַר, which means 'to be angry', implying that something that is ugly provokes a negative emotional reaction. | |||
| Pashto | بدرنګه | ||
| The Pashto word "بدرنګه" (badranga) is derived from the Persian word "بد رنگ" (badrang), meaning "bad color" or "ugly." | |||
| Arabic | البشع | ||
| The word 'البشع' ('ugly') in Arabic is derived from the root 'ب-ش-ع', which also means 'to be deformed' or 'to be repulsive'. | |||
Ugly in Western European Languages
| Albanian | i shëmtuar | ||
| "I shëmtuar" is the Albanian word for "ugly," but it can also mean "disfigured" or "deformed." | |||
| Basque | itsusia | ||
| "Itsusia" is sometimes used to refer to something small or insignificant, or to something that is not quite right. | |||
| Catalan | lletja | ||
| In Catalan, "lletja" can also refer to a poorly made object, task, or piece of music. | |||
| Croatian | ružan | ||
| The Croatian word "ružan" also means "pink" in some Slavic languages, likely stemming from the Proto-Slavic word for "flower". | |||
| Danish | grim | ||
| The Danish adjective "grim" has its roots in the Old Norse word "grima," meaning "mask" or "helmet," and can also refer to "terror" or "anger". | |||
| Dutch | lelijk | ||
| The word "lelijk" is derived from the Old Dutch word "lilic", which means "corpse-like". | |||
| English | ugly | ||
| The word "ugly" derives from the Old Norse "uggla," meaning "fear" or "terror." | |||
| French | laid | ||
| "Laid" derives from the Medieval Latin word "laidus", meaning "loathsome", which in turn derives from the Greek word "leprodes", meaning "leprous". | |||
| Frisian | ûnsjoch | ||
| The Frisian word "ûnsjoch" is thought to be derived from the Old Frisian words "un," meaning "not," and "schoech," meaning "fair". | |||
| Galician | feo | ||
| The word "feo" in Galician can also mean "bad", "evil", or "nasty". | |||
| German | hässlich | ||
| 'Hässlich' is derived from 'hass' (hatred) and originally meant 'hated' or 'disagreeable' rather than unattractive. | |||
| Icelandic | ljótur | ||
| "Ljót" in some Germanic languages also means "dear", and "ljótur" in Icelandic can be used in that sense as well. | |||
| Irish | gránna | ||
| In Irish mythology, 'gránna' primarily refers to a mythological creature associated with ugliness or fear, rather than its modern meaning of 'ugly'. | |||
| Italian | brutto | ||
| The Italian word "brutto" has cognates in other Romance languages, such as the French "brut" and the Spanish "bruto", all deriving from the Latin "brutus", meaning "heavy" or "dull." | |||
| Luxembourgish | ellen | ||
| The Luxembourgish word "ellen" also means "evil", "bad" or "unpleasant". | |||
| Maltese | ikrah | ||
| The word "ikrah" is derived from the Arabic word "karaha" which means "to dislike" or "to hate". It can also be used to describe something that is unpleasant or distasteful. | |||
| Norwegian | stygg | ||
| The Norwegian word “stygg” comes from Old Norse “styggr” meaning “disgusting” rather than its current meaning of “ugly”. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | feio | ||
| The word "feio" in Portuguese can also mean "bad" or "evil". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | grànda | ||
| Grànda can also refer to a 'rough or coarse' surface or texture, or to a 'large' or 'immense' thing. | |||
| Spanish | feo | ||
| The word "feo" in Spanish comes from the Latin word "fetus", meaning "offspring" or "young one", and originally referred to the appearance of a newborn baby. | |||
| Swedish | ful | ||
| In Swedish, "ful" can also mean "drunk" or "rotten". | |||
| Welsh | hyll | ||
| Hyll can refer to a specific part of the anatomy in Welsh and also means “disfigured” | |||
Ugly in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | непрыгожа | ||
| The word "непрыгожа" is derived from the Old Belarusian "непригож", which means "not pleasant to look at". | |||
| Bosnian | ružno | ||
| In Serbian, ružno can also mean "disorderly" or "messy". | |||
| Bulgarian | грозен | ||
| The word "грозен" comes from the Indo-European root "ghre" and is cognate with the English "grim" and the German "greulich." | |||
| Czech | škaredý | ||
| The word "škaredý" originally meant "miserly" or "stingy" in Old Czech. | |||
| Estonian | kole | ||
| The word "kole" is thought to be derived from the Proto-Uralic word *kola, meaning "fish; fish bone". It is also found in other Uralic languages, such as Finnish and Hungarian, where it means "fish bone" and "scab" respectively. | |||
