mal
bad
Reviewed by: David WestfallCofounder
Something negative or unfavorable
Encoding Strategies:
linguistic
malicious
full of bad intent
Mal means bad and is related to the English word malicious0, which means "full of bad intent."
mal
bad (before a noun)
Goes right before a masculine singular noun to call that thing bad.
Tuve un mal día en el trabajoI had a bad day at work
Llegó a la reunión de mal humorHe came to the meeting in a bad mood
badly, poorly
When an action is carried out in a bad way. The thing itself may be fine, but the doing of it was bad.
Canta mal pero con mucho entusiasmoHe sings badly but with a lot of enthusiasm
Anoche dormí mal por el ruido de la calleLast night I slept poorly because of the street noise
wrong, incorrectly (mistakes)
Doing something in a bad way often just means getting it wrong.
Escribiste mal mi apellido en el formularioYou wrote my last name wrong on the form
Contesté mal las últimas dos preguntas del examenI answered the last two questions on the test incorrectly
sick, unwell (health)
When someone is in bad health. To be bad is to feel bad in your body.
Me siento mal desde que comí ese pescadoI have felt sick since I ate that fish
Mi abuela está mal y no puede levantarse de la camaMy grandmother is unwell and cannot get out of bed
sad, unhappy (mood)
When someone is in a bad emotional state rather than a bad physical one.
Está mal porque su mejor amiga se mudó a otra ciudadShe is sad because her best friend moved to another city
Sigue mal por la discusión que tuvieron ayerHe is still unhappy about the argument they had yesterday
el mal
evil
Badness itself, treated as a thing. This is the abstract force that stands opposite good.
El mal existe en el mundoEvil exists in the world
En los cuentos infantiles, el bien siempre vence al malIn children's stories, good always defeats evil
harm, damage
The bad that someone does to a person or thing.
No le desea ningún mal a nadieHe does not wish any harm on anyone
El chisme hizo mucho mal en la oficinaThe gossip did a lot of damage in the office
misfortune, trouble
A bad turn of events that lands on someone.
El mal cayó sobre la familiaMisfortune fell upon the family
Los males de ese año los dejaron sin nadaThe troubles of that year left them with nothing
illness, ailment (formal)
A specific bad condition in the body, and a somewhat formal way to name a disease.
Sufre de un mal del corazónHe suffers from a heart illness
Los médicos nunca lograron identificar su malThe doctors never managed to identify her ailment