contrast.mal-malo
Mal vs malo
Mal = adverb (canta mal, me siento mal); malo = adjective (una mala señal). Before masculine singular nouns malo shortens to mal: un mal día.
⚠ Stub: AI-drafted outline, not yet reviewed. The structure is permanent; the content will be expanded.
contrastA2stubdraftv0.1.0
Explanation
Mirror of bien/bueno: verbs take mal (salió mal), nouns take malo/a (un negocio malo). The apocope creates the trap: mal humor, mal momento are the adjective, not the adverb.
Estar mal = unwell or wrong (eso está mal); ser malo = bad quality or unkind; estar de malas = in a bad mood / out of luck.
Examples
Dormí mal; fue una mala noche.
I slept badly; it was a bad night.
I slept badly; it was a bad night.
Region: global
No es mala idea.
It's not a bad idea.
It's not a bad idea.
Region: global