Phrase · 🧩 Everyday idioms

Foi mal, pisei na bola.

My bad, I really messed up.

B1admitting a mistakeinformallearned as a wholeAudio · coming soon

Why every word is where it is

Foi1verbit wasser · past · 3rd sing.mal1adverbbad,pisei2verbI steppedpisar · past · 1st sing.na2prepositionon theem · fem. · sing. · definitebola2nounballfem. · sing..

Foi → mal: fixed phrase
pisei → bola: fixed phrase
pisei → na: preposition

Word for word: “(It) was bad, (I) stepped on-the ball.”

Why it's built this way

The notes match the numbers above.

1
Foi mal = my bad, sorry: a casual apology among friends.
2
pisar na bola = to mess up, let someone down (a football image).

Variations

Desculpa, pisei na bola com você.
Foi mal, vacilei.
Pisei feio na bola.