Comparative

Level 4

stariji, noviji, ljepši; irregular: veći, bolji, manji.

How It Works

AdjectiveComparative
star (old)stariji
nov (new)noviji
lijep (beautiful)ljepši
lak (easy)lakši
jak (strong)jači
dobar (good)bolji
velik (big)veći
mali (small)manji

The comparative changes like a normal adjective: stariji brat, starija sestra, starije selo.

Do not use "more" plus the adjective, as in English. Bosnian adds an ending to the adjective itself. A few long adjectives, such as some loanwords, do use više instead, but those are less common.

Use od or nego for "than".

Start with the common ones: stariji, noviji, bolji, veći, manji and ljepši. They cover most of what you need in daily talk.

Examples (5)

  1. Moj brat je stariji.

    My brother is older.

    Star gives stariji.

  2. Ova kafa je jača.

    This coffee is stronger.

    Jak gives jača for a feminine noun.

  3. Treba mi veći stan.

    I need a bigger flat.

    Velik gives veći.

  4. Mostar je topliji od Sarajeva.

    Mostar is warmer than Sarajevo.

    Topao gives topliji.

  5. Ovo je ljepši dio grada.

    This is the nicer part of town.

    Lijep gives ljepši, with the ijekavian change.

Common Mistakes

  • Making a regular form from dobar.

    Ova kafa je dobrija.
    Ova kafa je bolja.

    Dobar is irregular: bolji, bolja, bolje.

  • Using više with an adjective.

    Ona je više lijepa.
    Ona je ljepša.

    Bosnian adds an ending.

How It Connects

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ComparativeLevel 4

Learn This First

The comparative is formed from the adjective.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

komparativ