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BeginnerMaking Comparisons
How to compare things in Spanish, English and Chinese.
Compare languages
English and Spanish use inflections (-er/more, -ísimo/-íma) while Chinese uses particles (更, 比, 最) with no verb change. Spanish agreement is required; Chinese is completely invariable.
Overview
Comparisons express relative degree: taller, fastest, as good as, not enough.
- Spanish: Uses más/menos + adjective + que for comparative. Superlatives use el/la/los/las más/menos + adjective. Agreement is required. The absolute superlative (-ísimo) is common.
- English: Short adjectives add -er; long adjectives use more/less. Superlatives add -est or use most/least. Irregular forms must be memorized.
- Chinese: Uses particles 比 (than), 更 (even more), 最 (most), 太 (too), and 够 (enough). The adjective never changes.
Spanish
Comparative of superiority
más + adjective + que:
- Es más alto que yo. (He’s taller than me.)
- Esta casa es más cara que la otra. (This house is more expensive than the other.)
- Habla más rápidamente que ella. (He speaks more quickly than she does.)
Exception: Before numbers, use de instead of que:
- Mide más de dos metros. (He’s more than two meters tall.)
Comparative of inferiority
menos + adjective + que:
- Es menos alto que yo. (He’s less tall than me.)
- Es menos interesante que el otro. (It’s less interesting than the other.)
Equality
tan + adjective + como:
- Es tan alto como yo. (He’s as tall as me.)
- No es tan difícil como parece. (It’s not as difficult as it seems.)
Superlative
el/la/los/las más/menos + adjective + de:
- Es el más alto de la clase. (He’s the tallest in the class.)
- Es la menos cara de todas. (It’s the least expensive of all.)
- Son los más rápidos de todos. (They are the fastest of all.)
Agreement: The article and adjective must agree:
- la chica más alta (the tallest girl — fem)
- los chicos más altos (the tallest boys — masc pl)
Absolute superlative (-ísimo)
Adds extreme intensity:
- altísimo (extremely tall)
- rapidísimo (extremely fast)
- buenísimo (extremely good — spelling change)
- malísimo (extremely bad — spelling change)
Irregular comparatives
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bueno | mejor | el mejor |
| malo | peor | el peor |
| grande | mayor | el mayor |
| pequeño | menor | el menor |
Note: Mayor/menor refer to age or importance, not size:
- Mi hermano mayor (my older brother)
- Un mayor problema (a greater problem)
Quantity comparisons
- más de (more than — numbers)
- más que (more than — general)
- más (more — noun)
- menos (less — noun)
English
Comparative (-er or more)
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short (1 syllable) | add -er | tall → taller, fast → faster |
| -y ending (2 syllables) | change y to i, add -er | happy → happier, easy → easier |
| Long (2+ syllables) | more + adjective | more beautiful, more expensive |
| Irregular | memorize | good → better, bad → worse |
- He is taller than me.
- This is more expensive than that.
- She is happier than before.
Superlative (-est or most)
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short (1 syllable) | add -est | tall → tallest, fast → fastest |
| -y ending (2 syllables) | change y to i, add -est | happy → happiest, easy → easiest |
| Long (2+ syllables) | the most + adjective | the most beautiful |
| Irregular | memorize | good → the best, bad → the worst |
- He is the tallest in the class.
- This is the most expensive of all.
- She is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.
Equality (as…as)
- He is as tall as me.
- This is not as expensive as I thought.
- I can run as fast as you.
Less / least
- He is less tall than me. (uncommon)
- He is not as tall as me. (preferred)
- This is the least expensive option.
Too / enough
- He is too tall. (excessive — negative)
- He is not tall enough. (insufficient)
- He is tall enough. (sufficient)
Position: enough follows the adjective; too precedes it.
Irregular forms
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | the best |
| well | better | the best |
| bad | worse | the worst |
| far | farther / further | the farthest / furthest |
| little | less | the least |
| much / many | more | the most |
| old | older / elder | the oldest / eldest |
Double comparatives
- The more you practice, the better you get.
- The sooner, the better.
Chinese
比 for comparison
比 marks the standard of comparison. The adjective follows:
- 我比他高。(I’m taller than him.)
- 这本书比那本有意思。(This book is more interesting than that one.)
Pattern: A + 比 + B + adjective
更 for “even more”
更 intensifies without explicit comparison:
- 他更高。(He’s even taller. / He’s taller [than someone mentioned].)
- 这个更好。(This one is even better.)
最 for superlative
最 = “most”:
- 最高 (tallest)
- 最好 (best)
- 最贵 (most expensive)
- 最不好 (worst — “most not good”)
跟…一样 for equality
跟…一样 = “as…as”:
- 我跟他一样高。(I’m as tall as him.)
- 不跟他一样高。(I’m not as tall as him.)
不如 / 没有 for inferiority
不如 or 没有:
- 我不如他高。(I’m not as tall as him.)
- 我没有他高。(I’m not as tall as him.)
太…了 for “too”
太 + adjective + 了:
- 太贵了。(Too expensive.)
- 太高了。(Too tall.)
够 for “enough”
够 precedes or follows the adjective:
- 不够高。(Not tall enough.)
- 够好。(Good enough.)
Comparative with quantity
- 我比他大五岁。(I’m five years older than him.)
- 这个比那个多十块钱。(This is ten yuan more expensive than that.)
