“The word ‘ugly’ might not have the most positive connotations, but understanding its translation across different cultures can offer insights into language diversity and the nuances of expression.
Here, we embark on a linguistic journey to explore how ‘ugly’ is articulated in 70 languages around the globe. This list not only enriches our vocabulary but also broadens our understanding of global perceptions of beauty and aesthetics.
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Shëmtuar | Pronunciation: Shem-too-ar
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – قبيح (Qabih) | Pronunciation: Qa-beeh
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – վատընթերց (Vatənterts) | Pronunciation: Vat-ən-tərts
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Çirkin | Pronunciation: Chir-kin
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Itsusi | Pronunciation: It-soo-see
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Брыдкі (Brydki) | Pronunciation: Brud-kee
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – অসুন্দর (Ôsundôr) | Pronunciation: O-shun-dor
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Ružan | Pronunciation: Roo-zhan
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Грозен (Grozen) | Pronunciation: Gro-zen
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Lleig | Pronunciation: Lye-ig
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Ošklivý | Pronunciation: Osh-klee-vee
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Grim | Pronunciation: Grim
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Lelijk | Pronunciation: Lay-lick
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Ugly | Pronunciation: Uhg-lee
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Koleda | Pronunciation: Ko-le-da
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – زشت (Zesht) | Pronunciation: Zesht
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Ruma | Pronunciation: Roo-mah
- French (🇫🇷) – Laid | Pronunciation: Laid
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – უშავს (Ushavs) | Pronunciation: Oo-shavs
- German (🇩🇪) – Hässlich | Pronunciation: Hes-lich
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Άσχημος (Aschimos) | Pronunciation: A-schee-mos
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – מכוער (Mechoar) | Pronunciation: Me-cho-ar
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – बदसूरत (Badsoorat) | Pronunciation: Bud-soo-rut
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Csúnya | Pronunciation: Choon-ya
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Ljótur | Pronunciation: Lyo-tur
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Jelek | Pronunciation: Je-lek
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Gránna | Pronunciation: Grawn-na
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Brutto | Pronunciation: Broo-toh
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – 醜い (Minikui) | Pronunciation: Mee-nee-koo-ee
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Өшпес (Öshpes) | Pronunciation: Ursh-pes
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – អាក្រក់ (Akrak) | Pronunciation: Ah-krak
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 못생긴 (Mot-saeng-gin) | Pronunciation: Mot-saeng-gin
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – شێوە (Shewa) | Pronunciation: She-wa
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Жаман (Zhaman) | Pronunciation: Zha-man
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ບໍ່ສວຍ (Bor suay) | Pronunciation: Bor suay
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Neglīts | Pronunciation: Ne-gleets
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Bjaurus | Pronunciation: Byow-rus
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Hësslech | Pronunciation: Hess-lech
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Грд (Grd) | Pronunciation: Gurd
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Hodoh | Pronunciation: Ho-doh
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Orribbli | Pronunciation: Or-rib-blee
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 丑陋 (Chǒulòu) | Pronunciation: Cho-loo
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – कुरूप (Kurūp) | Pronunciation: Koo-roop
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Муухай (Muuhai) | Pronunciation: Moo-hai
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – बदरूप (Badarūpa) | Pronunciation: Bada-roo-pa
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Stygg | Pronunciation: Stig
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – بدشکل (Badshakal) | Pronunciation: Bad-sha-kal
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – زشت (Zesht) | Pronunciation: Zesht
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Brzydki | Pronunciation: Bzhid-kee
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Feio | Pronunciation: Fay-o
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Urât | Pronunciation: Oo-rat
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Уродливый (Urodliy) | Pronunciation: U-rod-li-vy
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Ружан (Ružan) | Pronunciation: Roo-zhan
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – බාන්ඩ (Bāṇḍa) | Pronunciation: Baan-da
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Škaredý | Pronunciation: Shka-reh-dee
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Grd | Pronunciation: Gerd
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Fool xun | Pronunciation: Fool hoon
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Feo | Pronunciation: Fay-o
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Mbaya | Pronunciation: M-ba-ya
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Ful | Pronunciation: Fool
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Зишт (Zišt) | Pronunciation: Zisht
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – அசிங்கம் (Aciṅkam) | Pronunciation: Ah-sing-kam
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – అందం లేని (Andaṁ lēni) | Pronunciation: An-dum lay-nee
- Thai (🇹🇭) – น่าเกลียด (Nàa gliat) | Pronunciation: Na glie-at
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Çirkin | Pronunciation: Chir-kin
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Потворний (Potvornyy) | Pronunciation: Pot-vor-nee
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – بدصورت (Badsoorat) | Pronunciation: Bad-soo-rat
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Yomon | Pronunciation: Yo-mon
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Xấu xí | Pronunciation: Sao see
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Hyll | Pronunciation: Hill