çirkin
/t͡ʃiɾˈcin/
The English word "ugly" is translated into Turkish as çirkin.
The word çirkin is used to describe something that is displeasing to the eye. It is versatile, as it can be used to describe a person's physical appearance, the appearance of objects or even to describe behavior and things that are morally or aesthetically unpleasant.
Meaning: displeasing to the eye, not aesthetically pleasing (adj)
Which one should you use?
While çirkin means ugly, its direct antonym is güzel, which means beautiful.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can turn the adjective çirkin into the noun çirkinlik, which means "ugliness", by adding the suffix -lik.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /tʃiɾˈcin/. The sound /tʃ/ is like the [ch] in "change", /i/ is like the [ee] in "creek", /ɾ/ is like the [t] in the American English word "atom", /c/ is like the [k] in "skew" and /n/ is like the [n] in "not".
Did you know?
- Turkish has a cultural concept where calling a baby çirkin is sometimes done to protect them from the 'evil eye'.
- The word çirkin is actually a distant relative of the Turkish word çürük, which means 'rotten' or 'decayed'.
- The phrase çirkinleşmek means 'to become ugly', but is commonly used to mean 'to start acting rudely' or 'to get aggressive' during an argument.
Examples in context
- O salak ve çirkin.She's stupid and ugly.This sentence shows how to use çirkin to describe a person.Tatoeba #2638422 by sumeyye, translation #2230433 by Hybrid
- Ne çirkin bir kedi.What an ugly cat.This sentence uses çirkin to describe a cat.Tatoeba #2698833 by Gulo_Luscus, translation #1570765 by fanty
- O çirkin bir bayrak.It's an ugly flag.This sentence uses çirkin to describe a flag.Tatoeba #6996305 by evka, translation #6995721 by mailohilohi
- Bu bina ne kadar çirkin.This building is so ugly.
- Bu heykel estetik açıdan hoş olmayan bir eser.This sculpture is a work not pleasing from an aesthetic point of view.
- Bu kediciğin suratı biraz çirkince, değil mi?This kitten's face is a bit ugly, isn't it?
- Bu kot pantolon çok çirkince duruyor.These jeans look very ugly.
- Bu tabela estetik açıdan hoş olmayan bir reklam aracıdır.This signboard is an advertising tool not pleasing from an aesthetic point of view.
- 167 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Can and Elif are looking at an old, poorly designed building.
- CanBu bina çok çirkin.This building is very ugly.
- ElifEvet, tasarımı gerçekten çirkin.Yes, its design is really ugly.
- CanKeşke daha güzel olsaydı.I wish it were more beautiful.
- ElifHaklısın, çok kötü görünüyor.You're right, it looks very bad.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ugly” translations and entries çirkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries çirkin, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
