Irregular Comparatives
While most Finnish adjectives follow regular rules, words like hyvä (good), pitkä (long), and paljon (much) have irregular comparative and superlative forms that must be learned by heart.
How It Works
In Finnish, the comparative usually ends in -mpi and the superlative in -in. However, several essential words are irregular:
- hyvä (good) → parempi (better) → paras (best). This is a suppletive form where the root changes completely.
- pitkä (long/tall) → pidempi or pitempi → pisin. Note the tk to d/t change and the unique superlative.
- paljon (much) → enemmän (more) → eniten (most). These are adverbial forms.
- vähän (little) → vähemmän (less) → vähiten (least).
- uusi (new) → uudempi → uusin. This follows the inflecting stem uude-.
Register Note: For 'long', pidempi is the standard written form, while pitempi is very common in speech. For 'best', paras is the everyday choice, while parhain is formal or literary.
Examples (5)
- Tämä kirja on parempi kuin tuo.
This book is better than that one.
Word by Word: This book is better than that.
Uses 'parempi', the irregular comparative of 'hyvä'.
- Hän on luokan pisin poika.
He is the tallest boy in the class.
Word by Word: He is class's longest boy.
Uses 'pisin', the irregular superlative of 'pitkä'.
- Tarvitsen enemmän aikaa.
I need more time.
Word by Word: I need more time.
Uses 'enemmän', the irregular comparative of 'paljon'. Note that it triggers the partitive case for the noun.
- Tämä on parasta kahvia.
This is the best coffee.
Word by Word: This is best coffee.
The superlative 'paras' inflects in the partitive as 'parasta'.
- Meillä on vähemmän rahaa kuin heillä.
We have less money than they do.
Word by Word: On-us is less money than on-them.
Uses 'vähemmän', the irregular comparative of 'vähän'.
Common Mistakes
Using the regular suffix on 'hyvä'.
Tämä on hyvämpi.Tämä on parempi.Learners often try to add -mpi to the basic root, but 'hyvä' must change to 'parempi'.
Creating a 'double' superlative for 'paras'.
Hän on parasin pelaaja.Hän on paras pelaaja.Because 'paras' is already a superlative, adding the -in suffix is redundant and incorrect.
Incorrectly declining the stem of 'paras'.
Parassa tapauksessa.Parhaassa tapauksessa.The superlative 'paras' has an irregular inflectional stem 'parhaa-'. In the inessive case, it becomes 'parhaassa'.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand irregular comparison, you first need to know the standard rules for forming the comparative (-mpi) and superlative (-in) degrees in Finnish. Since these irregular forms function as adjectives, you also need to be familiar with how adjectives agree with the nouns they describe.
Related Patterns
- -mpiComparative (-mpi)
The standard way to form comparatives for regular adjectives.
Level 2 - kuinComparing with Kuin
Used to connect the two things being compared (e.g., 'better than').
Level 2 - -mminComparative Adverbs
Explains how adverbs like 'hyvin' (well) become 'paremmin' (better).
Level 3 - Noun Stems That Change
Helps explain why words like 'uusi' change their stem before adding comparison suffixes.
Level 3 - Consonant Gradation
Explains the tk/d change in 'pitkä' vs 'pidempi'.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice Irregular Comparatives in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Finnish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
