shëm

Shëm is an Albanian adjective meaning dangerous or harmful. In standard Albanian, it describes people, objects, or situations that pose risk or harm and can be used both attributively (before the noun) and predicatively (after the verb). The form is native to Albanian and is found across dialects in Albania, Kosovo, and other Albanian-speaking communities.

The precise historical origin of shëm is not widely documented in basic references, but it is generally treated as a core descriptive term rather than a derivative of a loanword. As an adjective, shëm agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number, and its use spans formal prose and everyday speech. In contemporary contexts it often carries a strong negative evaluation and can describe physical danger, safety hazards, or broader moral or ethical severity depending on context.

In usage, shëm may appear in combination with adverbs or other qualifiers to intensify risk, similar to how speakers in other languages intensify danger phrases. It is primarily found within Albanian-language texts and conversations; outside Albanian-speaking contexts, the word is rarely used except in discussions of language, literature, or translation. See also Albanian language, adjectives, and danger.