A2 · Comparative and superlative
schneller, kleiner, interessanter
Add -er to an adjective to compare two things
FormAdjektiv + -er (als …)
Meaning and usage
To say that something has a quality to a greater degree, German usually adds -er to the adjective: schnell becomes schneller, klein becomes kleiner, interessant becomes interessanter. This works for long adjectives too: komfortabler, wichtiger. English uses more before longer words, but German does not say mehr interessant; the ending does the job on its own. The comparison is usually linked with als: teurer als Bier.
Watch the spelling. Adjectives ending in -el drop the e: dunkel becomes dunkler. Adjectives ending in -er keep it, except after au or eu: sicher becomes sicherer, but teuer becomes teurer. Many short adjectives also take an umlaut, like alt to älter, and a few common ones are irregular, like gut to besser; those are covered separately. The most common mistake is using mehr with a plain adjective, as in mehr interessant.
Examples 5
In diesem Restaurant ist Wasser teurer als Bier.
Water is more expensive than beer at this restaurant.
Dieser rote Pullover ist billiger als der blaue.
This red sweater is cheaper than the blue one.
Meiner Meinung nach ist Französisch schwieriger als Englisch.
In my opinion, French is more difficult than English.
Der Mond ist heute Abend heller als sonst.
The moon is brighter than usual tonight.
Ein Hund kann schneller als ein Mensch rennen.
A dog can run faster than a man can.
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Dieses Hotel ist als das andere.
Show answer
Correct answer: komfortabler
The sentence compares two hotels, so the comparative komfortabler with als is needed.
- so komfortabel This structure means as comfortable as and needs wie, not als.
- am komfortabelsten This is the superlative form, used for the top of a list, not for comparing two things.
- mehr komfortabel German does not combine mehr with a normal adjective like this; the -er ending does the job.
In this topic: Comparative and superlative
- schneller, kleiner, interessanter Add -er to an adjective to compare two things
- alt → älter, groß → größer many short adjectives add an umlaut in the comparative
- größer als use als after a comparative to say than
- so groß wie, nicht so groß wie as ... as, not as ... as
- am schnellsten the superlative after a verb: am + adjective + -sten
- der schnellste Zug superlative before a noun takes adjective endings
- gut, besser, am besten gut has its own comparative and superlative forms
- viel, mehr, am meisten much, more, most: the irregular forms of viel
- gern, lieber, am liebsten gern, lieber, am liebsten: like, prefer, like best
- hoch, höher; nah, näher, am nächsten irregular forms of hoch and nah
- ein größeres Haus comparative adjective before a noun keeps its ending
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.