רע
ra/raʕ/
The Hebrew word for bad is רע (ra).
The word רע is used to mean bad in a general or moral sense.
Meaning: unfavorable, negative (adj)
Which one should you use?
While רע describes something as bad in a general sense, the word גרוע is specifically used to describe poor quality or a bad situation.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In slang, the word חרא can be used to express that something is bad.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective has different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun it describes: רע is the default masculine singular form, רעה is the feminine singular form and רעים is the masculine plural form. The related noun form is רעות, which means badness or evil.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is ra and the IPA is /raʕ/.
Did you know?
- The noun רעות can mean 'badness', but in certain contexts, it can also relate to the concept of 'friendship' or 'companionship', mirroring its root of 'associating'.
- The word רע shares an ancient root with the idea of 'associating' with someone, suggesting that 'badness' was once tied to the company one keeps.
- The slang term חרא literally means 'shit'. Using it to describe something as 'bad' is common in casual speech but is considered significantly more vulgar than the English equivalent of 'this is bad'.
Examples in context
- זה כל כך רע?Is that so bad?This sentence is useful for asking about the degree of something being רע.Tatoeba #1819751 by MrShoval, translation #1808136 by Spamster
- זה לא דבר רע.It's not a bad thing.This sentence shows how to use רע in a negative construction.Tatoeba #1985233 by MrShoval, translation #1983990 by Spamster
- יש לזה טעם רע.This tastes bad.This sentence demonstrates using רע to describe taste.Tatoeba #6095703 by fekundulo, translation #3826396 by CK
- האוכל הזה טעים אבל רע לבריאות.The food is tasty, but it's bad for your health.
- המצב הזה לא טוב לכלל האוכלוסיה.This situation is bad for the entire population.
- 225 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Noa and Ido are discussing a movie they just watched.
- נועה Noaמה חשבת על הסרט?Ma khashavta al ha-seret?What did you think of the movie?
- עידו Idoהסרט היה ממש רע.Ha-seret haya mamash ra.The movie was really bad.
- נועה Noaאתה רציני? אני אהבתי אותו.Ata ritsini? Ani ahavti oto.Are you serious? I liked it.
- עידו Idoכן, זה היה סרט רע מאוד.Ken, ze haya seret ra me'od.Yes, it was a very bad movie.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry רע, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries רע, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
