Comparative and Superlative Forms

Comparing in Persian: Basic Ideas

In this chapter you learn how to say that something is “bigger,” “more beautiful,” or “the most important” in Persian. You already know simple adjectives from earlier chapters. Now you will see how to use them in real comparisons.

Persian comparative and superlative forms are very regular and easy to build. Once you know the pattern, you can use it with almost any adjective you know.

Comparative: “Bigger,” “More Beautiful”

In English you say “bigger” or “more beautiful.” In Persian you usually add the ending «ـتر» /tar/ to the adjective, or, with some adjectives, you use «بیشتر» /bêštar/ “more.”

The comparative ending is attached to the end of the adjective in writing.

For example:

کوچک /kučak/ “small”
کوچک‌تر /kučak‑tar/ “smaller”

بزرگ /bozorg/ “big”
بزرگ‌تر /bozorg‑tar/ “bigger”

قشنگ /qašang/ “pretty, nice”
قشنگ‌تر /qašang‑tar/ “prettier, nicer”

In real sentences, you usually compare two things using the preposition «از» /az/ “than, from.”

من از تو بلندتر هستم.
man az to boland‑tar hastam.
“I am taller than you.”

این کتاب از آن کتاب جالب‌تر است.
in ketâb az ân ketâb jâleb‑tar ast.
“This book is more interesting than that book.”

You can also drop the verb “to be” in colloquial speech, but the structure with «از» stays the same:

این فیلم از اون یکی قشنگ‌تره.
in film az un yeki qašang‑tare.
“This movie is nicer than the other one.”

Comparative with “more” and “less”

Some adjectives, especially longer ones or adjectives from Arabic origin, sound more natural with «بیشتر» /bêštar/ “more” instead of «ـتر». In everyday Persian, however, you will also hear the ـتر form quite a lot.

Example with “important”:

مهم /mohem/ “important”
مهم‌تر /mohem‑tar/ or بیشتر مهم /bêštar mohem/ “more important”

In practice, «مهم‌تر» is very common and very natural.

The word «بیشتر» means “more” by itself and can be used before many words, not only adjectives:

بیشتر آدم‌ها
bêštar âdam‑hâ
“most people / more people”

بیشتر دوست دارم.
bêštar dust dâram.
“I like it more.”

To talk about “less” in comparison, you use «کمتر» /kamtar/ “less.”

کم /kam/ “little, few”
کمتر /kamtar/ “less”

این ماشین از آن ماشین کمتر گران است.
in mâšin az ân mâšin kam‑tar gerân ast.
“This car is less expensive than that car.”

In spoken Persian you normally say:

این ماشین از اون یکی ارزون‌تره.
in mâšin az un yeki arzun‑tare.
“This car is cheaper than the other one.”

Here «ارزون‌تر» is the comparative of «ارزون» /arzun/ “cheap” (informal of «ارزان» /arzân/).

Superlative: “The Biggest,” “The Most Beautiful”

To say “the biggest” or “the most beautiful” Persian uses the ending «ـترین» /tarin/ or the word «بیشترین» /bêštarin/ “most.”

The superlative ending is attached to the adjective in writing.

For example:

بزرگ /bozorg/ “big”
بزرگ‌ترین /bozorg‑tarin/ “the biggest”

قشنگ /qašang/ “pretty”
قشنگ‌ترین /qašang‑tarin/ “the prettiest”

مهم /mohem/ “important”
مهم‌ترین /mohem‑tarin/ “the most important”

In context, you usually talk about a group and choose one item as “the most ...” in that group.

این بلندترین ساختمان شهر است.
in boland‑tarin sâxtemân‑e šahr ast.
“This is the tallest building in the city.”

او مهربان‌ترین معلمِ من است.
u mehrabân‑tarin moallem‑e man ast.
“She is my kindest teacher.”

In informal speech, you often hear:

این قشنگ‌ترین آهنگیه که شنیدم.
in qašang‑tarin âhangie ke šenidam.
“This is the most beautiful song I have heard.”

Here «که» “that/which” introduces a relative clause, which you will learn in more detail later.

You can also use the independent word «بیشترین» /bêštarin/ “the most (quantity)” and «کمترین» /kamtarin/ “the least.”

بیشترین کار را او کرد.
bêštarin kâr râ u kard.
“He did the most work.”

کمترین اشتباه
kamtarin eštabâh
“the smallest / least mistake”

Position of Comparatives and Superlatives

Comparatives and superlatives behave like normal adjectives. They normally come after the noun they describe.

خانه بزرگ‌تر
xâne‑ye bozorg‑tar
“a bigger house”

خانه‌ی بزرگ‌ترین
xâne‑ye bozorg‑tarin
“the biggest house”

Note that with «ـترین» you often see the Ezafe «ـِ» /‑e/ in writing as «ی» on the noun:

بزرگ‌ترین شهرِ ایران
bozorg‑tarin šahr‑e Irân
“the biggest city of Iran”

قشنگ‌ترین فیلمِ سال
qašang‑tarin film‑e sâl
“the most beautiful movie of the year”

Comparing People and Things

You have already seen the pattern with «از» /az/ to compare two things. The basic structure is:

A + از + B + comparative adjective (+ verb “to be”)

For example:

تهران از شهرِ من بزرگ‌تر است.
Tehrân az šahr‑e man bozorg‑tar ast.
“Tehran is bigger than my city.”

