dålig
/²doː.lɪ(ɡ)/
The English word bad is translated into Swedish as dålig. Wiktionary also lists illa.
Meaning: unfavorable, negative (adj)
Ways to say it
| Swedish | IPA |
|---|---|
| dålig | /²doː.lɪ(ɡ)/ |
| illa | [ˈɪlˌla] (narrow) |
dålig is used to mean unfavorable or negative. You might also encounter the related form fy, which is used as an interjection when addressing a misbehaving child or pet.
Which one should you use?
Use the adjective dålig to describe a noun, such as a person, a thing or a quality. In contrast, use the adverb illa to describe how an action is performed or to describe the degree of a situation.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective changes based on the noun it describes: use dålig for en-words (common gender), dåligt for ett-words (neuter gender) and dåliga for plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/²doː.lɪ(ɡ)/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use dålig where the adverb illa is required to describe a verb or a state of being.
Did you know?
- The Swedish word illa shares a common ancestor with the English word 'ill', meaning they are distant linguistic cousins.
- The interjection fy is often doubled to fy fy when scolding a pet or child to emphasize that their behavior is 'bad'.
- The Swedish word dålig and the Danish word dårlig are almost identical, reflecting their shared North Germanic history.
Examples in context
- Är det så illa?Is it as bad as that?This sentence is useful for seeing how to use the adverb illa to ask about the degree of a situation.Tatoeba #4317376 by richke, translation #3738656 by CK
- Hur illa är det?How bad is it?Tatoeba #1998235 by herrsilen, translation #1885954 by CK
- Är Tom så dålig?Is Tom that bad?This sentence is useful for seeing how to use the adjective dålig to describe a person.Tatoeba #4441792 by richke, translation #4401023 by CK
- Min prestation på provet var dålig.My performance on the test was bad.
- Detta är en ogynnsam situation för oss.This is a bad situation for us.
- Filmen var kass.The movie was bad.
- Jag har en dålig dag idag.I'm having a bad day today.
- 105 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a movie they recently watched.
- KarlVar filmen bra?Was the movie good?
- EmmaNej, den var faktiskt ganska dålig.No, it was actually quite bad.
- KarlTråkigt att höra.Sad to hear that.
- EmmaJa, Karl, den var inte värd pengarna.Yes, Karl, it wasn't worth the money.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bad” translations and entries dålig, illa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dålig, illa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
