Mal vs. malo/a

[pia]

what is the difference in usage with mal and malo/a? i know there is a subtle difference but i am not sure exactly what it is.

if i felt sick or bad would i say soy muy mala or soy muy mal?

[Perikles]

I'm no expert, so others please correct me. In brief:

malo/a is an adjective, and the form mal is used before masculine singular nouns:

tienes mal aspecto = you don't look very well
tienes mala cara = ditto

but mal is also an invariable adjective:

estar mal = to be ill
la fecha está mal = the date is wrong

and mal is also an adverb:
se casó muy mal = he/she married very badly

Does that help?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Perikles.


And adding to that:

Originally Posted by pia

if i felt sick or bad would i say soy muy mala or soy muy mal (never!)?

If you say "soy muy mala" you're saying you're very evil.

If you feel sick, you'd say "me siento mal", "estoy mal" (this last one can also mean "I'm wrong", but the context will tell).
Some times one can say "estoy malo", which gives an immediate idea that one is sick, but some people consider it uneducated.