برا
burā/bʊ.ɾɑː/
The Urdu word for bad is برا (burā).
برا is an adjective used to describe something that is unfavorable or negative.
Meaning: unfavorable, negative (adj)
Which one should you use?
The opposite of برا is اچھا, which means good. While برا is the standard adjective, the noun form برائی can be used to express badness, evil or vice.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective برا must agree with the gender and number of the noun it describes. It changes to بری when describing a feminine noun, and to برے when describing masculine plural nouns or when used in an oblique case.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /bʊ.ɾɑː/ (burā).
Did you know?
- In Urdu, saying برا can sometimes mean 'feeling shy' or 'feeling bad' emotionally. For example, the phrase برا ماننا literally means 'to take it badly' but is used to describe someone getting offended.
- While برا is the standard word, a speaker might use the word خراب (kharab) instead if they are describing something that is physically broken or spoiled, like food.
- Urdu speakers often avoid using برا directly when criticizing a person's character to be polite, instead using phrases that imply the person is 'not good' (اچھا نہیں).
Examples in context
- آپ کا دوسروں پر برا اثر ہوتا ہے۔You're a bad influence.This sentence shows how to use برا to describe a negative influence.Tatoeba #12902515 by Roomba_Unit, translation #2546246 by CK
- بُری خبر (Buri Khabar)Bad news
- خراب کام (Kharab Kaam)Bad work
- وہ بہت بدتمیز ہے (Woh bohat Badtameez hai)He/she is very rude
- اس کا فیصلہ برا تھا۔is ka faisla bura tha.His decision was bad.
Example conversation
Fatima and Hamza are discussing a movie they just watched.
- فاطمہ Fatimaآپ کو فلم کیسی لگی؟Aap ko film kaisi lagi?How did you like the movie?
- حمزہ Hamzaسچ کہوں تو، یہ ایک برا تجربہ تھا۔Sach kahoon toh, yeh ek bura tajurba tha.To be honest, it was a bad experience.
- فاطمہ Fatimaمجھے بھی ایسا ہی لگتا ہے۔Mujhe bhi aisa hi lagta hai.I feel the same way.
- حمزہ Hamzaہاں، کہانی بہت کمزور تھی۔Haan, kahani bohat kamzor thi.Yes, the story was very weak.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bad” translations and entries برا, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
