uncanny

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• US: /ʌnˈkæni/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play
• rhymes with -æni
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• CMU ARPABET: AH0 N K AE1 N IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  Play

From un- + canny; thus “beyond one's ken,” or outside one's familiar knowledge or perceptions. Compare Middle English unkanne (“unknown”). In the noun sense a translation of Sigmund Freud's usage of German unheimlich (Das Unheimliche, 1919).

81 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Azerbaijani: birtəhər — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Bulgarian: странен (stranen) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Bulgarian: необичаен (neobičaen) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Catalan: misteriós — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Catalan: estrany — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Catalan: inquietant — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Chinese Mandarin: 诡异 (guǐyì) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: podivný — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: záhadný — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: zvláštní — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: zlověstný — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: tajemný — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Czech: tajuplný — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Danish: uhyggelig — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Dutch: griezelig — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Dutch: mysterieus — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Esperanto: preternatura — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Finnish: outo — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Finnish: hämmästyttävä — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• French: déroutant — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• French: déroutante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• French: étrange — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• French: troublant — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Galician: inquietante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Galician: perturbador — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Galician: perturbadora — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Galician: desconcertante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: unheimlich — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: gruselig — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: seltsam — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: verstörend — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: verblüffend — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• German: frappierend — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Greek: αλλόκοτος (allókotos) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Ancient Greek: ἀλλόκοτος (allókotos) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Hungarian: különös — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Hungarian: kísérteties — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Hungarian: rejtélyes — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Hungarian: nyugtalanító — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Hungarian: hátborzongató — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Icelandic: óhugnanlegur — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Icelandic: kynlegur — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Icelandic: dularfullur — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Icelandic: undarlegur — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Icelandic: skuggalegur — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Indonesian: gerun — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: bizzarro — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: strano — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: sconcertante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: curioso — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: inquietante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: angosciante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Italian: sinistro — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Japanese: 不気味な (bukimi na) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Māori: tupua — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Māori: autaia — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Norwegian Bokmål: uhyggelig — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Occitan: estranh — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Polish: niesamowity — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Polish: niezwykły — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Polish: przedziwny — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Portuguese: estranho — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Portuguese: perturbador — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Romanian: bizar — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Russian: сверхъесте́ственный (sverxʺjestéstvennyj) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Russian: жу́ткий (žútkij) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Spanish: inquietante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Spanish: espeluznante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Spanish: escalofriante — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Swedish: underlig — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Turkish: tuhaf — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Ukrainian: моторошний (motorošnyj) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Yiddish: אומהיימלעך (umheymlekh) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Yiddish: נישט־⁠היימלעך — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Yiddish: טשודנע (tshudne) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• Yiddish: געהײַריש (gehayrish) — strange, mysteriously unsettling
• French: inquiétante étrangeté — something that is simultaneously familiar and strange
• German: Unheimliche — something that is simultaneously familiar and strange
• German: Verstörende — something that is simultaneously familiar and strange
• Greek: ανοίκειο (anoíkeio) — something that is simultaneously familiar and strange
• Turkish: tekinsiz — something that is simultaneously familiar and strange