malo
/ˈmalo/
The Spanish word for bad is malo.
malo is an adjective used to describe something that is unfavorable or negative.
Meaning: unfavorable, negative (adj)
Which one should you use?
malo is an adjective used to describe nouns, whereas mal is an adverb used to describe how an action is performed.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the noun it describes, so use mala for feminine nouns. The adjective must agree in number with the noun it describes, so use malos for masculine plural nouns and malas for feminine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmalo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use malo as an adverb (e.g., habla malo) instead of the correct adverb mal (e.g., habla mal).
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, the phrase estoy malo can be used to mean 'I am sick' rather than 'I am a bad person'.
- In casual speech, calling someone malo can sometimes be used flirtatiously to mean 'naughty' or 'rebellious'.
- The word malo shares the same Latin root as the English word 'malice', which is why both languages use a similar sounding base for things that are bad or harmful.
Examples in context
- No es tan malo.It's not that bad.This sentence shows how to use malo to describe a situation.Tatoeba #1567708 by marcelostockle, translation #1557059 by Spamster
- Yo soy el malo.I'm the bad one.This sentence shows how malo can be used to refer to a person as the bad one.Tatoeba #7949664 by Seael, translation #812086 by papabear
- No era tan malo.It wasn't that bad.This sentence demonstrates the use of malo in the past tense.Tatoeba #10289321 by Seael, translation #2280360 by CK
- El clima está malo hoyThe weather is bad today.
- Las noticias son desfavorablesThe news is bad.
- El hábito de fumar es perjudicial para la saludThe habit of smoking is bad for your health.
- Mi día ha sido maloMy day has been bad.
- Ese cuadro es muy feoThat painting is really bad/ugly.
- La situación económica es muy malaThe economic situation is very bad.
- El servicio al cliente es de mala calidadThe customer service is of poor quality.
- No quiero ir a ese bar, tiene mala famaI don't want to go to that bar, it has a bad reputation.
- 240 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and María are discussing a movie they just watched.
- MateoEl final de la película fue muy malo.The end of the movie was very bad.
- María¿En serio? No me pareció tan malo.Really? I didn't think it was that bad.
- MateoSí, el guion es realmente malo.Yes, the script is really bad.
- MaríaEs una lástima, Mateo.That's a shame, Mateo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bad” translations and entries malo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries malo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
