Introduction
Malvivir means “to live badly”, and it is one of the verbs you will use again and again in Spanish. Malvivir means to live badly or to scrape by, and it describes living in poor conditions or on very little money: malvivir con un sueldo bajo. It is a regular -ir verb, built from mal plus vivir. This page shows malvivir in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make most often, and it finishes with a ten-question quiz so you can test yourself. Every sentence below comes with its English translation, and every form is the correct present-tense form unless the sentence is clearly marked as past or future. For a first taste: “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I live badly on a very low salary.
Malvivir in real example sentences
The twelve sentences below are grouped by how malvivir is used. Read each one out loud, then read the translation. If a sentence feels useful, copy it into your own notebook with one small change — a different time, a different person, a different place — and you have a new sentence of your own.
In the present: everyday use
These sentences use malvivir in the present tense, which is how you will meet it most often: routines, facts, and things happening now.
“Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — I live badly on a very low salary.
“¿Malvives en un piso sin calefacción?” — Do you live badly in a flat without heating?
“Malvive de prestado cada mes.” — He/she lives badly on borrowed money every month.
“Nosotros malvivimos sin trabajo fijo.” — We live badly without steady work.
Talking about the past
The present is not the only tense you need. These sentences show malvivir in the past, so you can talk about what already happened.
“Ayer, yo malviví con un sueldo muy bajo.” — Yesterday, I lived badly on a very low salary. (preterite)
“Antes, él malvivía en un piso sin calefacción.” — Before, he used to live badly in a flat without heating. (imperfect)
Plans and things already done
These sentences look forward, or look back at something already finished. Notice how the verb form changes while the meaning of malvivir stays the same.
“Mañana, nosotros malviviremos de prestado cada mes.” — Tomorrow, we will live badly on borrowed money every month. (future)
“¿Tú has malvivido sin trabajo fijo?” — Have you lived badly without steady work? (present perfect)
More everyday uses
Four more present-tense sentences, covering the remaining persons, so you can see the whole table in action.
“Vosotros malvivís con un sueldo muy bajo.” — You live badly on a very low salary.
“Ellos malviven en un piso sin calefacción.” — They live badly in a flat without heating.
“Yo malvivo de prestado cada mes.” — I live badly on borrowed money every month.
“Mi padre malvive sin trabajo fijo.” — My father lives badly without steady work.
Malvivir in context
Single sentences teach you the forms. Dialogues teach you when to use them. Read the short conversation below, then the paragraph that follows, and notice how malvivir appears naturally, without anyone stopping to think about conjugation.
A short dialogue
Marta: “¿Tú malvives en un piso sin calefacción?” — Do you live badly in a flat without heating?
Pedro: “Sí, yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” — Yes, I live badly on a very low salary.
Marta: “Nosotros malvivimos sin trabajo fijo.” — We live badly without steady work.
Pedro: “Y ellos malviven en un piso sin calefacción.” — And they live badly in a flat without heating.
Marta: “Vosotros malvivís de prestado cada mes.” — You live badly on borrowed money every month.
Pedro: “Sí, y él malvive con un sueldo muy bajo.” — Yes, and he lives badly on a very low salary.
A short paragraph
Malvive con un sueldo muy bajo, y nosotros malvivimos sin trabajo fijo. Yo malvivo en un piso sin calefacción, y ellos malviven de prestado cada mes. Malvivir is part of everyday life, because live badly is something people do in work, at home and with friends, in the present, the past and the future.
