stygg
The English word 'ugly' is translated into Norwegian as stygg. Wiktionary also lists frastøtende and støgg.
Meaning: displeasing to the eye, not aesthetically pleasing (adj)
Ways to say it
| Norwegian |
|---|
| stygg |
| frastøtende |
| støgg |
| fråstøytande |
The term is used to describe things that are displeasing to the eye or not aesthetically pleasing. If you wish to refer to an ugly person as a noun, you can use stygging.
Which one should you use?
stygg is the standard, most common word for 'ugly' used for both people and objects. In contrast, frastøtende is used when 'ugly' implies something is morally offensive or physically repulsive rather than just aesthetically displeasing. The word støgg is a dialectal or more colloquial variation often used to mean 'nasty' or 'disgusting' in certain Norwegian regions.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective stygg follows standard Norwegian inflection: stygg (masculine/feminine), styggere (comparative), styggest (superlative).
Did you know?
- The Old Norse ancestor of stygg, which was styggr, originally meant 'fearsome' or 'terrifying' rather than just 'unattractive'.
- When describing weather as stygg, Norwegians are usually referring to rain and wind rather than the 'look' of the sky.
- In Norwegian, stygg is often used to describe bad behavior in children, such as stygg gutt for a 'naughty boy', rather than just physical appearance.
Examples in context
- Denne stolen er stygg.This chair is ugly.This sentence is useful for describing an object using stygg.Tatoeba #2879724 by eirik174, translation #51276 by CK
- Det er en stygg genser.That's an ugly sweater.Tatoeba #11070961 by Mayk, translation #11066277 by CK
- Mary synes at hun er stygg.Mary thinks that she is ugly.This sentence is useful for describing a person using stygg.Tatoeba #5153199 by Yomawaru, translation #5152902 by CarpeLanam
- Den gamle bygningen er veldig stygg.The old building is very ugly.
- Som en stylist synes jeg den kjolen er skikkelig råtten.As a stylist, I think that dress is really ugly.
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Magnus are looking at a painting in a gallery.
- EmmaSynes du dette bildet er fint?Do you think this painting is nice?
- MagnusNei, jeg synes det er veldig stygg.No, I think it is very ugly.
- EmmaHvorfor mener du det, Magnus?Why do you think that, Magnus?
- MagnusFargene er bare helt stygg.The colors are just completely ugly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ugly” translations and entries stygg, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries stygg, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
