Is "Ужас!" offensive?

It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.

How do you pronounce "Ужас!"?

Say it "OO-zhahs" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈuʐəs.

Work in progress! Native speakers are still checking every phrase. Spot something off? Tell us.

cursing.in curse like a local

Russian · Exclamations

Ужас!

uzhas

OO-zhahs · /ˈuʐəs/

How awful! / That's terrible! / Yikes!

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"Horror / terror"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

The everyday word for "that's dreadful" — bad news, bad weather, bad haircut. "Uzhas-uzhas" doubles the dismay; "kakoy uzhas" is "how horrible." Totally clean and constant in conversation, especially among older women narrating the state of the world.

Heard in the wild

Цены выросли вдвое? Ужас!

Prices doubled? How awful!

Where it lands

Russia (universal)

Quick answers

What does "Ужас!" mean?: In Russian, "Ужас!" means "How awful! / That's terrible! / Yikes!". Literally it's "Horror / terror". The everyday word for "that's dreadful" — bad news, bad weather, bad haircut. "Uzhas-uzhas" doubles the dismay; "kakoy uzhas" is "how horrible." Totally clean and constant in conversation, especially among older women narrating the state of the world.
Is "Ужас!" offensive?: It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "Ужас!"?: Say it "OO-zhahs" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈuʐəs.

Related in Russian

Боже мой! bozhe moy BOH-zheh MOY Oh my God! / Good heavens! Фу! fu FOO Yuck! / Ew! / Gross! Блин! blin BLEEN Damn! / Darn! / Shoot! Чёрт! chyort CHORT Damn! / Hell! Ё-моё! yo-moyo YO mah-YO Oh boy! / Geez! / Good grief! Ёлки-палки! yolki-palki YOL-kee PAHL-kee Good grief! / For heaven's sake!

Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.