bastante malo
/bastante malo/from spelling rules
In Spanish, pretty bad is translated as bastante malo.
The phrase is used to describe something that is of a low quality or is very unpleasant.
What does it mean word for word?
The word bastante literally means 'enough' or 'quite', and malo means 'bad'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in gender with the noun it modifies, so use the feminine form bastante mala for feminine nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/bastante malo/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, calling a person malo can imply they are 'evil' or 'wicked', a much stronger connotation than the English 'bad'.
- If you are describing a 'bad' smell or a 'bad' taste, Spanish speakers often switch from malo to feo or other sensory-specific adjectives.
- While 'bastante' means 'pretty' or 'quite' in the phrase bastante malo, its root word bastar actually means 'to suffice' or 'to be enough'.
Examples in context
- Eso es bastante malo.That's pretty bad.This sentence is useful for saying 'That's pretty bad.' using bastante malo.Tatoeba #6630161 by Schuager, translation #2251194 by CK
- Esto es bastante malo.This is pretty bad.Tatoeba #5632047 by arh, translation #4494984 by CK
- No soy hablante nativo, pero hasta yo me doy cuenta de que el francés de Tom es bastante malo.I'm not a native speaker, but even I can tell that Tom's French is pretty bad.Tatoeba #10056389 by DJ_Saidez, translation #10042684 by CK
- El rendimiento académico del estudiante es muy malo.The student's academic performance is pretty bad.
- Los resultados del proyecto fueron bastante malos.The project results were pretty bad.
- El servicio al cliente de esa compañía es bastante malo.The customer service of that company is pretty bad.
- Tu amigo me trató muy feo.Your friend treated me pretty bad.
- Esta película es muy fea, no la recomiendo.This movie is pretty bad, I don't recommend it.
- El clima está re malo, mejor quedémonos en casa.The weather is pretty bad, let's stay home.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are discussing a movie they just watched.
- Sofía¿Te gustó la película, Mateo?Did you like the movie, Mateo?
- MateoLa verdad es que el final fue bastante malo.To be honest, the ending was pretty bad.
- SofíaEstoy de acuerdo, no tenía sentido.I agree, it didn't make any sense.
- MateoSí, fue una pérdida de tiempo.Yes, it was a waste of time.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bastante, malo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
