糟糕

zāogāo

adjective/interjection HSK 5 #625

Meanings

Like a cake gone bad - something that's turned out terribly.

糟糕！我迟到了！

Zāogāo! Wǒ chídào le!

Oh no! I'm late!

考试成绩糟糕透了。

Kǎoshì chéngjì zāogāo tòu le.

The exam results were absolutely terrible.

情况变得越来越糟糕。

Qíngkuàng biàn de yuèláiyuè zāogāo.

The situation is getting worse and worse.

他的心情很糟糕。

Tā de xīnqíng hěn zāogāo.

He's in a terrible mood.

usage

糟糕 is one of the most common Chinese exclamations. It's milder than cursing - appropriate in any situation, like saying "oh no!" in English.

usage

Intensifiers: 糟糕透了 (absolutely terrible), 太糟糕了 (too terrible). Synonym: 糟 alone works the same way but is shorter.

糟 zāo

糕 gāo