Evil Eye - Names in Various Languages

Names in Various Languages

In most languages, the name translates literally into English as "bad eye," "evil eye," "evil look," or just "the eye." Some variants on this general pattern from around the world are:

• In Albanian it is known as "syni keq" (Gheg), or "syri i keq" (Tosk), meaning "bad eye."
• In Arabic, ʿayn al-ḥasūd, عين الحسود‎, "the eye of envy". ʿAyn ḥārrah (عين حارّة) is also used, literally translating to "hot eye."
• In Armenian, char atchk (չար աչքն) "evil eye" or "bad eye". Regarding the act of giving an evil gaze, it is said (directly translated), "to give with the eye" or in Armenian, "atchkov tal."
• In German, it is called "böser Blick", literally "evil gaze".
• In Greek, to matiasma (μάτιασμα) or mati (μάτι) someone refers to the act of casting the evil eye (mati being the Greek word for eye); also: vaskania (βασκανία, the Greek word for jinx)
• In Hebrew, ayin hara (עין הרע, "evil eye")
• In Hindi-Urdu and other languages of North India and Pakistan, nazar; nazar lagna means to be afflicted by the evil eye.
• In Hungarian, gonosz szem means "evil eye", but more widespread is the expression szemmelverés (lit. "beating with eye") which refers to the supposed/alleged act of harming one by an evil look
• In Italian, the word malocchio refers to the evil eye.
• In Japanese it is known as "邪視" ("jashi").
• In Kannada, it is called "drishti". (But cf. "Drishti (yoga)".)
• In Macedonian it is known as урокливо око.
• In Malayalam it is known as kannu veykkuka - to cast an evil eye while "kannu peduka" means to be on the receiving end of the malefic influence. "kannu dosham" refers to a bad effect caused by an evil eye.
• In Persian it is known as "چشم‌ زخم"‎ (injurious look/eyes causing injury) or "چشم شور"‎ (Salty eye) "Cheshmeh Hasood", meaning Jealous eye, or "Cheshme Nazar" meaning evil eye.
• In Portuguese, it is called "mau olhado", ou "olho gordo" (literally "fat eye"). Both expressions are quite common in Brazil.
• In Romanian, it is known as "deochi", meaning literally "of eye".
• In Russian, "дурной глаз" (durnoy glaz) means "bad/evil eye"; "сглаз" (sglaz) literally means "from eye".
• In Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, it is called "drishti dosha" meaning malice caused by evil eye. (But cf. "drishti (yoga)".)
• In Serbian, it is called Urokljivo oko (Cyr. Урокљиво око). First word is adjective of the word urok/урок which means spell or curse, and the second one means eye.
• In Spanish, mal de ojo literally means "evil from the eye" as the name does not refer to the actual eye but to the evil that supposedly comes from it. Casting the evil eye is then echar mal de ojo, i.e. "to cast evil from the eye".
• In Tamil, "கண் படுதல்" (kan padudhal) literally means "casting an eye" (with an intention to cause harm). "கண்ணூறு" (kannooru) "harm from the eye"
• In Turkish "nazar boncuğu" looking with kem göz meaning looking with evil eye