Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| de mala fama | /de mala fama/ (from spelling rules) |
| tener mala pinta (to be sketchy) |
When you want to describe something of questionable or doubtful quality, you can use these different forms depending on whether you are talking about a known reputation or a first impression. Use tener mala pinta to describe a situation, an object or a person that looks suspicious or 'sketchy' at first glance.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase de mala fama literally means 'of bad reputation'. The expression tener mala pinta literally means 'to have a bad look' or 'to look bad'.
Which one should you use?
De mala fama is used when describing something or someone with a known bad reputation, whereas tener mala pinta is used when something simply looks suspicious or untrustworthy in the moment.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Tener mala pinta is a colloquial expression used in everyday conversation. For more formal situations, you can use sospechoso/a to mean suspicious or dudoso/a to describe something as sketchy.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the word turbio/a is used to express the idea of something being sketchy.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because tener mala pinta uses the verb tener (to have), you must conjugate it to match the subject, such as tiene mala pinta for 'it looks sketchy'.
How do you pronounce it?
/de mala fama/
Did you know?
- The word pinta in the expression tener mala pinta actually shares an ancestor with the English word 'pint'.
- In Spain, speakers use turbio to describe something sketchy, which literally means 'murky' or 'cloudy'.
- While tener mala pinta describes a suspicious appearance, the word pinta is also used as a noun to mean a person's overall 'look' or 'style'.
Examples in context
- El comportamiento de esa persona es bastante sospechoso.That person's behavior is quite suspicious.
- La oferta parece muy dudosa, deberíamos investigar antes de tomar una decisión.The offer seems very sketchy, we should investigate before making a decision.
- Me ofrecieron un trato chueco y decidí no involucrarme.They offered me a sketchy deal, and I decided not to get involved.
- No sé qué piensas tú, pero esto me parece muy raro.I don't know what you think, but this seems really sketchy to me.
- Desconfío de ese negocio, me parece todo muy turbio.I'm suspicious of that business, everything seems too sketchy to me.
- No te fíes de esa página web, parece realmente sospechosa.Don't trust that website, it looks really sketchy.
- ¿Has oído hablar de ese bar nuevo? Sí, pero me parece un poco raro.Have you heard about that new bar? Yes, but it seems a bit sketchy to me.
- Ese restaurante es de mala fama.That restaurant is of questionable quality.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sketchy” translations, 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 be, de, fama, mala, pinta, tener, CC BY-SA 4.0.
