Comparatives & Superlatives
Comparatives & Superlatives
German comparatives and superlatives follow one consistent pattern for almost every adjective — no split between short words that take -er/-est and long words that take 'more/most', the way English does.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Comparative: add -er
schnell → schneller (fast → faster)
fast → faster
Just like English monosyllabic adjectives (fast → faster), German forms the comparative by adding -er to the base adjective: schnell → schneller, klein → kleiner, billig → billiger. Unlike English, German never switches to a separate word like 'more' for longer adjectives — there's no German equivalent of 'more beautiful'; interessant always becomes interessanter, never mehr interessant.
Superlative: am + -sten
am schnellsten (fastest)
the fastest
Where English adds -est or 'most' (fastest / most beautiful), German has one consistent pattern when the adjective is used predicatively, after sein: am + adjective + -sten — am schnellsten, am interessantesten. Adjectives ending in -d, -t, -s, -ß, or -z add an extra -e- before -sten for pronunciation (am kürzesten, not am kürzsten).
Many one-syllable adjectives add an umlaut
alt → älter → am ältesten; groß → größer → am größten; jung → jünger → am jüngsten
old → older → oldest; big → bigger → biggest; young → younger → youngest
A group of common short adjectives with a, o, or u in the stem pick up an umlaut in both the comparative and superlative (alt/älter/ältesten, groß/größer/größten, jung/jünger/jüngsten, kalt/kälter, warm/wärmer, lang/länger). English has no equivalent sound change — these have to be memorized as a set, much like English's irregular comparatives (good/better/best) have to be memorized on their own terms.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| schnell / schneller / am schnellsten | shnel / SHNEL-er / ahm SHNEL-sten | fast / faster / fastest |
| klein / kleiner / am kleinsten | klyn / KLY-ner / ahm KLYN-sten | small / smaller / smallest |
| alt / älter / am ältesten | ahlt / EL-ter / ahm EL-tes-ten | old / older / oldest |
| groß / größer / am größten | grohs / GRUR-ser / ahm GRUR-sten | big / bigger / biggest |
| jung / jünger / am jüngsten | yoong / YUENG-er / ahm YUENG-sten | young / younger / youngest |
| warm / wärmer / am wärmsten | varm / VAIR-mer / ahm VAIRM-sten | warm / warmer / warmest |
| kalt / kälter / am kältesten | kahlt / KEL-ter / ahm KEL-tes-ten | cold / colder / coldest |
| lang / länger / am längsten | lahng / LENG-er / ahm LENG-sten | long / longer / longest |
| teuer / teurer / am teuersten | TOY-er / TOY-rer / ahm TOY-er-sten | expensive / more expensive / most expensive |
| interessant / interessanter / am interessantesten | in-teh-reh-SAHNT / in-teh-reh-SAHN-ter / ahm in-teh-reh-sahn-TES-ten | interesting / more interesting / most interesting |