Common mistakes with malvivir
These are the errors learners actually make with malvivir. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo malvive con un sueldo muy bajo.” Right: “Yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” Why: The person matters: malvive is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is malvivo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
Wrong: “Ayer yo malvivo en un piso sin calefacción.” Right: “Ayer yo malviví en un piso sin calefacción.” Why: The present and the preterite are different tenses: malvivo is happening now, while malviví is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
Wrong: “Treating malvivir and vivir as identical in every context.” Right: “Malvivir means to live badly, while vivir means to live.” Why: They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: malvivir fits sentences such as Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo, while vivir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Wrong: “Yo soy malvivido en un piso sin calefacción.” Right: “Yo he malvivido en un piso sin calefacción.” Why: Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he malvivido, has malvivido, ha malvivido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Wrong: “De niño, yo malviví de prestado cada mes todos los días.” Right: “De niño, yo malvivía de prestado cada mes todos los días.” Why: For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (malvivía), not the preterite. The preterite (malviví) is for one finished action.
Quiz: malvivir in use
Ten questions on malvivir in real sentences. Choose the correct answer for each one, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained.
1. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros ______ con un sueldo muy bajo.” (You live badly on a very low salary.)
- (a) malvivís
- (b) malvivo
- (c) malvives
Answer: malvivís — The vosotros/as form of malvivir in the present tense is malvivís.
2. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ en un piso sin calefacción.” (They live badly in a flat without heating.)
- (a) malvives
- (b) malviven
- (c) malvivo
Answer: malviven — The ellos/ellas/Uds. form of malvivir in the present tense is malviven.
3. Complete the sentence (preterite): “Ayer yo ______ con un sueldo muy bajo.” (Yesterday I lived badly on a very low salary.)
- (a) malviviste
- (b) malvivió
- (c) malviví
Answer: malviví — In the preterite, the yo form of malvivir is malviví.
4. Complete the sentence (imperfect): “Antes, él ______ en un piso sin calefacción.” (Before, he used to live badly in a flat without heating.)
- (a) malvivía
- (b) malvivo
- (c) malvivías
Answer: malvivía — In the imperfect, the él/ella/Ud. form of malvivir is malvivía.
5. Complete the sentence (future): “Mañana, nosotros ______ de prestado cada mes.” (Tomorrow we will live badly on borrowed money every month.)
- (a) malvivirás
- (b) malviviremos
- (c) malviviré
Answer: malviviremos — In the future, the nosotros/as form of malvivir is malviviremos.
6. What does malvivir mean in English?
- (a) to live badly
- (b) to sense, to intuit
- (c) to live
Answer: to live badly — Malvivir means “to live badly”. The other options are the meanings of different verbs.
7. Which sentence is correct?
- (a) Yo malvive con un sueldo muy bajo.
- (b) Ellos malvive en un piso sin calefacción.
- (c) Yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.
Answer: Yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo. — “Yo malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” is correct. The other two sentences contain the mistakes explained in the section above.
8. How do you say “I live badly on a very low salary.” in Spanish?
- (a) Mi padre malvive sin trabajo fijo.
- (b) Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.
- (c) Malviven con un sueldo muy bajo.
Answer: Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo. — “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” is the correct translation.
9. What is the nosotros form of malvivir in the present tense?
- (a) malvivo
- (b) malvives
- (c) malvivimos
Answer: malvivimos — The nosotros form is malvivimos.
10. Which of these sentences is in the present tense?
- (a) Mañana, nosotros malviviremos de prestado cada mes.
- (b) Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.
- (c) Ayer, yo malviví con un sueldo muy bajo.
Answer: Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo. — “Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo.” is in the present tense. The other two are in the preterite and the future.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say 'I live badly on a very low salary' in Spanish?
Say 'Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo'. For a routine, add a time expression: 'Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo todos los días'.
How do you say 'He lives badly in a flat without heating' in Spanish?
Say 'Él malvive en un piso sin calefacción'. The subject comes first, and the verb agrees with it: él takes malvive.
What is the difference between malvivir and vivir?
Malvivir means to live badly, while vivir means to live. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use malvivir when you mean to live badly, as in 'Malvivo con un sueldo muy bajo', and use vivir for to live.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of malvivir — every tense of malvivir in one place.
- Malvivir in the present tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on malvivir and other verbs.
- Conjugation practice — drill the forms of malvivir until they are automatic.