Comparatives & Superlatives
तुलनात्मक और सर्वोत्तम रूप
German comparatives and superlatives follow nearly the same pattern for almost every adjective — like Hindi's 'ज़्यादा तेज़'/'सबसे तेज़', where the adjective itself doesn't change, there's nothing like English's split between short and long words.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
The comparative: add -er
schnell → schneller (fast → faster)
तेज़ → ज़्यादा तेज़
In Hindi's "ज़्यादा तेज़", the adjective 'तेज़' itself doesn't change, only 'ज़्यादा' is added. German instead forms the comparative by adding -er to the end of the adjective: schnell → schneller, klein → kleiner, billig → billiger — so German changes the adjective itself, rather than adding a separate word like Hindi. Unlike English, German never switches to a separate word (like 'more') for longer adjectives — there's no German equivalent of 'more interesting' with a separate 'more'; interessant always becomes interessanter.
The superlative: am + -sten
am schnellsten (fastest)
सबसे तेज़
Where Hindi adds 'सबसे' (सबसे तेज़), German has a fixed 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).
Several short adjectives take an umlaut
alt → älter → am ältesten; groß → größer → am größten; jung → jünger → am jüngsten
बूढ़ा → ज़्यादा बूढ़ा → सबसे बूढ़ा; बड़ा → ज़्यादा बड़ा → सबसे बड़ा; जवान → ज़्यादा जवान → सबसे जवान
A handful of common short adjectives with a, o, or u in the root take an umlaut in both the comparative and superlative (alt/älter/ältesten, groß/größer/größten, jung/jünger/jüngsten, kalt/kälter, warm/wärmer, lang/länger). Hindi has no equivalent sound shift — these just have to be memorized as a set.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| schnell / schneller / am schnellsten | shnel / SHNEL-er / ahm SHNEL-sten | तेज़ / ज़्यादा तेज़ / सबसे तेज़tez / zyādā tez / sabse tez | fast / faster / fastest |
| klein / kleiner / am kleinsten | klyn / KLY-ner / ahm KLYN-sten | छोटा / ज़्यादा छोटा / सबसे छोटाchoṭā / zyādā choṭā / sabse choṭā | small / smaller / smallest |
| alt / älter / am ältesten | ahlt / EL-ter / ahm EL-tes-ten | बूढ़ा / ज़्यादा बूढ़ा / सबसे बूढ़ाbūṛhā / zyādā būṛhā / sabse būṛhā | old / older / oldest |
| groß / größer / am größten | grohs / GRUR-ser / ahm GRUR-sten | बड़ा / ज़्यादा बड़ा / सबसे बड़ाbaṛā / zyādā baṛā / sabse baṛā | big / bigger / biggest |
| jung / jünger / am jüngsten | yoong / YUENG-er / ahm YUENG-sten | जवान / ज़्यादा जवान / सबसे जवानjavān / zyādā javān / sabse javān | young / younger / youngest |
| warm / wärmer / am wärmsten | varm / VAIR-mer / ahm VAIRM-sten | गर्म / ज़्यादा गर्म / सबसे गर्मgarm / zyādā garm / sabse garm | warm / warmer / warmest |
| kalt / kälter / am kältesten | kahlt / KEL-ter / ahm KEL-tes-ten | ठंडा / ज़्यादा ठंडा / सबसे ठंडाṭhanḍā / zyādā ṭhanḍā / sabse ṭhanḍā | cold / colder / coldest |
| lang / länger / am längsten | lahng / LENG-er / ahm LENG-sten | लंबा / ज़्यादा लंबा / सबसे लंबाlambā / zyādā lambā / sabse lambā | long / longer / longest |
| teuer / teurer / am teuersten | TOY-er / TOY-rer / ahm TOY-er-sten | महँगा / ज़्यादा महँगा / सबसे महँगाmahañgā / zyādā mahañgā / sabse mahañgā | 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 | दिलचस्प / ज़्यादा दिलचस्प / सबसे दिलचस्पdilcasp / zyādā dilcasp / sabse dilcasp | interesting / more interesting / most interesting |