What difference is there between "está malo" and "es malo"?

Question

What difference is there between "Está malo." and "Es malo."? I've heard "No seas malo." for "Don't be mean." but I've also heard "Está malo." for "It's wrong." Can you use "Estoy malo." for people like "I'm wrong." or just answers like "The date is wrong. -- La fecha está mala." Thanks for the help, my big dictionaries don't give any examples.

Answer 1

It all have to do with the difference between ser (used to identify, classify or define) and estar (used to describe circumstances in time and space):

Ser malo = be of a bad nature (eg. bad quality, evil personality)

Estar malo = to be found in bad circumstances (eg. taste bad, be sick)

"La fecha está mala" does not make sense.

What a great resourse you are Lazarus! Thanks! - 002262dd, Sep 19, 2010

While of course this is correct, in some cases "estar mal" may also refer to being wrong, as in: "este resultado está mal" or "no quiero tener que robar, está mal" - bill1111, Sep 19, 2010

You're righ, Bill, but you are classifying the result as being a bad one, aren't you? - lazarus1907, Sep 19, 2010

I think Bill's point is that this is a case of using estar to classify, right? - webdunce, Sep 28, 2010

Answer 2

If you say, "Estoy mala." I think that it would be understood as "I'm sick." I'd say, "Estoy equivocada." or "Me equivoqué" to mean "I'm wrong."

So, when talking about a person, I think that that "estar malo/a" is "to be sick" and "ser malo/a" is "to be bad/mean".

When talking about a thing or action, I think that "ser malo/a" would be "to be bad/wrong" (as a matter of fact, unchangeable characteristic) and "estar malo/a" would be "to be bad/wrong" (and maybe fixable)

I would say, "La fecha es incorrecta." to mean "The date is wrong."

Answer 3

In my non-native opinion, I think it is better to say (for the example give): La fecha está incorrecta (if it is incorrect) or La fecha está inoportuna (if it is not a convenient date for those involved).

I know that doesn't help with the whole ser mal / estar mal issue, but I'm not really qualified to answer that. I just stumble along guessing at it...trying to get a feel for how they are used via watching movies in Spanish or reading in Spanish.

There is a general difference between essence (ser) and current status (estar).

Es feliz (he is a "happy person")

Está feliz (currently, he is happy)

La fecha es mala (this date might stab you in your sleep)

La fecha está mal (this date is incorrect, inconvenient, whatever)

Also, there is mal/mala (adjective) and mal (adverb). Mal (the adverb) is used to mean incorrect in Spanish...adverbs don't agree with nouns like adjectives do...since they don't modify nouns. (In English to say, the date is wrong...wrong would be an adjective).

Answer 4

I suppose you meant:

La fecha está mal

or "La fecha está mal escrita." - CalvoViejo, Sep 28, 2010

Answer 5

La fecha means date está mal means is bad