mal día
/mal dia/from spelling rules
The English phrase "bad day" is translated into Spanish as mal día.
mal día refers to a period of twenty-four hours during which many unpleasant things happen.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, if someone says they are having a mal día, a common response is no hay mal que por bien no venga, meaning every bad situation has a silver lining.
- While mal día describes a bad day, Spanish speakers often use the phrase día negro to describe a day of tragedy or extreme misfortune.
- The word día shares a common ancestor with the name of the god Jupiter via the Proto-Italic root for 'sky'.
Examples in context
- Tenía un mal día.I was having a bad day.This sentence is useful for describing a continuous state in the past using mal día.Tatoeba #2828812 by marcelostockle, translation #2546790 by CK
- Él tuvo un mal día.He had a bad day.This sentence is useful for describing a completed event in the past using mal día.Tatoeba #1799060 by Shishir, translation #1799056 by CK
- Tom tuvo un muy mal día.Tom had a very bad day.This sentence is useful for adding emphasis to the badness of the day using mal día.Tatoeba #4070234 by marcelostockle, translation #2645886 by CK
- Hoy tuve un día malo en el trabajo. Las cosas no salieron como esperaba y me siento agotado/a.Today, I had a bad day at work. Things didn't go as planned, and I feel exhausted.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are meeting after work.
- LucíaHola Daniel, ¿cómo estuvo tu jornada?Hi Daniel, how was your day?
- DanielTuve un mal día en la oficina.I had a bad day at the office.
- LucíaLo siento mucho, Lucía te ayudará.I'm very sorry, Lucía will help you.
- DanielGracias, realmente necesito distraerme.Thanks, I really need a distraction.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries día, mal, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
