Translation guide
Describes something shockingly unpleasant, horrifying, or extremely bad. Covers appearance, events, feelings, and informal exaggeration.
Describing something that looks or feels terrifying, gruesome, or deeply disturbing.
General word for 'frightening' or 'dreadful'. Works for both physical appearance and abstract horror.
The accident scene was a ghastly sight.
Describes a visceral, spine-chilling reaction to something ghastly. Often used for eerie or macabre things.
I felt ghastly when I heard that story.
Stronger, more literary word for 'loathsome' or 'repulsive'. Emphasizes moral or aesthetic revulsion.
Loanword for 'grotesque'. Used for distorted, bizarre, or shockingly ugly things, often in art or descriptions.
Casually saying something is terrible, awful, or very bad, like a ghastly mistake or a ghastly meal.
Common word for 'terrible' or 'awful'. Covers most informal uses of 'ghastly' for quality, experience, or behavior.
Describing someone who looks very ill, terrified, or like a ghost.
Literally 'turned pale'. Describes a face drained of color from shock, fear, or illness.
Describing an eerie, macabre, or haunting quality that makes you shudder.
Means 'eerie' or 'uncanny'. Perfect for ghastly atmospheres, sounds, or stories that give you the creeps.
In casual contexts like 'a ghastly shirt' or 'ghastly weather', 恐ろしい sounds too dramatic. Use ひどい or 最悪 instead.
That shirt is ghastly.
恐ろしい is a general adjective for fear/dread. ぞっとする is a verb phrase describing a physical shudder reaction, often used for creepy or macabre things rather than immediate danger.
The news was ghastly.
His crime was ghastly.
The painting depicted a ghastly monster.
Yesterday's test was a ghastly result.
His attitude was ghastly.
Means 'the worst'. Stronger than ひどい, often used in casual speech for something ghastly.
That movie was ghastly.
Means 'cruel' or 'merciless', but can be used informally for something shockingly bad or harsh.
That mistake is too ghastly.
He stood there with a ghastly pale face.
Means 'bloodless', emphasizing a deathly pallor. More vivid than 青ざめた.
Her ghastly, bloodless face was frightening.
Literally 'like a dead person'. Strong, dramatic description for a ghastly, corpse-like appearance.
He had a ghastly, deathly complexion.
The house had a ghastly atmosphere.
Similar to 不気味 but slightly more colloquial. Implies a subtle, creeping ghastliness.
That story was ghastly.
I had a ghastly headache.
She looked ghastly after the illness.