This is Better! How to Form German Comparative & Superlative

german comparatives and superlatives

When you start learning German, you’ll learn about adjectives (describing words) in their basic form, such as ‘German is easy‘. But before long you’ll want to compare two things in a sentence such as ‘German is easier than Korean’. You might even want to make a statement such as ‘German is not the easiest language to learn’.

This is why German comparatives and superlatives are so important.

The good news is that as an English speaker, comparatives and superlatives in German are relatively straightforward for you. They follow similar patterns to their English counterparts.

After reading this post you will know:

  • What German comparatives and superlatives are & how they are formed
  • What exceptions to look out for
  • How to use German comparatives & superlatives in sentences

What are German Comparatives & Superlatives?

German comparatives and superlatives are forms that adjectives (describing words) take in order to modify their original meaning. Let’s take a look at an example in English:

  • Easy [the basic adjective, known as the ‘positive’]
  • Easier [comparative]
  • Easiest [superlative]

We use the positive adjective to describe nouns. They are used to show that two things are the same, neither one is greater or less than the other:

  • That pineapple is small / Both pineapples are quite small

We use the comparative adjective to compare two or more nouns. To say something is more or less than the other:

  • The pineapple on the right is smaller than the other

The superlative is used to compare nouns in the extreme. To say something is the most or least compared to the other:

  • That is the smallest pineapple I’ve ever seen

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How to Form German Comparatives

To form many of the German comparatives simply take the basic (positive) adjective and add -er to the end.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

Positive AdjectiveComparative AdjectiveEnglish
einfach
einfacher
easy / easier
billig
billiger
cheap / cheaper
früh
früher
early / earlier
klein
kleiner
small / smaller
schön
schöner
nice / nicer

Some adjectives add an umlaut to the first vowel as well as adding -er to the end:

PositiveComparativeEnglish
alt
älter
old / older
lang
länger
long / longer
kalt
kälter
cold / colder
groß
größer
big / bigger
kurz
kürzer
short / shorter

Exceptions

Adjectives that end in -el in the positive (basic) form lose the ‘e’ before they add the -er to the end.

Some adjectives which end -er or -en may also drop the ‘e’ before adding -er to the end.

This is done just to make the comparative easier to pronounce.

PositiveComparativeEnglish
dunkel
dunkler [dunkeler]
dark / darker
teuer
teurer [teuerer]
expensive / more expensive

And some comparatives are completely irregular meaning they don’t follow the patterns set out previously. We also have irregular comparatives in English, for example we say ‘good’ and ‘better’, we don’t say ‘good’ and ‘gooder’.

A lot of time if they are irregular in English, they are also irregular in German:

PositiveComparativeEnglish
gut
besser
good / better
viel
mehr
much / more
hoch
höher
high / higher
German is Easier: In English we often have to add the word ‘more’ in front of an adjective: ‘more expensive’, ‘more complicated’ etc. In German this doesn’t happen, instead we simply add -er to the end of most adjectives:
PositiveComparativeEnglish
kompliziert
komplizierter
complicated = complicated-er = more complicated
interessant
interessanter
interesting = interesting-er = more interesting

Using ‘als’ to compare in sentences

In order to make a comparison in a sentence, we need to use the word als. In this context think of als as meaning ‘than’. We use it in the same way as we do in English:

Ich bin älter als meine Schwester.
I am older than my sister.
Das Wetter ist heute kälter als gestern.
The weather today is colder than yesterday.

Using ‘so … wie’ to compare in sentences

To compare two things that are the same, we use the phrase so … wie or genauso … wie. With the ‘positive’ (basic) adjective going in the middle. These two phrases mean the same and are interchangeable.

Think of this phrase as translating as ‘as … as’.

  • so glücklich wie = as happy as
  • genauso reich wie = as rich as
Diese Wohnung ist genauso hell wie die andere.
This apartment is as bright as the other.
Ich bin so glücklich wie meine Schwester.
I am as happy as my sister.

Using ‘nicht so … wie’ to compare in sentences

The opposite phrase is nicht so … wie which means ‘not as … as’. Use this to make the comparison between two things which not the same:

Ich bin nicht so reich wie mein Nachbar.
I am not as rich as my neighbour.
Sein Auto ist nicht so neu wie meines.
His car is not as new as mine.
german comparatives

How to Form German Superlatives

If you want to say something is ‘the best’, ‘the biggest’ or ‘the nicest’ you need to use the German superlative.

They are formed by adding -st to the end of the positive (basic) adjective. Things get a little more complicated because we also have to take into account the adjective ending if the adjective appears before the noun.

Because of this, if a superlative adjective goes in front of a noun, we may use the ending -ste or -sten. German adjective endings are a whole other subject, but for now, if you use a superlative before a noun, know that if you put either -ste or -sten on the end, you’ll have a 50/50 chance of it being correct.

Let’s break this down a bit:

Das ist die kleinste Ananas.
That is the smallest pineapple.
  • In this example Ananas (pineapple) is the feminine noun
  • The adjective, klein (small) appears in front of it
  • The adjective changes to the superlative, -st is added: kleinst (smallest)
  • The ending is declined, -e is added: kleinste

Adjectives ending -t, -tz, -z, -sch, -ss or form the superlative by adding -est to the end instead of -st, to make them easier to pronounce. It is then declined depending on the case and noun gender, so either -e or -en is also added.

Ich habe den süßesten Kuchen.
I have the sweetest cake.
  • In this example Kuchen (cake) is the masculine noun
  • The adjective, süß (sweet) appears in front of it
  • The adjective changes to the superlative: süßest
  • The ending is declined, -en is added: süßesten

Using ‘am’ to use the superlative in sentences

Sometimes the superlative doesn’t appear in front of a noun:

  • I have the biggest cake [noun]
  • My cake [noun] is the biggest

In this case we need to add the word am before the superlative. Am ist the contracted form of an + dem. In this case am is a bit like ‘the’, but we have to use am not the definite article.

An + dem (am) demands the dative case, so whenever it is used the endings are declined -sten or -esten.

Positive AdjectiveSuperlativeEnglish
einfach
am einfachsten
(the) easiest
schön
am schönsten
(the) nicest
schnell
am schnellsten
(the) fastest

Let’s take a look at an example:

Ich habe das schnellste Auto.
I have the fastest car.
Mein Auto ist am schnellsten.
My car is the fastest.

In the first example the superlative appears before the noun (Auto). In the second example the adjective appears after the noun. Therefore we need to use am before the superlative.


In this post you have learned the 3 forms adjectives can take: positive, comparative and superlative. You learned how to use comparatives and superlatives in a sentence and also that superlatives have to be declined in the usual way for adjectives.

Here are the adjectives you learned in this post:

EnglishPositiveComparativeSuperlative
easyeinfacheinfacheram einfachsten
niceschönschöneram schönsten
fastschnellschnelleram schnellsten
biggroßgrößeram größten
darkdunkeldunkleram dunkelsten
sweetsüßsüßeram süßesten
smallkleinkleineram kleinsten
newneuneueram neusten
oldaltälteram ältesten
richreichreicheram reichsten
happyglücklichglücklicheram glücklichsten
brighthellhelleram hellsten
coldkaltkälteram kältesten

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