Questions & Answers about Hoy me siento mal.
Spanish has two different verbs here:
sentir (non‑reflexive) = to feel / to regret / to sense something
- Lo siento. = I’m sorry.
- Siento frío. = I feel cold (I sense cold).
sentirse (reflexive) = to feel (a certain way, in yourself)
- Me siento mal. = I feel bad / unwell.
- Me siento bien. = I feel good / well.
When you talk about how you yourself feel (physically or emotionally), you normally use the reflexive verb sentirse, so you need the reflexive pronoun me: me siento.
No, Hoy siento mal is incorrect in Spanish.
- To say “I feel bad / unwell” about yourself, you must use sentirse → me siento.
- sentir without the reflexive pronoun usually needs a direct object:
- Siento tristeza. = I feel sadness.
- Siento dolor en la espalda. = I feel pain in my back.
So for “I feel bad today” about your general state, the natural options are:
- Hoy me siento mal.
- Hoy estoy mal. (see the next question for the difference)
Both can be translated as “Today I feel bad / unwell,” but there are slight nuances:
Hoy me siento mal.
- Focuses a bit more on your subjective perception of how you feel.
- Common for both physical and emotional states.
Hoy estoy mal.
- Very common and totally natural too.
- Often sounds slightly more like a state you’re in (physical, emotional, or both).
- In many contexts, it’s interchangeable with me siento mal.
In everyday conversation in Spain, both are used a lot; neither sounds more formal or informal than the other.
Spanish distinguishes mal and malo:
mal = mainly an adverb (badly, poorly) and also used as an invariable form in many health/feeling expressions
- Me siento mal. = I feel bad / unwell.
- Estoy mal. = I’m unwell / not OK.
malo / mala / malos / malas = adjective (bad, evil, poor‑quality)
- Un día malo. = A bad day.
- Es una persona mala. = He/She is a bad person.
With verbs like sentirse and estar, Spanish very often uses mal to describe feeling unwell or not OK. Me siento malo can be understood, but in Spain it’s less usual and can sound odd or like “I feel like a bad person” depending on context.
You can say Hoy yo me siento mal, but it’s usually unnecessary.
- Spanish normally drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject:
- (Yo) me siento mal. → -o ending = I.
You would typically add yo only to emphasize contrast:
- Hoy yo me siento mal, pero ella está bien.
Today *I feel bad, but she is fine.*
In a neutral statement, Hoy me siento mal is the most natural.
Yes. Both are correct:
- Hoy me siento mal.
- Me siento mal hoy.
The meaning is the same: “Today I feel bad.”
Hoy (today) is a time expression and can go at the beginning or the end.
Putting hoy at the beginning slightly highlights the time (“as for today…”), but in normal speech the difference is minimal.
With a single conjugated verb in Spanish, object and reflexive pronouns go before the verb:
- Me siento mal.
- No me siento bien.
You generally can’t say Siento me mal – that’s ungrammatical.
The pronoun can go after the verb only in specific structures:
- Infinitive: sentirme → No quiero sentirme mal.
- Gerund: sintiéndome → Estoy sintiéndome mal.
- Affirmative command: siéntate (from sentarse), siéntete (from sentirse).
But in your simple sentence, it must be me siento, not siento me.
No. Hoy me siento mal is the same for any gender.
- me is the first‑person singular reflexive pronoun (myself).
- siento is the yo form of sentirse.
- mal does not change for gender or number in this usage.
So a man, a woman, or a non‑binary person would all say Hoy me siento mal.
Spanish has two different reflexive verbs:
sentarse = to sit down
- Me siento aquí. (from sentarse) = I sit down here.
sentirse = to feel (a certain way)
- Me siento mal. (from sentirse) = I feel bad.
In speech, context and common collocations make it clear:
- If it’s followed by a place: Me siento en la silla. → I sit down on the chair.
- If it’s followed by an emotion/state: Me siento mal / bien / feliz / cansado. → I feel…
So Hoy me siento mal can only be understood as “Today I feel bad,” not “I sit badly.”
Yes, both are used in Spain and are quite natural, with slightly different flavours:
Hoy me encuentro mal.
- Very common to talk about health / physical state, especially with doctors.
- Often implies you’re unwell physically (though it can include mood).
Hoy me noto mal.
- Literally “I notice myself bad”.
- Sounds like you’re noticing something off about yourself (energy, mood, symptoms).
- Common in everyday speech.
All of these are acceptable in Spain:
- Hoy me siento mal.
- Hoy estoy mal.
- Hoy me encuentro mal.
- Hoy me noto mal.
The differences are subtle and mostly stylistic/contextual.
In Spanish, the simple present often covers what English expresses with “I am feeling”:
- Hoy me siento mal. = Today I feel bad / I’m feeling bad today.
The progressive me estoy sintiendo mal is grammatically possible but:
- It’s used much less often.
- It can sound more marked or “heavy” in everyday speech.
So in Spain, for this type of state, the simple present (me siento) is the normal, natural choice.