Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 樣衰 / 样衰 | |
| 醜樣 / 丑样 | |
| 肉酸 | juk⁶ syun¹ |
| 醜怪 / 丑怪 | cau² gwaai³ |
| 核突 | wat⁶ dat⁶ |
| 醜陋 / 丑陋 | cau² lau⁶ |
樣衰 is mostly said about a person's face or appearance. It can also describe someone acting in a socially embarrassing way that makes them lose face.
What does it mean word for word?
樣衰 literally means appearance failing or losing.
Which one should you use?
核突 (wat⁶ dat⁶) is used more for things that look unpleasant, such as clothing, decor or objects. 肉酸 (juk⁶ syun¹) often describes something ugly in a social or moral sense, such as unfair or unpleasant behavior. 醜陋 / 丑陋 (cau² lau⁶) is a formal, literary word. 難看 and 難睇 are softer, more tactful ways to say something does not look good.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
醜陋 / 丑陋 is formal and literary and is rarely used in casual spoken Cantonese, so in conversation people choose 樣衰 or 核突.
When do people say it?
Colloquial labels such as 醜仔 for an ugly male and 醜女 for an ugly female exist but are blunt, so 難睇 is the more tactful choice when you have to comment on looks.
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, calling someone 醜仔 ('ugly boy') can sometimes be used as a teasing nickname among very close friends, transforming a blunt insult into a term of endearment.
- The term 樣衰 focuses on the word 衰 ('fail'), which in Cantonese slang can describe everything from bad luck to a poorly performed task, not just physical looks.
- While 樣衰 refers to ugliness, it is frequently used by speakers to describe themselves in a self-deprecating way to appear humble or relatable.
Examples in context
- 唔係佢個人樣衰，而係佢啲衫核突。It's not the person that's ugly, but the clothes.Here 樣衰 is used for the person and 核突 for the clothes, which shows how the two words divide the work.Tatoeba #5374501 by nickyeow, translation #891822 by FeuDRenais2
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ugly” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
