mal humor
/mal umoɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "bad mood" is translated into Spanish as mal humor.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of mal (bad) and humor (mood or temperament).
Which one should you use?
The direct antonym of mal humor is buen humor, which means "good mood".
Is it said differently in some regions?
Estar de mala leche is a colloquialism used specifically in Spain. In many Latin American countries, the informal expression Estar de malas is commonly used to say someone is in a bad mood.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say someone is "in" a bad mood, you must use the preposition de before the phrase. When describing the state of being in a bad mood, the verb estar is used because it describes a temporary state.
How do you pronounce it?
/mal umoɾ/
Did you know?
- The colloquial Spanish expression estar de mala leche literally translates to 'being of bad milk'.
- The Spanish word mal shares a common ancient ancestor with the English word 'malice' and the Latin word malus.
- In some contexts, estar de malas can mean a person is having a run of bad luck rather than just being in a bad mood.
Examples in context
- Ella está de mal humor.She is in a bad mood.This sentence is useful for showing how to use mal humor with the third person.Tatoeba #542877 by Shishir, translation #313120 by CK
- Hoy estoy de mal humor.I'm in a bad mood today.This sentence shows how to express being in a bad mood in the first person.Tatoeba #1418700 by marcelostockle, translation #837416 by Mouseneb
- Me desperté de mal humor.I woke up in a bad mood.This sentence demonstrates how to describe the state of waking up in a bad mood using mal humor.Tatoeba #12974333 by Alejandr0, translation #10615969 by felidad
- ¿Por qué estás de mala leche hoy? ¿Sucedió algo?Why are you in a bad mood today? Did something happen?
- Anoche discutí con mi hermano, así que estoy de malasI argued with my brother last night, so I'm in a bad mood
- Me disculpo si parezco de mal humor, ha sido un día estresanteI apologize if I seem in a bad mood, it has been a stressful day
- 28 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Javier are at home in the evening.
- Lucía¿Por qué estás de mal humor?Why are you in a bad mood?
- JavierEs que tuve un día muy largo.It's just that I had a very long day.
- LucíaLo siento, Javier, ¿quieres cenar algo?I'm sorry, Javier, do you want to eat something?
- JavierSí, eso me ayudaría mucho.Yes, that would help me a lot.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mal humor, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries humor, mal, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
