slechte

Slechte is the inflected form of the Dutch adjective slecht, used before a noun to express bad quality or an undesirable condition. It is employed in a wide range of contexts, from everyday evaluation to formal writing. Examples include "het slechte weer" (the bad weather), "slechte kwaliteit" (poor quality), "slechte reputatie" (bad reputation), and "een slechte grap" (a bad joke). In general, slechte functions as an attributive adjective that agrees with the noun it modifies, appearing with singular and plural nouns, in both definite and indefinite contexts (for example, "de slechte man" and "een slechte kans").

The adverbial counterpart is slecht, which is used to describe how an action is performed rather than the quality of a noun. The comparative form is slechter and the superlative is slechtst. Etymologically, slecht comes from Old Dutch and has cognates in other West Germanic languages, notably German schlecht. In modern Dutch, slechte is a common, neutral term for describing inferior or negative quality, while its use can carry varying nuance from plain description to moral or evaluative judgment depending on context.