Ce film est mauvais.

This movie is bad.

Breakdown of Ce film est mauvais.

• être: to be
• ce: this
• le film: the movie
• mauvais: bad

Questions & Answers about Ce film est mauvais.

Why is it ce film and not cet film or cette film?

In French, ce / cet / cette all mean roughly this/that, but they must agree with the gender and the first sound of the noun:

• ce: before a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant
  
  • ce film (masculine, starts with f)
• cet: before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or mute h
  
  • cet homme, cet arbre, cet hôtel
• cette: before a feminine singular noun
  
  • cette maison, cette idée

Since film is masculine and starts with the consonant f, you must use ce film.

How do I know that film is masculine?

You can’t always guess gender from the ending; film is one of those words you just have to learn as masculine.

• In the dictionary, it will appear as (n.m.) or nom masculin, or you might see it with an article like un film.
• When you learn new nouns in French, it’s a good habit to memorize them with their article:
  • un film (a film) → masculine
  • une ville (a city) → feminine

So we say un film, le film, ce film, and adjectives describing it (like mauvais) must use the masculine form.

Why is it mauvais and not mal?

French makes a clear difference between:

• Adjectives: describe a noun or subject (good/bad as a quality)
• Adverbs: describe a verb (how something is done: well/badly)

Mauvais is an adjective, like bad in “This film is bad.”
Mal is usually an adverb, like badly in “He speaks badly.”

In Ce film est mauvais:

• You are describing the film itself (its quality) → you need an adjective.
• So you say mauvais, not mal.

Compare:

• Ce film est mauvais. – This film is bad. (the film = bad)
• Ce film est mal fait. – This film is badly made. (mal describes fait = made)

Why is the adjective mauvais after est instead of before film?

In French, when you use être (to be) to describe something, the adjective usually comes after the verb être, not before the noun:

• Ce film est mauvais. – This film is bad.

This is called a predicate adjective:
subject + être + adjective

You can put mauvais directly before film, but then the structure changes:

• C’est un mauvais film. – It’s a bad film.

Here:

• mauvais is directly before the noun film (like in English: a bad film).
• The subject is ce (it), and the structure is C’est + article + adjective + noun.

So:

• Ce film est mauvais. – emphasizes “this particular film is bad”.
• C’est un mauvais film. – treats it more like a category: “it’s a bad film (as a kind of film).”

Why does mauvais end with -ais and not -e or -euse?

Adjectives in French must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).

For mauvais, the main forms are:

• mauvais – masculine singular
• mauvaise – feminine singular
• mauvais – masculine plural
• mauvaises – feminine plural

In Ce film est mauvais:

• film is masculine singular → the adjective must be masculine singular.
• So we use mauvais (same spelling as masculine plural, but here it’s singular).

Examples:

• Ce film est mauvais. – This film is bad. (masc. sg.)
• Cette série est mauvaise. – This series is bad. (fem. sg.)
• Ces films sont mauvais. – These films are bad. (masc. pl.)
• Ces séries sont mauvaises. – These series are bad. (fem. pl.)

What’s the difference between Ce film est mauvais and C’est un mauvais film?

Both mean roughly “This is a bad film”, but there’s a nuance:

1. Ce film est mauvais.

   • Literally: “This film is bad.”
   • Focuses directly on this specific film and its quality.
   • Structure: Ce + noun + être + adjective.

2. C’est un mauvais film.

   • Literally: “It is a bad film.”
   • Sounds a bit more general, as if you’re classifying it:
     • “As films go, this one belongs to the ‘bad film’ category.”
   • Structure: C’est + article + adjective + noun.

In everyday conversation, both are very common; the difference is subtle, and most of the time you can use either without a problem.

Could I say Ce film est mal?

In normal, standard French, no—that would sound wrong in this context.

• You’re describing the film (a noun), so you need an adjective, which is mauvais.
• Mal is mainly an adverb (badly), used to describe verbs or occasionally adjectives/participles:

Correct uses of mal:

• Il joue mal. – He plays badly.
• Elle chante mal. – She sings badly.
• Ce film est mal fait. – This film is badly made.

So:

• Ce film est mauvais. ✅
• Ce film est mal. ❌ (unnatural/wrong in standard French)

When should I use ce film versus le film?

Both mean “the film” in English, but they’re used differently:

• ce film = this film / that film (demonstrative)

  • You’re pointing to or clearly identifying one particular film:
    • Ce film est mauvais. – This (specific) film is bad.
    • Tu te souviens de ce film ? – Do you remember that film?

• le film = the film (definite article)

  • Refers to a film that is already known from context, but not necessarily pointed at:
    • Le film est mauvais. – The film is bad. (the one we were talking about)
    • Le film commence à huit heures. – The film starts at eight.

In your sentence, Ce film est mauvais suggests you mean this particular film (maybe the one we just watched or are talking about).

Is mauvais the usual way to say “bad,” or are there more natural options?

Mauvais is perfectly normal and clear, but French has many other common options, some more informal:

• Ce film est mauvais. – This film is bad. (neutral)
• Ce film est nul. – This film is awful / really bad. (informal, very common in speech)
• Ce film est pourri. – This film sucks / is rotten. (slang, stronger)
• Ce film est bof. – This film is meh / so-so. (very informal)

If you want to sound completely safe and neutral, mauvais is fine:

• Ce film est mauvais. – works in both spoken and written French.

How do you pronounce mauvais and are any letters silent?

Pronunciation in IPA: /mo.vɛ/

• mau-: pronounced like “mo” in “motel” (but a bit longer), not like English “maw”.
• -vais: pronounced “vɛ”, like “ve” in “very” but with an open e sound.
• The final -s is silent in this form: you do not say /mo.vɛs/.

So mauvais has two syllables:

• mau- /mo/
• -vais /vɛ/

Altogether: /mo.vɛ/ – “mo-veh”.