Using Comparatives: als vs. wie
తులనలో als మరియు wie వాడకం
The last lesson taught you the comparative form itself (schöner, größer); this one teaches the word that connects it to what you're comparing against — and German splits that connector in two, depending on whether the two things are unequal or equal.
Grammar Comparison
వ్యాకరణ పోలిక
als for 'more/less than', wie for 'as...as'
Er ist größer als ich. (He is taller THAN me — unequal, comparative + als) vs. Er ist so groß wie ich. (He is as tall AS me — equal, so + adjective + wie)
వాడు నాకంటే పొడుగు. (unequal, కంటే 'than/compared to') vs. వాడు నాలాగే పొడుగు. (equal, లాగే 'like/as')
Telugu already keeps these two comparison types apart with two different postpositions — కంటే ('than', for an unequal comparison) and లాగా/లాగే ('like/as', for an equal one) — so the underlying instinct isn't new. German's version of that same split is als (only after a comparative form like größer, and only for inequality) versus wie (paired with so..., for equality). The single most common learner mistake is using wie after a comparative (größer wie ich) where als is required — keep the Telugu కంటే/లాగే split in mind and the correct German word usually follows.
Vocabulary
పదజాలం
- Telugu
- ...కంటే పొడుగు...kante podugu
- English
- taller than
- Telugu
- ...లాగే పొడుగు...laage podugu
- English
- as tall as
- Telugu
- ...కంటే మంచిది...kante manchidi
- English
- better than
- Telugu
- ...లాగే వేగంగా...laage vegamga
- English
- just as fast as