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.
その事故現場は恐ろしい光景だった。
The accident scene was a ghastly sight.
Describes a visceral, spine-chilling reaction to something ghastly. Often used for eerie or macabre things.
その話を聞いてぞっとした。
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.
彼は青ざめた顔で立っていた。
He stood there with a ghastly pale face.
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.
そのシャツ、ひどいね。
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.
彼の犯行はおぞましいものだった。
His crime was ghastly.
その絵にはグロテスクな怪物が描かれていた。
The painting depicted a ghastly monster.
昨日のテストはひどい結果だった。
Yesterday's test was a ghastly result.
彼の態度はひどかった。
His attitude was ghastly.
Means 'the worst'. Stronger than ひどい, often used in casual speech for something ghastly.
あの映画は最悪だった。
That movie was ghastly.
Means 'cruel' or 'merciless', but can be used informally for something shockingly bad or harsh.
そのミスはむごすぎる。
That mistake is too ghastly.
Means 'bloodless', emphasizing a deathly pallor. More vivid than 青ざめた.
彼女の血の気のない顔が怖かった。
Her ghastly, bloodless face was frightening.
Literally 'like a dead person'. Strong, dramatic description for a ghastly, corpse-like appearance.
彼は死人のような顔色だった。
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.
その話は薄気味悪かった。
That story was ghastly.
She looked ghastly after the illness.