How to Say "awful" in Spanish

Unlike many Spanish adjectives that end in '-o' or '-a', horrible always stays the same for both masculine and feminine things. You say un día horrible (a horrible day) and una película horrible (a horrible movie).

To talk about more than one thing, just add an 's' to the end. For example, días horribles (horrible days) or películas horribles (horrible movies).

'Terrible' is an adjective, a word that describes things. It needs to match the thing it's describing. The good news is it's the same for masculine and feminine things ('un día terrible', 'una noche terrible'). For plural things, just add an '-s' ('días terribles', 'noches terribles').

In this use, 'terrible' doesn't mean 'bad'. Instead, it acts like 'very' or 'extremely' to make another word stronger. So, 'un hambre terrible' means 'extreme hunger,' not 'a bad-tasting hunger'.

Since 'desagradable' ends in '-e', it describes both masculine and feminine things without changing its ending. You only need to make it plural: 'desagradables'.

When describing a permanent or typical characteristic (like a person's personality), use 'ser': 'Él es desagradable'. For a temporary state (like a bad taste right now), use 'estar': 'La sopa está desagradable hoy'.

Since 'espantoso' is an adjective, make sure it matches the thing it describes in gender (o/a) and number (s/es). E.g., 'una película espantosa' (a horrible movie).

Unlike most Spanish adjectives, 'fatal' does not change its ending to match the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) or number (singular or plural). It always stays 'fatal'.

This word must match the gender of the noun it describes. Change the 'o' to 'a' for feminine things: 'una idea desastrosa' (a disastrous idea).

Use 'ser' to describe the inherent quality of something (it was a bad movie), or 'resultar' to describe how something turned out in the end.

Since 'malditos' ends in -os, it is masculine and plural. It must match the noun it describes (e.g., 'los libros malditos').

'Malos' is used when describing masculine things that are plural (more than one). If you were describing just one masculine thing, you'd use 'malo' or the shortened form 'mal'.

Like many Spanish adjectives, 'malos' can go before or after the noun. Placing it after ('resultados malos') is more common; placing it before ('malos resultados') often adds emphasis.

This word must match the person or thing you are describing. Use 'horrendo' for masculine words (el libro) and 'horrenda' for feminine words (la película).

Usually, you put 'horrendo' after the thing you are describing. If you put it before (e.g., 'el horrendo crimen'), it adds a more dramatic, literary, or emotional tone.

Use 'ser' if the thing is always bad (e.g., 'el libro es horroroso'). Use 'estar' if it's a temporary state, like bad weather (e.g., 'el día está horroroso').

The meaning of 'tremendo' often depends on the context. If you are describing something negative, it intensifies that negativity (e.g., 'tremenda hambre' means severe hunger).

When used this way, 'perra' is an adjective and must match the gender of the thing it describes. For a feminine noun use 'perra' (una noche perra), and for a masculine noun use 'perro' (un día perro).