Using Comparatives: als vs. wie
Using Comparatives: als vs. wie
English uses 'than' for every unequal comparison. German strictly separates unequal comparisons (als) from equal ones (so...wie), and mixing them up is a classic beginner error.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
als for unequal comparisons ('than')
Er ist größer als ich. (He is taller than me/I.)
He is taller than me.
German als corresponds to English 'than' after a comparative. German grammatically prefers the nominative after als (als ich, 'than I'), though colloquial usage with the object form also occurs — similar to the 'than me' vs. 'than I' debate in English. Don't confuse this als with the temporal als ('when', for a single past event) you'll meet later; they're unrelated despite looking identical.
wie for equal comparisons ('as...as')
Er ist so groß wie ich. (He is as tall as me/I.)
He is as tall as I am.
For an equal comparison, German uses so + adjective + wie ('as...as'), never als. English speakers sometimes default to als for every kind of comparison since 'than' feels like the all-purpose comparison word — but German strictly separates the two: als only follows a comparative (-er form), wie only follows so + the plain adjective.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| als | ahls | than |
| wie | vee | as / like |
| so...wie | zoh...vee | as...as |
| genauso...wie | geh-NOW-zoh...vee | just as...as |
| Er ist größer als ich. | air ist GRUR-ser ahls ikh | He is taller than me. |
| Sie ist so alt wie er. | zee ist zoh ahlt vee air | She is as old as him. |
| nicht so...wie | nikht zoh...vee | not as...as |
| mehr als | mair ahls | more than |
| weniger als | VAY-nig-er ahls | less than |