/ˈmal/
badly, poorly, ill; awry, amiss, wrong, wrongly; hard (functions as an adverb in Spanish but translates as an adjective in English); Used as an intensifier, very; yes
“No hables mal de los muertos.” — Don't speak ill of the dead.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel-? Proto-Italic *malos Latin malus Latin male Spanish mal Inherited from Latin male.
evil, harm; a bad thing or situation; disease, illness, ailment; worse (substantive)
“de mal en peor” — from bad to worse
Synonyms: enfermedad, dolencia
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel-? Proto-Italic *malos Latin malus Latin male Spanish mal Inherited from Latin male.
apocopic form of malo bad; evil; amiss, awry, off, wrong
“Me di cuenta de que algo estaba mal.” — I realized something was amiss.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel-? Proto-Italic *malos Latin malus Latin malum Old Spanish malo Old Spanish mal Spanish mal Inherited from Old Spanish mal, malo, from Latin malus, possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“bad, wrong”).