"Menos mal"
Today's word of the day sentence uses the phrase "menos mal" translated as "might as well". I'd never heard that before and can't find any examples on the site. Is it common?
6 Answers
From the DRAE:
menos mal.
loc. interj. U. para indicar alivio porque no ocurre o no ha ocurrido algo malo que se temía, o porque ocurre o ha ocurrido algo bueno con lo que apenas se contaba.
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
According to the RAE, then, the expression "menos mal" is an interjection used to express relief over the fact that something bad that you were afraid would happen has not happened or that something good happened that was scarcely expected.
In English, similar expressions used to show relief of this sort might be something like:
?Whew! What a load off my mind!
?Oh! Thank Heavens/goodness/God!
?Phew! What a relief!
?Oh! Thank you Jesus!
Regarding its use to signify the expression "might as well," I personally cannot think of a context in which it might fit.
There is another very similarly worded expression, however, that might do the trick:
del mal, el menos.
1). expr. coloq. U. para aconsejar que entre dos males se elija el menor.
2). expr. coloq. U. para manifestar conformidad, cuando la desgracia que ocurre no es tan grande como se temía que fuese o hubiera podido ser.
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
The second entry tells us that this expression can be used to show conformity when some misfortune has occurred that is not as bad as feared or as bad as it could have been.
A search of our Phrasebook (found under the "More" drop-down menu at the top of the page) shows that it is used often. See:
http://www.spanishdict.com/phrasebook/search/"menos mal"
In regards to the word of the day, I believe that the original example was given by RaulSpaniard as:
Para aprender un idioma es imprescindible echarle muchas horas. Menos mal que con Spanishdict! Se hace más llevadero!
?To learn a language it is indispensable to set aside a lot of hours. Might as well use Spanishdict! it is more bearable!
Here, I think that the sense of the phrase is not that of an interjection (as described in the first example I posted earlier) but as an expression more similar the second listed expression, i.e. it is being used to describe a choice that is the "least bad" of those provided.
More specifically, we are saying that many hours have to be dedicated to learn a language and that "a person is better off with SpanishDict" because "with SpanishDict, the countless hours become more bearable"
Said another way, we might note that "although we have to spend numerous hours in order to learn a language, with SpanishDict we are "better off," or rather, "less worse off" because it makes these hours more bearable." (e.g. "we might as well spend these hours with SpanishDict")
In this sense, the translation offered by RaulSpaniard certainly approximates the idea of the original Spanish sentence; however, I would be hesitant to consider the translation to be all that literal and would be careful in trying to ascribe a one-to-one relation here.
Hi:
This is what I found in my dictionary:
menos mal = just as well, thank goodness; menos mal que no me oyó = just as well o it's a good thing he didn't hear me.
Hope it helps you.
I've seen it as Jeezzle said for 'thank goodness' or as 'it's just as well' I've got some money with me, menos mal que llevo dinero encima, menos mal que viniste, just as well that you came etc
But not as 'might as well' - I thought that 'might as well' could be translated as: más vale que ... or bien podrías .... etc 
Menos mal means thank goodness. I've never heard it as "might as well" so you've got my curiosity up.
Menos mal que no llueve - thank goodness it isn't raining.
Might as well not be raining? I can't imagine that here, or how it could be used.
Menos mal que ya llegaste. Thank goodness that you've already arrived.
Or even just: ¿Así que ya llegaste? ¡Menos mal! Thank goodness.
I'd love to hear some examples of "might as well" with it, you've got my curiosity up.