越…越…
The “the more… the more” structure:
- 越来越好。(Better and better.)
- 越多越好。(The more the better.)
- 越快越好。(The faster the better.)
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than | más…que | -er / more…than | 比… |
| Less than | menos…que | less…than / not as | 不如 / 没有 |
| As…as | tan…como | as…as | 跟…一样 |
| The most | el más… | the -est / the most | 最… |
| The least | el menos… | the least | 最不… |
| Even more | aún más… | even -er / even more | 更… |
| Too much | demasiado… | too… | 太…了 |
| Enough | lo suficientemente… | …enough | 够… |
| The more the more | cuanto más… | the -er the -er | 越…越… |
Examples
In Context
| Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|
| Soy más alto que él. | I’m taller than him. | 我比他高。 |
| Ella es la más inteligente. | She’s the smartest. | 她最聪明。 |
| Esto es demasiado caro. | This is too expensive. | 这个太贵了。 |
Common mistakes
-
Chinese speakers learning English: Saying “more tall” → taller
-
English speakers learning Spanish: Using “más” before short adjectives with irregular forms: más bueno → mejor
-
English speakers learning Chinese: Omitting comparison target: 我高 → 我比他高
-
Spanish speakers learning English: “More fast” → faster; “more happy” → happier
Related topics
- Adjectives: How adjectives form comparatives and superlatives
- Numbers: How quantities are expressed in comparisons
- Word Order: How comparative structures fit into sentences
- Questions: How comparative questions are formed
Examples
Taller than
más alto que
As tall as
tan alto como
Less tall than
menos alto que
The tallest
el más alto / el altísimo
The least tall
el menos alto
Even taller
aún más alto / todavía más alto
Too tall
demasiado alto
Not tall enough
no lo bastante alto / no lo suficientemente alto
Examples
Taller than
taller than / more expensive than
As tall as
as tall as
Less tall than
less tall than / not as tall as
The tallest
the tallest / the most expensive
The least tall
the least tall / the least expensive
Even taller
even taller
Too tall
too tall
Not tall enough
not tall enough
Examples
Taller than
比...高 / 更高
As tall as
跟...一样高
Less tall than
不如...高 / 没有...高
The tallest
最高
The least tall
最不高
Even taller
更高 / 还要高
Too tall
太高了
Not tall enough
不够高
Comparison at a glance
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taller than | más alto que | taller than / more expensive than | 比...高 / 更高 |
| As tall as | tan alto como | as tall as | 跟...一样高 |
| Less tall than | menos alto que | less tall than / not as tall as | 不如...高 / 没有...高 |
| The tallest | el más alto / el altísimo | the tallest / the most expensive | 最高 |
| The least tall | el menos alto | the least tall / the least expensive | 最不高 |
| Even taller | aún más alto / todavía más alto | even taller | 更高 / 还要高 |
| Too tall | demasiado alto | too tall | 太高了 |
| Not tall enough | no lo bastante alto / no lo suficientemente alto | not tall enough | 不够高 |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taller than | más alto que | taller than / more expensive than | 比...高 / 更高 |
| As tall as | tan alto como | as tall as | 跟...一样高 |
| Less tall than | menos alto que | less tall than / not as tall as | 不如...高 / 没有...高 |
| The tallest | el más alto / el altísimo | the tallest / the most expensive | 最高 |
| The least tall | el menos alto | the least tall / the least expensive | 最不高 |
| Even taller | aún más alto / todavía más alto | even taller | 更高 / 还要高 |
| Too tall | demasiado alto | too tall | 太高了 |
| Not tall enough | no lo bastante alto / no lo suficientemente alto | not tall enough | 不够高 |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Examples in context
Taller than
Spanish
más alto que
English
taller than / more expensive than
Chinese
比...高 / 更高
As tall as
Spanish
tan alto como
English
as tall as
Chinese
跟...一样高
Less tall than
Spanish
menos alto que
English
less tall than / not as tall as
Chinese
不如...高 / 没有...高
The tallest
Spanish
el más alto / el altísimo
English
the tallest / the most expensive
Chinese
最高
The least tall
Spanish
el menos alto
English
the least tall / the least expensive
Chinese
最不高
Even taller
Spanish
aún más alto / todavía más alto
English
even taller
Chinese
更高 / 还要高
Too tall
Spanish
demasiado alto
English
too tall
Chinese
太高了
Not tall enough
Spanish
no lo bastante alto / no lo suficientemente alto
English
not tall enough
Chinese
不够高
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Key Takeaways
Spanish: Uses más/menos + adjective + que for comparative. Superlatives use el/la/los/las más/menos + adjective. Agreement is required. The absolute. Spanish use inflections (-er/more, -ísimo/-íma) while Chinese uses particles (更
English: Short adjectives add -er; long adjectives use more/less. Superlatives add -est or use most/least. Irregular forms must be memorized.
Chinese: Uses particles 比bǐ (than), 更gēng (even more), 最zuì (most), 太tài (too), and 够gòu (enough). The adjective never changes.
Key concepts compared: Taller than, As tall as, Less tall than.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does English use -er for short adjectives and 'more' for long ones, while Spanish always uses más?
How does Chinese 比 (bǐ) differ from English 'than' in its syntactic behavior?
Why do Spanish superlatives require article agreement while English superlatives do not?
References
- Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
- The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
- A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981
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Last updated: June 4, 2026