Lesson 17 · 6 min read
Spanish Comparatives and Superlatives
Comparing things — bigger, cheaper, the best, the least expensive — uses just a few patterns in Spanish once you learn them. This lesson covers comparisons of more, less, and equal, plus superlatives.
1. More and less
Use más/menos + adjective + que.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| más alto que | taller than | Juan es más alto que Pedro. — Juan is taller than Pedro. |
| menos caro que | less expensive than | Este es menos caro que aquel. — This one is less expensive than that one. |
2. Equal comparisons
Use tan + adjective + como.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tan grande como | as big as | Mi casa es tan grande como la tuya. — My house is as big as yours. |
3. Superlatives
Use el/la/los/las + más + adjective.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el más grande | the biggest |
| la más barata | the cheapest (feminine) |
4. Irregular comparatives
Four common adjectives refuse the usual "más …" pattern and have their own comparative forms instead: bueno becomes mejor, malo becomes peor, and viejo and joven become mayor and menor when talking about people's ages. Saying "más bueno" is not wrong in every context, but for quality it sounds off, and mejor is what a native speaker would use.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| mejor | better |
| peor | worse |
| mayor | older / greater |
| menor | younger / lesser |
5. Saying two things are equal
Comparisons of inequality use más que and menos que, but Spanish has a separate structure for saying two things are the same, and it changes depending on what follows. With an adjective or adverb: tan … como. With a noun: tanto, tanta, tantos or tantas … como, agreeing with that noun. The absolute superlative ending -ísimo intensifies an adjective without comparing it to anything, and it is used constantly in speech. Buenísimo, carísimo, guapísima. It is more emphatic than muy and sounds far more natural than repeating muy muy.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tan … como | as … as | Es tan alto como su padre. — He's as tall as his father. |
| tanto … como | as much/many … as | Tengo tantos libros como tú. — I have as many books as you. |
| -ísimo | extremely (suffix) | La comida estaba buenísima. — The food was absolutely delicious. |
| cada vez más | more and more | Está cada vez más difícil. — It's getting more and more difficult. |
| el peor de todos | the worst of all | Fue el peor día de todos. — It was the worst day of all. |
Common mistakes
más bueno que → mejor que
Bueno has an irregular comparative. Más bueno exists but describes moral goodness, not quality — for better, use mejor.
Es más viejo que mí → Es mayor que yo
Two problems: for people's ages Spanish prefers mayor, and after que you use the subject pronoun yo, not mí.