muy malo
/mui malo/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'very bad' is translated into Spanish as muy malo.
muy malo is used to describe something of very low quality or a person with a wicked character.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between muy malo and muy mal. muy malo is an adjective used to describe a noun, such as a very bad movie, whereas muy mal is an adverb used to describe an action, such as doing something very badly.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use muy mala for feminine singular nouns, muy malos for masculine plural nouns and muy malas for feminine plural nouns.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying está muy malo about food can specifically mean that the food has spoiled or gone rotten.
- In some Spanish contexts, describing someone as malo can mean they are 'naughty' or 'mischievous' rather than truly evil.
- The word malo shares a common ancestor with the English word 'malice' and the prefix 'mal-' in 'malfunction'.
Examples in context
- El servicio al cliente en ese restaurante es sumamente malo.The customer service at that restaurant is extremely bad.
- Mi día ha sido super malo, todo salió mal.My day has been really bad, everything went wrong.
- El trabajo que me entregaron está terriblemente mal hecho.The work they gave me is terribly bad.
- Este libro es muy malo.This book is very bad.
- El servicio en este restaurante es muy malo.The service in this restaurant is very bad.
- Ese hombre es un hombre muy malo.That man is a very bad man.
- El clima hoy ha sido muy malo.The weather today has been very bad.
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are talking about a movie they just watched.
- Javier¿Qué te pareció la película, Sofía?What did you think of the movie, Sofía?
- SofíaFue muy malo el final.The ending was very bad.
- JavierEstoy de acuerdo, no me gustó nada.I agree, I didn't like it at all.
- SofíaFue una pérdida de tiempo.It was a waste of time.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
