dårlig

Dålig is a word used in Danish, Norwegian (Bokmål) and Swedish to express a negative evaluation, meaning "bad" or "poor." It functions mainly as an adjective, describing the quality of a noun, but can also serve as an adverbial modifier in some contexts within these languages.

In everyday language, dårlig/dålig can describe objects, health, performance, or behavior. The tone ranges from mild critique to strong condemnation, depending on context and any intensifying words used.

Etymology and cognates: The term is native to the North Germanic language family and has cognates across Danish, Norwegian and Swedish (Danish dårlig, Norwegian dårlig, Swedish dålig). The Danish form was historically spelled "daarlig" with aa, before spelling reforms in the 20th century.

Usage notes: The word is widely used in everyday speech and writing. It takes different inflection patterns in each language and is often paired with idioms to express varying degrees of negativity.

Examples:

- Danish: Det er en dårlig film. (That is a bad movie.)

- Norwegian Bokmål: Det var en dårlig idé. (That was a bad idea.)

- Swedish: Det var en dålig idé. (That was a bad idea.)

See also: Antonyms include the words for "good" in each language (Danish: god, Norwegian: god, Swedish: bra). The forms are context dependent and should be matched to gender, number, and definiteness when used as an adjective in Danish and Norwegian, and with appropriate agreement in Swedish.