Plutôt mauvais
To say rather bad in French, say Plutôt mauvais.
What does it mean word for word?
Plutôt is an adverb meaning rather, and mauvais means bad.
Which one should you use?
Assez mauvais means quite bad or fairly bad, though the difference in strength is small in speech. In casual French, Pas terrible and Pas génial, both meaning not great, are softer ways to say something is rather bad. Relativement mauvais is a more formal choice.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Quebec, people say plutôt poche informally.
How does it change in a sentence?
mauvais agrees with the noun it describes: Plutôt mauvaise for a feminine noun and Plutôt mauvaises for a feminine plural one.
Did you know?
- In Quebec, the informal expression plutôt poche uses a word meaning 'pocket' to describe something of poor quality.
- The adverb plutôt literally breaks down into 'plus' (more) and 'tôt' (early), tracing back to a Middle French form meaning 'more soon'.
- French speakers often avoid saying plutôt mauvais directly by using 'litotes', such as pas terrible, to soften the blow of a criticism.
Examples in context
- La situation est plutôt mauvaiseThe situation is rather bad
- Les résultats de l'étude sont assez mauvaisThe study results are quite bad
- Le niveau de satisfaction des clients est relativement mauvaisThe level of customer satisfaction is relatively bad
- Le film que j'ai vu hier soir était pas terribleThe movie I saw last night was rather bad
- Le concert était un peu nulThe concert was rather bad
- Le niveau de service était plutôt pocheThe level of service was rather bad
- Le film était plutôt mauvais.The movie was rather bad.
- Son dernier album est plutôt mauvais.His last album is rather bad.
- Le service au restaurant était plutôt mauvais.The service at the restaurant was rather bad.
Example conversation
Hugo and Manon are discussing a meal they just ate.
- ManonTu as aimé ton plat, Hugo ?Did you like your dish, Hugo?
- HugoNon, c'était plutôt mauvais.No, it was rather bad.
- ManonC'est dommage, la cuisine est normalement bonne.That's a shame, the food is normally good.
- HugoOui, je suis déçu.Yes, I am disappointed.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mauvais, plutôt, CC BY-SA 4.0.
