bad / very
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bad
A shortened form of 'böse' (bad/evil), used especially in poetry, dialects, or in southern Germany and Austria. It means bad, nasty, or severe.
Das war ein ganz bös' Foul beim Fußballspiel.
That was a really bad foul in the soccer game.
'Bös' is a shortened form of 'böse' (bad/evil) and is mainly used in southern Germany, Austria, in dialects, or in poetry. In standard written German, this form is uncommon.
Pass auf, das ist ein ganz bös' Hund.
Watch out, that's a really bad dog.
When 'bös' stands before a noun, it is often not declined in spoken language or dialect. So you might hear, for example, 'ein bös Spiel' instead of the grammatically correct form 'ein böses Spiel' (a bad game).
Das war ein bös Foul, fand der Schiedsrichter.
That was a bad foul, the referee thought.
In some regional dialects, 'bös' is used as an adverb to intensify another word. It then means 'very' or 'badly'.
Die Prüfung war bös schwer.
The exam was really hard.
very
'sehr' and 'bös' can both act as intensifiers in some regions. 'sehr' is the normal, neutral word in Standard German. 'bös' is usually a short form of 'böse' and tends to mean 'bad', 'nasty', or 'severe'. In dialects, or in southern Germany and Austria, 'bös' can also intensify like 'sehr' (very) or 'schlimm' (badly / severely), for example when talking about pain. Learners may confuse the words because 'bös' is sometimes used like an intensifier. In general German, you should use 'sehr' for intensification; 'bös' sounds regional or has a negative meaning.
Nach dem Sturz hat mir der Arm bös wehgetan.
After the fall, my arm hurt really badly.
Du bist heute sehr freundlich zu allen Gästen.
You are being very friendly to all the guests today.