| Finnish | ruma | ||
| Hungarian | csúnya | ||
| The Hungarian word "csúnya" also means "dirty" but originally meant "strange" or "foreign". | |||
| Latvian | neglīts | ||
| Latvian word "neglīts" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "ghel" or "ghelh-" which meant yellow or bright, so originally "neglīts" meant something bright, standing out. | |||
| Lithuanian | negražu | ||
| The word "negražu" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*neg-", meaning "to deny" or "to refuse". | |||
| Macedonian | грд | ||
| The word "грд" is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective *gъrdъ, which meant "proud", "arrogant" or "haughty". | |||
| Polish | brzydki | ||
| Brzydki ('ugly') is an adjective derived from the verb 'brzydzić' ('to disgust'), which itself comes from the Proto-Slavic '*brьždьti' ('to be unpleasant'). | |||
| Romanian | urât | ||
| The Romanian word "urât" has cognates with the English word "horrid" and the Latin word "horridus", all deriving from the same Proto-Indo-European root meaning "rough" or "bristly". | |||
| Russian | уродливый | ||
| The Russian word "уродливый" can also mean "monstrous" or "abnormal" in the sense of deviating from the norm or expected. | |||
| Serbian | ружно | ||
| "Ружно" means "bad" in Serbian, but it also has the alternate meaning of "unfortunate" or "bad luck". | |||
| Slovak | škaredý | ||
| "Škaredý" is most likely derived from Old Church Slavonic "škьrd" via Czech, while another Slavic root "škurd" may be related to "škubat" (to pluck). It is unrelated to "škorúpok" (shell, crust). | |||
| Slovenian | grdo | ||
| The word "grdo" in Slovenian also means "bad" or "not good". | |||
| Ukrainian | потворний | ||
| The word "потворний" in Ukrainian also means "malicious" or "malevolent". | |||
Ugly in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | কুৎসিত | ||
| The word 'কুৎসিত' in Bengali is derived from the Sanskrit word 'कुत्सित' meaning 'blameworthy' or 'faulty'. | |||
| Gujarati | નીચ | ||
| The word "નીચ" in Gujarati is cognate with the word "नीच" in Hindi, which is derived from the Sanskrit word "नीच" meaning "low" or "inferior". | |||
| Hindi | कुरूप | ||
| The word "कुरूप" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कुरु" meaning "bad" and "रूप" meaning "form". | |||
| Kannada | ಕೊಳಕು | ||
| ಕೊಳಕು also means "dirty" and comes from the Prakrit word "kudda". | |||
| Malayalam | വൃത്തികെട്ട | ||
| Marathi | कुरुप | ||
| The word "कुरुप" in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word "कुरूप" (kurūpa), which means "bad-looking" or "deformed". | |||
| Nepali | कुरूप | ||
| The word "कुरूप" in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word "कुरूप" meaning "deformed" or "disfigured". | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਦਸੂਰਤ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | කැතයි | ||
| කැතයි (kaththay) can also be used to describe something worthless, undesirable or shameful. | |||
| Tamil | அசிங்கமான | ||
| The Tamil word "அசிங்கமான" is derived from the Sanskrit word "अशिवमंगलम्". The term refers to something that is inauspicious or unlucky. | |||
| Telugu | అందములేని | ||
| The Telugu word 'అందములేని' (ugly) derives from the Sanskrit word 'अन्दर' (within) and 'मुल्' (to cover or bind), suggesting something concealed or hidden from view. | |||
| Urdu | بدصورت | ||
| The word "بدصورت" is derived from the Persian word "بد ساخت" meaning "badly made". | |||
Ugly in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 丑陋 | ||
| 丑陋 originally meant 'unclean' and was later extended to mean 'vulgar' and then 'ugly'. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 醜陋 | ||
| It’s also the Chinese name for the Chinese alligator, a critically endangered reptile native to the Yangtze Basin and a cultural symbol of China's Jiangsu Province, where the alligator is popularly known as the "Jiangsu Ugly Duckling." | |||
| Japanese | 醜い | ||
| "醜い" is made up of "シ" (death) and "醜" (bad), and can also mean "inauspicious". | |||
| Korean | 추한 | ||
| 추한 (ch'uhan) also means "unfortunate," which is the root of the term 추하 (ch'uha) or "misfortune." | |||
| Mongolian | муухай | ||
| In addition to meaning "ugly," "муухай" can also mean "evil," "bad," "unlucky," "unpleasant," or "inferior." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရုပ်ဆိုးသော | ||
