dåligt

Dåligt is a Swedish word that conveys the sense of bad or poor. It functions as the neuter singular form of the adjective dålig when used predicatively or as an adverbial form in certain constructions, and it can also appear as the neuter form for describing quality in neutral or adverbial positions. In everyday use, dåligt denotes negative quality, performance, or conditions.

grammatically, dålig has the forms dålig (common gender singular), dåligt (neuter singular), and dåliga (plural for both genders). For example, en dålig film (a bad film), ett dåligt beslut is incorrect; correct is ett dåligt beslut. The neuter form dåligt is used with neuter nouns like ett dåligt väder (bad weather) and in predicative or adverbial positions such as Det går dåligt (It goes badly) or Han spelar dåligt (He plays badly).

Usage notes: dåligt is a versatile term used across contexts from everyday judgment to descriptions of circumstances. It can be intensified with adverbs like mycket dåligt, väldigt dåligt, or riktigt dåligt to express stronger negative evaluation. Synonyms and near-synonyms include inte bra and uselt (more colloquial), while sämre or värre are comparative forms connected to the broader concept of quality.

Etymology and related forms: dåligt is part of a family of North Germanic adjectives in Swedish, with cognates in Danish dårligt and Norwegian dårlig/dårlig. The word consistently carries a negative valence and is a staple element in describing quality, evaluation, or performance in Swedish.

See also: dålig, sämre, värre, uselt.