Inklingo

How to Say "terribly" in Spanish

The most common Spanish word for “terribly” is “fatal” — use 'fatal' when 'terribly' describes doing something badly or poorly, indicating a lack of skill or quality..

English → Spanish

fatal

fah-TAHL/faˈtal/

adverbB1informal
Use 'fatal' when 'terribly' describes doing something badly or poorly, indicating a lack of skill or quality.
A white sheet of paper covered in chaotic, overlapping red crayon scribbles, showing a failed attempt at drawing.

Examples

Canto fatal, pero me encanta la música.

I sing terribly, but I love music.

¿Cómo te fue en el viaje? — Me fue fatal.

How did your trip go? — It went awfully.

Adverb Form

When 'fatal' acts as an adverb (telling you how something is done), it keeps the same form, 'fatal,' and doesn't need the usual '-mente' ending that many Spanish adverbs use.

terriblemente

teh-ree-bleh-MEN-teh/teˈriβleˈmente/

adverbB1
Use 'terriblemente' when 'terribly' functions as an intensifier, meaning 'extremely' or 'very'.
A tiny brown mouse looking up at an extremely large, massive wedge of yellow cheese, illustrating the concept of extreme size.

Examples

La película era terriblemente larga; duró tres horas.

The movie was terribly long; it lasted three hours.

Aunque no lo creas, el pastel estaba terriblemente delicioso.

Believe it or not, the cake was terribly delicious.

Necesitamos esto terriblemente rápido.

We need this terribly fast.

Adverb Form

Most Spanish adverbs ending in '-mente' are created by adding this suffix to the feminine form of an adjective (terrible is already feminine/masculine, so it stays the same).

Fatal vs. Terriblemente

The most common mistake is using 'fatal' to mean 'extremely'. Remember, 'fatal' specifically means 'badly' or 'poorly' when describing an action or performance. Use 'terriblemente' for emphasis, like 'very' or 'extremely'.

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