Level A1/A2 (Beginner)
Today we’ll look at two words which can be very tricky: mauvais vs. mal. Both words are associated with ‘bad’, but what’s the difference? In most instances, mauvais is and adjective and mal is an adverb.
Pronunciation of mauvais and mal
Example sentences
RELATED LESSON
Le matin vs. la matinée
Pronunciation
For mal, there’s only one form. Mauvais has both masculine and feminine forms.
mal, mauvais /mɔvɛ/ mauvaise /mɔvɛz/
Four forms of mauvais:
mauvais (masculine singular)
mauvaise (feminine singular)
mauvais (masculine plural)
mauvaises (feminine plural)
Example sentences
Mauvais (adjective) = bad
Mauvais is used to describe the ‘bad’ quality of a noun. Translations include ‘bad’, ‘wrong’, ‘poor quality’, ‘unpleasant’ or ‘mean’.
C’est une mauvaise idée.
It’s a bad idea.
Tu avais pris le mauvais chemin.
You’d taken the wrong way.
C’est une mauvaise fille.
She’s a bad girl.
Il a fait mauvais hier.
The weather was bad yesterday.
Mal (adverb) = poorly
Mal is an adverb and is used to modify verbs and adjectives. It only has one form and translates to ‘badly’, ‘poorly’ and ‘unwell’.
Je joue mal.
I play poorly.
Elle a mal dormi.
She slept poorly.
Eric se sent mal.
Eric doesn’t feel well.
Mal has several more usages. The expression pas mal means ‘not bad’.
Tu aimes le vin ? -Oui, ce n’est pas mal.
Do you like the wine? Yes, it’s not bad.
Pas mal de is a slang expression for beaucoup de, meaning ‘a lot of’ or ‘many’.
Il y a pas mal de garçons dans la salle de classe.
There are a lot of boys in the classroom.
The expression avoir mal à + body part means ‘to have pain’ and ‘to have an ache’.
Julie a mal à la tête.
Julie has a headache.
As an adjective, mal can translate to ‘bad’, ‘immoral’ or ‘wrong’.
C’est mal de mentir
It’s wrong to lie.
Ce serait mal si elle ne venais pas.
It would be bad if she didn’t come.
RELATED LESSON
Le matin vs. la matinée
This lesson explains le matin vs. la matinée, two other words which can cause lots of confusion. Le matin is used to refer to the specific time of day while la matinée is used to describe a duration of time.
