peor
/peˈoɾ/
The English word 'worse' is translated into Spanish as peor.
peor is the comparative form of the adjective 'bad'. It can function as both an adjective and an adverb, serving as the comparative for both 'bad' and 'badly'.
Meaning: comparative form of bad (adj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you may hear the colloquial term más chungo/a used to express 'worse'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word peor is invariant in gender, so it is used for both masculine and feminine nouns. However, it must change to peores when modifying a plural noun. To express the phrase 'worse than', use peor que followed by the object of comparison.
How do you pronounce it?
/peˈoɾ/
Did you know?
- The English word 'pejorative', which describes a word with a negative connotation, shares the same ancient root as the Spanish peor.
- Spanish has a specific phrase el mal menor, which translates to 'the lesser evil', used when choosing the 'less worse' of two bad options.
- In some Spanish dialects, saying de peor en peor describes a situation that is not just getting worse, but is spiraling out of control.
Examples in context
- Me ha ido peor.I've done worse.Tatoeba #3015583 by marcelostockle, translation #2248371 by CK
- El tuyo es peor.Yours is worse.Tatoeba #2620311 by teskmon, translation #2255473 by CK
- Sos peor que yo.You're worse than I am.Tatoeba #3063644 by hayastan, translation #2546234 by CK
- Las condiciones laborales han empeorado.Working conditions have worsened.
- El estado de salud del paciente es peor.The patient's health condition is worse.
- La situación económica ha ido de mal en peor.The economic situation has gone from bad to worse.
- Esta película es peor que la anterior.This movie is worse than the previous one.
- No creas que puedes hacerlo mejor, ¡puedes hacerlo peor aún!Don't think you can do it better, you can do even worse!
- El tiempo está más feo hoy que ayer.The weather is worse today than yesterday.
- 121 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are discussing a movie they just watched.
- Lucía¿Te gustó la película?Did you like the movie?
- AlejandroNo, fue peor que la anterior.No, it was worse than the previous one.
- LucíaPara mí fue mucho mejor.For me, it was much better.
- AlejandroBueno, tenemos gustos diferentes.Well, we have different tastes.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “worse” translations and entries peor, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries peor, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
