Degrees of Comparison in Spanish

In this lesson, we will examine different degrees of comparison of nouns, indicating their equality, inequality, or the extreme degree of an adjective in Spanish. We will study the comparison of equality, comparison of inequality, and superlatives.

Comparison of Equality

The two most common expressions in this category are:

1. tan + (adjective/adverb) + como … as (adjective/adverb) as …

Este auto es tan caro como una casa.	This car is as expensive as a house.
Ella es tan alta como su hermana.	She is as tall as her sister.
Él habla tan claro como un profesor.	He speaks as clearly as a teacher.

2. tanto/-a + (noun) + como … as much/many (noun) as …

Él tiene tanto dinero como un millonario.	He has as much money as amillionaire.
Hay tanta gente acá como en Londres.	There are as many people here as in London.

Comparison of Inequality

The following formula is used to express inequality when comparing two adjectives, adverbs, or nouns:

más/menos … que … more/less … than …

For example:

Ella es más alta que su hermana.	She is taller than her sister.
Él habla más claro que un profesor.	He speaks more clearly than a teacher.
Él tiene más dinero que el presidente.	He has more money than the president.
Somos menos ricos que nuestros padres.	We are less rich than our parents.
Él habla menos claro que un profesor.	He speaks less clearly than a teacher.
Él tiene menos paciencia que mi hermano.	He has less patience than my brother.

There are a few exceptions to the above formula:

bueno	good	mejor	better
malo	bad	peor	worse
viejo	old	mayor	older
joven	young	menor	younger
grande	large	mayor	larger
pequeño	small	menor	smaller

It is also common to hear “más grande” and “más pequeño” in a less formal speech, which mean “larger/older” and “smaller/younger,” respectively.

Superlatives

There are two ways to express the large or extreme degrees of an adjective.

Relative Superlatives

el/la/los/las + más/menos + (adjective)

the + most/least + (adjective)

Inserting a noun between the definite article “el/la/los/las” and “más/menos” is optional.

Ella es la más inteligente de su clase.	She is the most intelligent in her class.
Somos los menos afectados por la crisis.	We are the least affected by the crisis.
Es el tema más importante en el país.	This is the most important topic in the country.
Es el político menos corrupto del parlamento.	He is the least corrupt politician in the parliament.

The same exceptions used in the comparison of inequality still apply here.

bueno	good	mejor	best
mal	bad	peor	worst
viejo	old	mayor	oldest
joven	young	menor	youngest
grande	large	mayor	largest
pequeño	small	menor	smallest

Absolute Superlatives

One can express an absolute superlative by simply preceding the adjective with an adverb such as “muy” (very) or “extremamente/sumamente” (extremely). For example:

Este estadio está muy frío.	This stadium is very* cold*.
El café está sumamente caliente.	The coffee is extremely hot.

Another way is to use a prefix like “super-” or “re-,” for example:

Este estadio está superfrío.	This stadium is super* cold*.
El café está recaliente.	The coffee is super-hot.

Absolute Superlatives with “-ísimo” Ending

Another common way to express absolute superlatives is by using adjectives ending in “-ísimo” for masculine or “-ísima” for masculine, translated as “very,” “quite,” or “extremely.” It is usually constructed by removing the vowel at the end of the adjective (if it exists) and attaching the suffix “-ísimo.”

grande	large	grandísimo	extremely large
mucho	much/many	muchísimo	too much/many
bueno	good	buenísimo	really good
pequeño	small	pequeñísimo	tiny
caliente	hot	calientísimo[1]	extremely hot

Adjectives ending with “g,” which sounds like “get,” or “c,” which sounds like “cold,” undergo orthographic change to maintain the same pronunciation.

amargo	bitter	amarguísimo	extremely bitter
fresco	fresh	fresquísimo	extremely fresh

Adjectives ending with “z” undergo an orthographic change that replaces “z” with “c.”

feliz

happy

felicísimo

extremely happy

Adjectives ending with “-ble” must change the suffix to “-bil” before adding “-ísimo.”

amable	kind	amabilísimo	extremely kind
miserable	miserable	miserabilísimo	extremely miserable

Some adjectives ending with “-n” take the suffix “-císimo” instead of “-ísimo.”

joven

young

jovencísimo

extremely young

Many qualitative adjectives ending with “-ro,” “-ra,” or “-re” take the suffix “-érrimo” instead of “-ísimo.”

íntegro	full whole	integérrimo	extremely full
áspero	harsh	aspérrimo	extremely harsh
mísero	meager	misérrimo	extremely meager
libre	free	libérrimo	extremely free
salubre	healthy	salubérrimo	extremely healthy

Other adjectives are completely irregular.

amigo	friend	amicísimo[2]	extremely friendly
antiguo	ancient	antiquísimo	extremely ancient
fiel	faithful	fidelísimo	extremely faithful
sabio	wise	sapientísimo	extremely wise
sagrado	sacred	sacratísimo	extremely sacred
simple	simple	simplicísimo	extremely simple

[1] Both the regular form “calientísimo” and the irregular form “calentísimo” are acceptable.

[2] A more common alternative form is “amiguísimo.”

Quiz: Degrees of Comparison in Spanish

Spanish: Degrees of Comparison

1 / 15

1. bueno (good)

(better)

Accented letters (if needed):

2 / 15

2. We are the least affected by the crisis.

SP: Somos afectados por la crisis.

Accented letters (if needed):

3 / 15

3. She is as tall as her sister.

SP: Ella es alta su hermana.

Accented letters (if needed):

4 / 15

4. He has more money than the president.

SP: Él tiene dinero el presidente.

Accented letters (if needed):

5 / 15

5. He has less patience than my brother.

SP: Él tiene paciencia mi hermano.

Accented letters (if needed):

6 / 15

6. mal (bad)

(worse)

Accented letters (if needed):

7 / 15

7. The absolute superlative can be constructed by removing the vowel at the end of the adjective (if it exists) and attaching the suffix “-ísimo.”

For example, the absolute superlative of "bueno" is .

Accented letters (if needed):