huele mal
/wele mal/from spelling rules
To say "it smells bad" in Spanish, use huele mal.
Huele mal is used to indicate that something has an unpleasant odor. It is a neutral and polite way to express this sensation. If you want to be more specific, you can say huele a podrido to mean "it smells rotten".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase huele mal is composed of the third-person singular form of the verb oler (to smell) and the adverb mal (badly/bad).
Which one should you use?
You can vary the intensity of the phrase by changing the adverb. Use huele muy mal to say "it smells very bad", or use huele fatal to express a much stronger sense that the odor is terrible. While huele mal is standard, desprende un olor desagradable is a more formal way to say "it gives off an unpleasant smell".
How does it change in a sentence?
If you need to express doubt, emotion or necessity, the subjunctive mood huela mal is used.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the verb oler can be used as a metaphor for suspicion, such as in the phrase esto huele mal, which means 'something feels fishy' or 'this looks suspicious'.
- While huele mal is neutral, using the verb apestar is a more aggressive way to say something smells bad, effectively meaning 'to stink'.
- The word mal in huele mal shares a common ancestor with the English word 'malevolent', both descending from the Latin 'malus'.
Examples in context
- Huele mal.It smells bad.This sentence is useful for stating that something smells bad.Tatoeba #9423101 by ignacio, translation #1841612 by CK
- La comida huele malThe food smells bad
- El baño desprende un olor desagradableThe bathroom gives off an unpleasant smell
- El contenedor de basura emite un olor fétidoThe garbage container emits a fetid smell
- El baño huele a podridoThe bathroom smells rotten
- La granja emanaba un olor desagradableThe farm emitted an unpleasant smell
- ¡Ay, qué asco! Este queso huele fatal.Yuck, this cheese smells awful.
- Esa comida huele mal.That food smells bad.
- ¿Por qué este cuarto huele mal?Why does this room smell bad?
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are in the kitchen.
- DanielSofía, la basura huele mal.Sofía, the trash smells bad.
- SofíaTienes razón, Daniel.You are right, Daniel.
- DanielDebemos sacarla ahora mismo.We must take it out right now.
- SofíaSí, yo la llevo.Yes, I'll take it out.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mal, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
