# Translation of "el Malo"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635 "2016-11-21T11:48:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/1 "2016-11-21T11:48:42Z")
So the newspapers are telling us a certain American electee is known in Mexico as “el Malo,” which they (the news sources) translate as “the bad one.” Is that the best translation? Would it reasonable to translate that as “the evil one,” or am I engaging in some kind of cultural folly by jumping to that conclusion? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/2 "2016-11-21T11:57:21Z")
Both would work depending on the case, which one to choose would depend on context and there are other possible translations for other cases. “Bad” in English and _malo_ in Spanish have similar usages (not exactly equivalent though); English “evil” and Spanish _malvado_ require agency and will. “The good, the bad and the ugly” gets reordered into _el bueno, el feo y el malo_, Enio Morricone earworm. _Este melocotón está malo_: this peach has gone bad. Peaches can’t go evil. _Mi hermano está malo_: my brother is sick (medically). _Es un hombre muy malo_: that dude is evil. _Es el malo de la película_: he’s the movie’s bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/3 "2016-11-21T12:28:38Z")
A _grand mal_ seizure is very bad, but it is not very evil. OTOH, “malevolent” means doing/wishing evil on others (opposite of benevolent). See also benediction (prayer/blessing) and malediction (curse) Kinda fits into either category, although Google-Translate says “El Malo” = “The Bad.” If Spanish-English dictionaries are saying the same thing, it seems likely that “The Bad One” is the best translation. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/4 "2016-11-21T12:51:48Z")
On the other hand, if they use the surname appended with “El Malo”, perhaps the better translation would be John Smith The Bad since other leaders have had monikers that translated to English thus. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/5 "2016-11-21T14:00:26Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > A _grand mal_ seizure is very bad, but it is not very evil. It is also not very Spanish, as of last check. In that particular instance, _mal_ has the meaning of illness. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/6 "2016-11-21T14:22:57Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > A _grand mal_ seizure is very bad, but it is not very evil. > > OTOH, “malevolent” means doing/wishing evil on others (opposite of benevolent). See also benediction (prayer/blessing) and malediction (curse) > > Kinda fits into either category, although Google-Translate says “El Malo” = “The Bad.” If Spanish-English dictionaries are saying the same thing, it seems likely that “The Bad One” is the best translation. Those words/phrases do not derive from Spanish. You have to be careful that cognates in French (source of grand mal) Latin (source of malevolent), or Italian are not always exact. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/7 "2016-11-21T14:24:58Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > So the newspapers are telling us a certain American electee is known in Mexico as “el Malo,” which they (the news sources) translate as “the bad one.” Is that the best translation? Would it reasonable to translate that as “the evil one,” or am I engaging in some kind of cultural folly by jumping to that conclusion? I think both meanings apply here: to the electee as “the Bad” and to the US as having a grave illness. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/8 "2016-11-21T15:07:45Z")
So it could be an unmentionable disease or rash? ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/9 "2016-11-21T15:10:16Z")
The Malo. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/10 "2016-11-21T15:31:35Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > So it could be an unmentionable disease or rash? No, because _mal_ and _malo_ are not the same word. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/11 "2016-11-21T15:37:52Z")
It may be a mistranslation of el Mallow, “the squishy one.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/12 "2016-11-21T15:43:41Z")
The wifi here is _mala_, it keeps kicking us out ☹ [mal](http://dle.rae.es/?id=NyEUGaa%7CNyEeGCh): 1. adjective “malo”, used before a noun that is masculine and singular: mal día (a bad day) from 2 to 5, masculine noun: 2. that which is the opposite of good, that which moves away from legality and honesty 3. damage or offense someone suffers on themselves or their property 4. calamity 5. illness [malo (m) or mala (f)](http://dle.rae.es/?id=O3b9Md7): 1 to 12 are adjectives. 1. Something negative, missing those qualities one would expect it to have by its nature, function or destiny. 2. Bad for health. 3. Opposed to logic or morality. 4. Constantly ill-behaved (also used as a noun) 5. Sick 6. +de (preposition): Making the action signified by the following infinitive difficult: Juan es malo de contentar, it is difficult to make Juan happy (contentar = to make happy, to satisfy) 7. Painful, disgusting 8. Said of an object, broken or spoiled 9. Clumsy, careless, specially in their profession 10. Unfavorable 11. Evil 12. Usually said of a young boy: troublemaker 13. masculine noun: the devil (not “a” devil, but the big one) 14. femenine noun: a specific card in some games ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/translation-of-el-malo/772635/13 "2016-11-21T16:58:04Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > A _grand mal_ seizure is very bad, but it is not very evil. > > OTOH, “malevolent” means doing/wishing evil on others (opposite of benevolent). See also benediction (prayer/blessing) and malediction (curse) Beware of [False Friends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend). –Mark