Degrees of wrong. How wrong is 'mal(o)' ?
3
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In English we have the words 'bad', 'wrong' & 'evil' et cetera, all of which have different nuances, yet I'm only aware of the Spanish word 'mal'. How do I differentiate among these different meanings ?
If a child is 'naughty' do I use 'mal' ?
724 views
updated Sep 2, 2014
posted by Faldaesque
2 Answers
3
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malo o travieso
updated Sep 2, 2014
posted by jphip
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A naughty child might be referred to as "maleducado" or "malcriado"
updated Sep 2, 2014
posted by Observer
What do I say of the act of a naughty child ? ¿ Lo que tú has hecho es maleducado ? I like jphip's suggestion of 'travieso', which brings to my mind the notion of 'traversing' rules... - Faldaesque, Sep 2, 2014
malcriado is used for a spoiled brat. Which can be said in the same context as a naughty kid. - jphip, Sep 2, 2014
Ej: ¡Tú eres malcriado! O ¡Tú eres (muy) travieso! If you want to specifically say naughty, I would use "travieso." - jphip, Sep 2, 2014
Es una cuestión de grado. - Observer, Sep 2, 2014
Pero, sí, la palabra travieso sería una buena opción. - Observer, Sep 2, 2014
