I Have Bad News in Spanish- Duolingo | Say It Naturally

“Tengo malas noticias” is the standard phrase, while “Tengo una mala noticia” fits when you mean a single piece of bad news.

If Duolingo served you “I have bad news,” you’re in a common spot: you know the words, but Spanish wants the sentence shaped a certain way. Get that shape right once, and it starts showing up everywhere—stories, podcasts, real conversations, even the news.

This article walks you through the natural Spanish options, when each one fits, and the small grammar choices that make your sentence sound calm and clear. You’ll also see why Duolingo sometimes nudges you toward one phrasing over another, plus drills you can reuse any time the app throws “news” at you.

I Have Bad News in Spanish- Duolingo Phrase Breakdown

The phrase you’ll meet most often is “Tengo malas noticias.” It maps cleanly to “I have bad news,” and it’s what many Spanish speakers reach for first.

Then there’s “Tengo una mala noticia.” Use it when you mean one item of news—one update, one result, one thing you need to say. If you can count it as “one,” Spanish often wants that una.

So why does “news” feel slippery here? In English, “news” behaves like a mass noun: you say “bad news” even when it contains multiple details. Spanish treats noticia as countable. You can have one (una noticia) or many (noticias). The RAE’s dictionary entry for noticia shows both senses—information and a reported event—so the word naturally toggles between “a piece of news” and “news items.” RAE definition of “noticia”.

What Duolingo Is Testing With This Sentence

Most “bad news” prompts in Duolingo are doing more than vocabulary. They’re checking two habits:

• Number: singular noticia vs plural noticias.
• Agreement:malo changes to match the noun: mala noticia, malas noticias. The RAE lists malo as an adjective and shows its gender and number forms. RAE entry for “malo, mala”.

If you’ve ever typed “Tengo mal noticia” or “Tengo malas noticia,” you already know the trap: Spanish will not let the adjective sit there unchanged. The noun pulls the adjective into agreement.

Two Fast Patterns You Can Reuse

Keep these in your pocket:

• One item:Tengo una mala noticia.
• More than one item, or a bundle:Tengo malas noticias.

That’s the core. The rest is tone, context, and a few alternate verbs that show up in real speech.

Bad News In Spanish On Duolingo With Natural Grammar

Duolingo’s Spanish course leans on high-frequency patterns—short phrases you’ll see in many settings. “Tengo malas noticias” fits that idea: it’s common, flexible, and easy to drop into a conversation without sounding dramatic.

Duolingo also pushes learners to build phrases in chunks. When you learn tengo + noun phrase, you can swap the noun and keep the frame. That’s why this sentence is so useful: you can spin it into dozens of real lines.

If you want a deeper look at how Duolingo expects you to study inside the app, their Spanish learning tips outline features like Guidebooks and Stories, which is where phrases like this often get reinforced. Duolingo tips for learning Spanish.

When Singular Sounds Better Than Plural

Choose una mala noticia when you’re about to deliver one clear point. It sets a clean frame, then you say the point. It also helps if you’re keeping the moment polite and brief.

Use cases that lean singular:

• One test result
• One schedule change
• One piece of information the other person needs

Try saying it out loud: Tengo una mala noticia. It lands like a single headline.

When Plural Sounds Better Than Singular

Plural often feels more natural when the “bad news” is a set of details. Even if you think of it as one event, Spanish speakers may package it as multiple items: what happened, when it happened, what it means next.

Plural fits well for:

• A problem with several parts
• An update with two or three setbacks
• A story where you’ll keep talking after the opening line

Say it smoothly: Tengo malas noticias. Then add the details.

Small Tone Tweaks That Sound Real

Spanish often softens tough lines with a short lead-in. These keep the sentence kind without getting long:

• Oye, tengo malas noticias.
• Perdona, tengo una mala noticia.
• Ay, tengo malas noticias…

That last one—Ay—is a natural little sigh. It works well when you want the tone to feel human.

Common Options And When To Use Them

Once you’ve got the main pattern down, you’ll notice Spanish gives you several ways to say “I have bad news.” They’re not random swaps. Each one has its own feel.

“Tengo malas noticias.” Neutral, direct, widely used. Good default.

“Tengo una mala noticia.” Clear and focused on one item.

“Traigo malas noticias.” More like “I’m bringing bad news.” It often implies you’re the messenger, not the cause.

“Vengo con malas noticias.” Similar to “I come with bad news.” It can sound a bit weightier, often used when entering a room or starting a conversation.

Duolingo usually starts you with tengo because it’s one of the first high-frequency verbs you master. If you’re curious how Duolingo builds these learning paths and why certain features reinforce phrases, their general “how to learn” post explains the study tools and lesson structure they push across courses. Duolingo 101 on learning inside the app.

