Irregular Comparatives

Level 2

While most Danish adjectives add -ere and -est, a small group of high-frequency words are irregular. They either shift their vowel (umlaut) or change the word completely (suppletion).

How It Works

Danish irregular comparatives generally fall into two categories:

1. Vowel Shift (Umlaut)
The stem vowel changes, usually from a to æ, o to ø, u to y, or å to æ. While the vowel shifts, some words like længere and færrest keep the standard endings, while others use shortened forms like -re and -st.

  • Stor (big) → større → størst
  • Ung (young) → yngre → yngst
  • Gammel (old) → ældre → ældst
  • Lang (long) → længere → længst
  • Få (few) → færre → færrest

2. Suppletion (Different Roots)
The word changes entirely. A critical distinction in Danish is between countable (number) and uncountable (mass) for 'more' and 'less'.

  • God (good) → bedre → bedst
  • Dårlig (bad) → værre → værst (for situations) or dårligere → dårligst (for quality)
  • Lille (small) → mindre → mindst
  • Mange (many - countable) → flere → flest
  • Meget (much - uncountable) → mere → mest

Definite Forms:
When using the definite superlative, remember to add an -e to the superlative form (e.g., den største bil, de fleste mennesker).

Examples (5)

  1. Min storebror er to år ældre end mig.

    My big brother is two years older than me.

    Word by Word: My big-brother is two years older than me.

    Uses the irregular comparative 'ældre' (from 'gammel') with the word 'end' (than).

  2. Der er flere mennesker i byen i dag end i går.

    There are more people in town today than yesterday.

    Word by Word: There are more people in town-the in day than in yesterday.

    'Flere' is used because 'mennesker' (people) is a countable noun.

  3. Jeg vil gerne have mere kaffe, tak.

    I would like more coffee, please.

    Word by Word: I will gladly have more coffee, thanks.

    'Mere' is used because 'kaffe' is an uncountable mass noun.

  4. Det er den mindste bil, jeg nogensinde har set.

    That is the smallest car I have ever seen.

    Word by Word: That is the smallest car, I ever have seen.

    'Mindste' is the definite superlative of 'lille'. Note the -e ending after 'den'.

  5. Vejret bliver værre i morgen.

    The weather will get worse tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Weather-the becomes worse in tomorrow.

    'Værre' is the irregular comparative of 'dårlig' used for situations like weather.

Common Mistakes

  • Regularizing irregular adjectives by adding -ere.

    Min bil er storere end din.
    Min bil er større end din.

    Adjectives like 'stor' must undergo a vowel shift (o to ø) and cannot take the standard -ere ending.

  • Confusing 'mere' and 'flere'.

    Jeg har mere bøger end dig.
    Jeg har flere bøger end dig.

    Use 'flere' for countable items (books, people, cars) and 'mere' for uncountable things (water, time, money).

  • Using a regular comparative for 'lille'.

    To lillere huse.
    To mindre huse.

    The comparative of 'lille' is always 'mindre'. Also, remember that the plural of 'lille' is 'små'.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Irregular ComparativesLevel 2

Learn This First

To understand irregular comparison, you first need to know the regular rules for forming comparatives and superlatives (-ere and -est). You should also be familiar with basic adjective usage and the specific irregular forms of 'god' (bedre/bedst), as these patterns follow a similar logic of vowel changes or completely different stems.

Words in This Pattern

goddårliggammelunglillestormeget