Ugly in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | jelek | ||
| In Old Javanese, the word "jelek" originally meant "rotten" or "spoiled". | |||
| Javanese | elek | ||
| "Elek" is the opposite of "ay", can be used for people, things, and actions, and is sometimes even used to describe the taste of food. | |||
| Khmer | អាក្រក់ | ||
| In Khmer, the word "អាក្រក់" can also refer to something that is "bad" or "evil." | |||
| Lao | ບໍ່ດີ | ||
| The word "ບໍ່ດີ" in Lao has a double meaning, referring both to physical appearance and moral character. | |||
| Malay | hodoh | ||
| The origin of the Malay word "hodoh" is unclear and it is also used in the Malay language as a verb, meaning "to become ugly". | |||
| Thai | น่าเกลียด | ||
| The word "น่าเกลียด" in Thai can also mean "disgusting" or "contemptible". | |||
| Vietnamese | xấu xí | ||
| The word "xấu xí" in Vietnamese originated from the Chinese phrase " xấu xí ", which means "evil and ugly". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangit | ||
Ugly in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | çirkin | ||
| The etymology of "çirkin" is thought to be from the Proto-Turkic word "çir" meaning "ugly" or "bad". | |||
| Kazakh | шіркін | ||
| The word "шіркін" (ugly) in Kazakh is possibly derived from the word "шер" (wild, untamed) or "шіру" (rough, coarse). | |||
| Kyrgyz | чиркин | ||
| The word "чиркин" derives from the Old Turkic "çir" meaning "decayed" or "rotten". | |||
| Tajik | зишт | ||
| The word "зишт" derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root as "disgusting" and "stench". | |||
| Turkmen | nejis | ||
| Uzbek | xunuk | ||
| The word "xunuk" can also be used in a humorous context to describe something that is intentionally or playfully ugly. | |||
| Uyghur | سەت | ||
Ugly in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻinoʻino | ||
| ʻinoʻino is also used to refer to a person suffering from an illness. | |||
| Maori | kino | ||
| Maori word 'kino' can also refer to something that is bad or evil. | |||
| Samoan | auleaga | ||
| In Samoan, the word "auleaga" derives from "aul" meaning "to be in a disagreeable state". Alternatively, "leaga" denotes "bad, unpleasant, or inferior" in Samoan's Polynesian root. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | pangit | ||
| The Tagalog word "pangit" ultimately derives from the Malay "pangat"," meaning "to be inferior, base or despicable." | |||
Ugly in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | phiru | ||
| Guarani | ivai | ||
Ugly in International Languages
| Esperanto | malbela | ||
| Malbela is formed after the words "mala" (bad) and "bela" (beautiful), and it has the meaning of "badly beautiful", or "grotesque". | |||
| Latin | deformem | ||
| The Latin word "deformem" can also mean "unsightly, misshapen, hideous, deformed, monstrous, or disfigured." | |||
Ugly in Others Languages
| Greek | άσχημος | ||
| The word "άσχημος" is derived from the Greek word "σχήμα" meaning "form" and originally meant "lacking in form" or "deformed". | |||
| Hmong | dab tuag | ||
| "Dab tuag" is a strong word that refers to a combination of both extreme ugliness and worthlessness. | |||
| Kurdish | nerind | ||
| The word "nerind" in Kurdish can also refer to something that is unsightly or unpleasant to look at. | |||
| Turkish | çirkin | ||
| In Turkish, the word "çirkin" can also refer to a person who is rude or unpleasant. | |||
| Xhosa | mbi | ||
| In Xhosa, the word 'mbi' is also used figuratively to describe something that is unpleasant or worthless. | |||
| Yiddish | מיעס | ||
| The word 'מיעס' can also mean tired or exhausted in Yiddish. | |||
| Zulu | kubi | ||
| The word "kubi" can also mean "difficult" or "troublesome" in Zulu. | |||
| Assamese | কুত্সিত | ||
| Aymara | phiru | ||
| Bhojpuri | बदरूप | ||
| Dhivehi | ހުތުރު | ||
| Dogri | बदशक्ल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | pangit | ||
| Guarani | ivai | ||
| Ilocano | naalas | ||
| Krio | wowo | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | ناشیرین | ||
| Maithili | कुरूप | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯁꯛ ꯊꯤꯕ | ||
| Mizo | hmelchhia | ||
| Oromo | fokkisaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅସୁନ୍ଦର | ||
| Quechua | millay | ||
| Sanskrit | कुरूपः | ||
| Tatar | ямьсез | ||
| Tigrinya | መፅልኢ | ||
| Tsonga | biha | ||