A2 · Adjectives · about 4 minutes
Comparative and superlative
bigger, biggest
German has no "more interesting" — every adjective takes the ending, however long it is.
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Words you will need2
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- großbig, tall
- die Lösungsolution
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberNo "more". The ending goes on however long the word is.
- Signal words
- -er
- -ste
- am
- als
- so ... wie
- besser
- mehr
- immer
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in German.
| basic | schnell – schneller – am schnellsten |
| with umlaut | alt – älter – am ältesten |
| in front of a noun | der schnellste Zug |
| irregular | gut – besser – am besten |
| comparison | so groß wie / größer als |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The comparative is -er and the superlative is -st, for every adjective regardless of length.
Das ist interessanter.That is more interesting.
als means "than"; wie means "as" in so ... wie.
Er ist größer als ich, aber nicht so alt wie ich.He is taller than me, but not as old as me.
After sein the superlative is am ...sten; in front of a noun it takes an article and an ending.
Der Zug ist am schnellsten. Der schnellste Zug fährt um acht.The train is quickest. The fastest train leaves at eight.
An adjective ending in -t, -d, -s, -ß, -z or -sch usually inserts an -e- before the -st; groß → am größten is the everyday exception.
am ältesten, am heißestenoldest, hottest
Example sentences
Der Sommer war heißer als letztes Jahr.The summer was hotter than last year.
Das ist die beste Lösung.That is the best solution.
Sie arbeitet genauso viel wie er.She works just as much as he does.
10 more example sentences
Es wird immer kälter.It is getting colder and colder.
Welcher Weg ist am kürzesten?Which route is the shortest?
Berlin ist größer als Hamburg.Berlin is bigger than Hamburg.
Das ist mein ältester Bruder.That is my eldest brother.
Heute ist es wärmer als gestern.It is warmer today than yesterday.
Er spricht besser Deutsch als ich.He speaks better German than I do.
Am liebsten bleibe ich zu Hause.I would most like to stay at home.
Je später der Abend, desto ruhiger die Straße.The later the evening, the quieter the street.
Die Miete wird immer teurer.The rent keeps getting more expensive.
Das ist nicht so einfach, wie es aussieht.That is not as easy as it looks.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English switches to "more" once an adjective gets long, so the switch comes across by itself — and in German there is nothing to switch to. Every adjective takes -er, including the four-syllable ones. Mehr exists but means "more" as a quantity: mehr Geld, not mehr teuer.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The comparative adds -er and the superlative adds -st: klein, kleiner, am kleinsten. Many short adjectives also take an umlaut: alt, älter, am ältesten.
The important difference from English is that there is no second method. English switches to "more" and "most" for longer adjectives — "more interesting", not "interestinger" — and German never does. Interessanter and am interessantesten are correct however long the word is, and mehr interessant is not German.
The superlative has two forms. After sein it is am ...sten: Er ist am schnellsten. In front of a noun it takes an article and an ordinary adjective ending: der schnellste Läufer. Both are common. After sein the article form is possible too when a noun is understood — Dieser Weg ist der kürzeste — but in front of a noun only the article form will do.
A closer look
The irregular ones overlap with English
Gut – besser – am besten and viel – mehr – am meisten are irregular in German for the same reason "good – better – best" and "much – more – most" are irregular in English: they are suppletive, built from different roots, and they are old enough to have survived every regularising wave since.
The list is short — gut, viel, gern, hoch, nah — and the first two are cognate with the English pairs, so an English speaker gets them nearly free. Gern – lieber – am liebsten is the one with no English equivalent at all, and it is the one worth practising, since it is how German says what somebody prefers.
Exceptions and special cases2
Exception
When the adjective is gut, viel, gern, hoch or nah
then the forms are irregular and must be learned: besser, mehr, lieber, höher, näher.
Ich trinke lieber Tee.I would rather have tea.
Why? They are among the oldest words in the language and kept older forms.
Exception
When the comparative stands in front of a noun
then it takes an adjective ending on top of the -er: eine größere Wohnung.
Wir brauchen einen größeren Tisch.We need a bigger table.
Why? It is still an adjective in front of a noun, so the ordinary endings apply as well.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
als and wie are not interchangeable
Als follows a comparative — größer als. Wie follows so and marks equality — so groß wie. Mixing them (größer wie) is common in colloquial speech in some regions and is treated as an error in writing, so it is worth getting right from the start.
Er ist älter als sie, aber so groß wie sie.He is older than her but as tall as her.
Worth knowing
immer plus comparative means "more and more"
Immer in front of a comparative expresses a continuing change: immer kälter, immer weniger, immer besser. English needs to repeat the word — "colder and colder" — where German uses one adverb, which makes this a small idiom worth knowing rather than a translation.
Die Tage werden immer kürzer.The days are getting shorter and shorter.
The verbs on this page, in every form: sein · werden · brauchen · fahren · arbeiten · trinken