English → Spanish
bad
/AmE bæd 
, BrE bad /
A
adjective
(comparative worse superlative worst)
Note
The usual translation of bad, malo, becomes mal when it is used before a masculine singular noun.1
a (of poor quality) malo
her handwriting is bad tiene mala letra
he's a bad liar no sabe mentir
that wouldn't be a bad idea no es mala idea, no estaría mal
b (unreliable, incompetent) (predicative) to be bad at sth/ -ing ser malo para algo/+ inf
I'm bad at names/remembering dates soy malo or no tengo cabeza para los nombres /para recordar fechas
to be bad about -ing: he's bad about returning things he's borrowed le cuesta devolver lo que pide prestado
to be bad on sth: I'm bad on punctuation la puntuación no es mi fuerte
2
a (unpleasant) ‹weather/experience/news› malo
I've had a bad day he tenido (un) mal día
it tastes/smells bad sabe/huele mal, tiene mal gusto/olor
b (unsatisfactory) malo
you've come at a bad moment vienes en (un) mal momento
it's been a bad year for wine/the tourist industry ha sido un mal año de vinos/para el turismo
it was bad that nobody visited her estuvo muy mal que no fuera nadie a verla
c (harmful) malo to be bad for sb/sth:
too much food is bad for you comer demasiado es malo or hace mal
smoking is bad for your health fumar es malo or perjudicial para la salud
3
a (impolite) ‹behavior/manners› malo
a bad word una palabrota, una mala palabra
bad boy/girl! don't do that! ¡no hagas eso! ¡malo/mala!
b (evil) ‹person› malo
anyone who likes children can't be all bad si le gustan los niños no puede ser tan malo
4 (severe) ‹mistake/injury› grave; ‹headache› fuerte
he has a bad cough tiene mucha tos
a boy with bad acne/a bad stammer un chico con mucho acné/que tartamudea mucho
5 (rotten) ‹egg/fish/fruit› podrido
to go bad echarse a perder
6 (afflicted):
she's got a bad leg está mal de la pierna
this is my bad leg esta es mi pierna mala
I've got a bad tooth tengo un diente cariado/una muela cariada
7 (sorry) to feel bad about sth:
I feel bad about not having written to her me da no sé qué no haberle escrito
it's not your fault; there's no need to feel bad about it no es culpa tuya, no tienes por qué preocuparte
8 (Finance) ‹check› sin fondos
B
noun
1 [uncountable]:
all the bad that he's done todo el mal que ha hecho
there's good and bad in everybody todos tenemos cosas buenas y malas
she always looks for the bad in any situation siempre ve el lado malo de todo
2 (people):
the bad (+ plural verb) los malos
C
adverb
(US) ():
to need sth real bad necesitar algo desesperadamente
if you want it bad enough si de verdad lo quieres
he's been hurt bad le han hecho mucho daño
Idioms
from bad to worse
to go from bad to worse ir de mal en peor
not bad
that's not bad at all! ¡no está nada mal!
to look bad
it'll look bad if you don't turn up queda mal or feo que no vayas
too bad
(it's) too bad we don't have a car () ¡qué lástima que no tengamos coche!;
too bad you didn't think of that earlier! () ¡haberlo pensado antes! ();
it's too bad you can't come es una lástima or una pena que no puedas venir;
if she doesn't like it, that's just too bad () si no le gusta, peor para ella;
I was here first — too bad! () yo llegué antes — ¡pues mala suerte!
not so bad
how are you? — not so bad! () ¿qué tal estás? — aquí ando, tirando ()
in a bad way
to be in a bad way () estar fatal (); estar mal;
he's in a bad way está muy mal
to take the bad with the good
you have to learn to take the bad with the good hay que aprender a aceptar lo bueno y lo malo, hay que aprender a aceptar las cosas como vienen
to go to the bad echarse a perder, perderse
to the bad (Finance) en números rojos
to have got it bad
she's got it bad for him está loca por él; se derrite por él ()