Why Yennefer Calling Ciri 'My Ugly One' Is Actually Heartwarming

In a thread on the "Witcher" subreddit, fans discussed the possibility that the English translation doesn't quite get Andrzej Sapkowski's point across. In Polish, the word is "brzydulka," and although its straightforward, surface-level translation is indeed "ugly" (specifically with regard to a young girl), it's frequently used, as u/Finlay44 points out, as "a cordial pet name, so it becomes a private joke between the two people." In other words, the translation gap isn't in the word, but in how it's used and understood by American readers.

While a few fans were adamant that the translation itself is simply bad, most argued that the subtext is clear regardless. "Even translated to English language and other cultures one can read irony from the get-go in Yen using that pet name," wrote u/cdezero.

In truth, Yennefer's nickname for her charge has little to do with looks and everything to do with her assessment of another of Ciri's assets: her intelligence. Yennefer knows that Ciri is cunning enough to understand irony and — capable of being, at least — self-assured enough not to have to fish for compliments. And since the beautiful mage knows a thing or two about how ultimately unfulfilling good looks can be, she's not about to let this (very clearly, as she herself notes) beautiful young girl get in the habit of identifying too strongly with the power those looks have over others — particularly not when she possesses real powers. What's more, book Yennefer's insistence that Ciri not fake ineptitude plays a not insignificant role in her simultaneously didactic and playful use of the phrase.