kétü

Kötü is a Turkish adjective meaning bad, evil, or of poor quality. It is used to describe people, actions, situations, and things that are considered undesirable or harmful. The word commonly appears in contrasts with iyi, which means good.

In Turkish, kötü can function directly before a noun to indicate the quality of that noun, as in kötü haber (bad news) or kötü insan (bad person). It can also be used predicatively, as in Bu yemek kötü. (This food is bad.) Several common compound phrases are built around kötü: kötü niyetli (ill-intentioned), kötüleşmek (to worsen), and kötüye gitmek (to go in a bad direction or deteriorate). The term often carries moral connotations, but it also applies to non-moral assessments such as quality or effectiveness, for example, kötü bir sonuç (a bad result) or kötü bir filme (a bad film).

Etymologically, kötü is a native Turkish word and has cognates across Turkic languages, reflecting its long-standing role in Turkish vocabulary. It forms a central part of everyday speech and idiomatic expressions, from casual descriptions to more formal or literary contexts.

In usage, kötü is versatile but typically requires context to determine whether it conveys moral judgment or a practical assessment. It is frequently paired with intensifying modifiers or combined with other adjectives to express degrees of severity or danger. See also iyi, kötüleşme, and related Turkish idioms for further examples.