Translation
pain, evil, badly; difficulty (avoir du mal à: to struggle to)
Test yourself on mal
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Word origin
From Latin malum ('evil, harm, misfortune'), the noun use of malus ('bad'), and from the adverb male ('badly'). The same root gave English malice, malign and malady.
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- malum
- English cognates
- malice, malign, malady, malevolent
Grammar
Examples
.
My back has been hurting since this morning.
.
He speaks French badly.
, .
I've had a headache since this morning, probably from the noise.
.
She had difficulty finding a parking spot near the market.
.
It is not so bad for a beginner.
est à la fois un nom masculin (pain, evil), un adverbe (badly, poorly) et entre dans de nombreuses locutions. Avoir mal à + partie du corps exprime la douleur : j'ai mal au dos, j'ai mal à la gorge. Faire mal (to hurt, to cause pain) est incontournable : ça fait mal !
Avoir du mal à + infinitif (to have difficulty doing something) est très courant : j'ai du mal à comprendre. Pas mal (not bad, quite a lot) est une formule positive en France - pas mal du tout (quite good actually). Le pluriel maux (/mo/) désigne les maux de l'humanité ou de la société : les maux de notre temps.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(13)Rendez-vous chez le docteur
2 min read · Core 5000
Chez le médecin
3 min read · Core 1000
Le défi de Malik
3 min read · Core 5000
Le secret de Nadia
3 min read · Core 5000
Les nouvelles habitudes d'Inès
3 min read · Core 5000
Perdu en ville
3 min read · Core 1000
Le café du quartier
4 min read · Core 1000
Adieu, madame Rochat
5 min read · Core 5000
Elle commence à comprendre
5 min read · Core 5000
Le parcours était mal fait
5 min read · Core 5000
Paper Walls
5 min read · Core 5000
Pas devant les clients
5 min read · Core 1000
Un trou dans le graphique
5 min read · Core 5000
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
French · Free printables
mal: worksheet, infographic and listicleThe padlock and Plus mark show a Kilo Lingo Plus feature. Start your free week to unlock it - no card needed.
Free printable study downloads for the French word "mal" (pain, evil, badly; difficulty (avoir du mal à: to struggle to)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Part of Kilo Lingo Plus
Printables beyond chapters 1 and 2 are part of Kilo Lingo Plus. Sign up free and start your free week to download as many as you like: no card.
Start your free week (no card)This word is taught in chapter 4, lesson 6: mal, leur, ok and 7 more words.