Table Of Phrases You’ll Actually Use

Use this table as a quick picker. Decide the tone, then pick the line that matches.

Spanish Phrase	Best Fit	Notes On Tone
Tengo malas noticias.	General “bad news” opener	Neutral, natural default
Tengo una mala noticia.	One clear item	Focused, tidy delivery
Oye, tengo malas noticias.	Friends, coworkers, casual settings	Warm start, keeps it human
Perdona, tengo una mala noticia.	Polite situations	Softens the entry
Ay, tengo malas noticias…	When you feel the weight of it	Shows reluctance without extra words
Traigo malas noticias.	You’re delivering a report	“Messenger” feel
Vengo con malas noticias.	Entering a conversation with an update	Slightly heavier, still common
No tengo buenas noticias.	When you want to soften it	Gentler than “bad news,” still clear

Why “Malas Noticias” Is Often Plural

English “news” is singular in grammar, even when it contains multiple items. Spanish doesn’t treat it that way. You can say noticias in plural and it feels normal, especially when you’re about to list details.

Think of plural as “I’ve got some bad updates.” It’s not stiff, it’s not fancy. It’s just how Spanish packages the idea.

Agreement: The Tiny Part That Makes Or Breaks It

If the noun is singular, the adjective is singular and feminine: una noticia mala is possible, but una mala noticia is far more common and smoother. If the noun is plural, the adjective must be plural too: malas noticias.

If you want a clean anchor for the meaning of noticia and how it’s used, the RAE’s definition is a solid reference point. RAE definition of “noticia”. It also includes the familiar line “Hace tiempo que no tengo noticias suyas”, which shows how often Spanish uses the plural in everyday speech.

How To Stop Missing This In Duolingo

Duolingo’s prompts can feel sneaky because they test small grammar choices at speed. The trick is to train a quick decision: “one item” or “bundle.” Then the rest becomes automatic.

Use A Two-Second Decision Before You Type

• If you can answer “How many?” with one, go singular.
• If it’s vague, layered, or you plan to keep talking, go plural.

That’s it. Two seconds. Then you type the correct frame.

Say It Out Loud Once Per Session

This sounds simple, but it works because Spanish agreement sticks better when you hear it. Start a session by saying:

• Tengo una mala noticia.
• Tengo malas noticias.

When the exercise appears, your mouth already knows the shape, so your fingers follow.

Practice Drills That Match Real Speech

Below are short drills you can run in a minute. Don’t treat them like a test. Treat them like quick reps that build a habit.

Table For Fast Practice

Prompt	Natural Spanish	What You’re Training
You have one update about the reservation.	Tengo una mala noticia sobre la reserva.	Singular + gender agreement
You have several updates about the trip.	Tengo malas noticias sobre el viaje.	Plural + adjective agreement
You’re the messenger with an update from work.	Traigo malas noticias del trabajo.	Verb choice for “messenger” tone
You want to soften the opener.	No tengo buenas noticias.	Gentler framing
You’re about to explain a problem in detail.	Oye, tengo malas noticias…	Natural lead-in

Common Mistakes Duolingo Learners Make

These are the misses that keep popping up, even for learners who know the vocabulary.

Mixing Singular And Plural

Wrong:Tengo malas noticia.
Right:Tengo malas noticias.

If you choose plural, commit all the way: adjective plural, noun plural.

Skipping The Article When You Mean One Item

Off:Tengo mala noticia.
Better:Tengo una mala noticia.

You’ll hear people drop articles in some contexts, but Duolingo’s exercises usually expect the clean, standard phrasing. It’s also the safest form for writing.

Overthinking Word Order

Spanish allows both una mala noticia and una noticia mala. The first is the one you’ll see far more often, and it’s the one Duolingo tends to reinforce. If you stick to mala before noticia, you’ll sound natural in most settings.

Mini Checklist Before You Hit Submit

Run this quick mental checklist in Duolingo when the sentence appears:

• Count: one item or a bundle?
• Noun:noticia or noticias?
• Adjective:mala or malas?
• Verb: default tengo, or do you want traigo?

After a week of doing that, you’ll stop pausing on this prompt. It’ll feel like a set phrase, the way it does for native speakers.

Ready-To-Use Lines You Can Copy Into Real Life

Here are a few complete lines you can lift as-is. They’re short, polite, and natural.

• Tengo una mala noticia: no hay mesas esta noche.
• Tengo malas noticias: el vuelo se retrasó.
• Perdona, tengo una mala noticia sobre el pedido.
• Oye, tengo malas noticias… pero vamos a solucionarlo.

If you practice just two of these, you’ll start recognizing the pattern in other sentences too. That’s when Spanish starts feeling less like translation and more like speaking.