برادرم از من بزرگ‌تر است.
barâdar‑am az man bozorg‑tar ast.
“My brother is older than me.”

فارسی از انگلیسی برای من سخت‌تر است.
Fârsi az englisi barâye man saxt‑tar ast.
“Persian is more difficult than English for me.”

In informal speech:

تهران از شهرِ من بزرگ‌تره.
Tehrân az šahr‑e man bozorg‑tare.
“Tehran is bigger than my city.”

In all these sentences, «از» works like “than.”

With superlatives, usually you compare within a group. Often the group is introduced with «در» /dar/ “in, at” or with Ezafe:

او بلندترین دانش‌آموزِ کلاس است.
u boland‑tarin dânešâmuz‑e kelâs ast.
“He is the tallest student in the class.”

این ارزان‌ترین پیراهن در مغازه است.
in arzân‑tarin pirâhan dar maqâze ast.
“This is the cheapest shirt in the shop.”

Irregular Comparative: “Good,” “Better,” “Best”

Most adjectives are regular with «ـتر» and «ـترین». A very common irregular one is “good.”

خوب /xub/ “good”
بهتر /behtar/ “better”
بهترین /behtarin/ “the best”

You do not say «خوب‌تر» for “better” in standard Persian. «بهتر» is the correct and natural form.

Examples:

این کتاب از آن کتاب بهتر است.
in ketâb az ân ketâb behtar ast.
“This book is better than that book.”

او بهترین دوستِ من است.
u behtarin dust‑e man ast.
“He / She is my best friend.”

In speech:

این قهوه از اون یکی بهتره.
in qahve az un yeki behtare.
“This coffee is better than the other one.”

Another frequent word is “bad.” Its forms are regular.

بد /bad/ “bad”
بدتر /bad‑tar/ “worse”
بدترین /bad‑tarin/ “the worst”

This looks regular, but in meaning it matches English “bad / worse / worst.”

این از همه بدتر است.
in az hame bad‑tar ast.
“This is the worst (the most bad) of all.”

Saying “The Most” and “The Least” in General

Sometimes you want to say “the most” without a specific adjective.

بیشترِ مردم /bêštar‑e mardom/
“most people”

کمترِ دانش‌آموزها /kamtar‑e dânešâmuz‑hâ/
“the fewest students / fewer students”

At A2 level, focus on «بیشتر» and «کمتر» with adjectives and verbs, and on «بیشترین» and «کمترین» mostly with nouns.

For quantity with verbs:

من بیشتر کار می‌کنم.
man bêštar kâr mikonam.
“I work more.”

او کمتر می‌خوابد.
u kam‑tar mixâbad.
“He / She sleeps less.”

Intensifying: “Much Bigger,” “A Little Happier”

You can strengthen or soften a comparative in Persian.

To say “much bigger,” “much better,” you can use words like «خیلی» /xeyli/ “very, much” or «بسیار» /besyâr/ “very” (more formal) before the comparative:

خیلی بزرگ‌تر
xeyli bozorg‑tar
“much bigger”

خیلی بهتر
xeyli behtar
“much better”

To say “a little bigger,” “a bit cheaper,” you can use «کمی» /kami/ or «یه کم» /ye kam/ (informal) before the comparative:

کمی ارزان‌تر
kami arzân‑tar
“a little cheaper”

یه کم خوشحال‌تر
ye kam xošhâl‑tar
“a bit happier”

In sentences:

این خانه خیلی بزرگ‌تر است.
in xâne xeyli bozorg‑tar ast.
“This house is much bigger.”

این یکی کمی قشنگ‌تر است.
in yeki kami qašang‑tar ast.
“This one is a little nicer.”

“More ... than ...” with Nouns

At this level, you will often want to say that you like something more than something else or do something more than something else. The structure is very similar to English.

Use a verb like «دوست داشتن» “to like” or «خواندن» “to read,” and compare the objects with «بیشتر از» “more than.”

من کتاب بیشتر از تلویزیون دوست دارم.
man ketâb bêštar az televizion dust dâram.
“I like books more than television.”

او فوتبال را بیشتر از بسکتبال بازی می‌کند.
u futbol râ bêštar az basketbâl bâzi mikonad.
“He / She plays football more than basketball.”

Here «بیشتر از» connects the two compared things.

You can use «کمتر از» “less than” in the same way:

من قهوه کمتر از چای می‌خورم.
man qahve kam‑tar az čây mixoram.
“I drink coffee less than tea.”

Practice Ideas

To practice, take adjectives you already know, like “big,” “small,” “beautiful,” “expensive,” “easy,” “difficult,” and make:

1. A comparative form with «ـتر»
2. A superlative form with «ـترین»
3. A simple sentence with «از» for a comparison
4. A simple sentence with a superlative inside a group using «در» or Ezafe

For example, with «گرم» /garm/ “warm”:

Comparative: گرم‌تر /garm‑tar/ “warmer”
Superlative: گرم‌ترین /garm‑tarin/ “the warmest”

تابستان از بهار گرم‌تر است.
tâbestân az bahâr garm‑tar ast.
“Summer is warmer than spring.”

تابستان گرم‌ترین فصلِ سال است.
tâbestân garm‑tarin fasl‑e sâl ast.
“Summer is the warmest season of the year.”

With regular practice, the patterns of «ـتر» and «ـترین» will feel natural and automatic.

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