-bb

Comparative Adjectives

Level 1

Adjective + (-a/-e) + -bb

How It Works

To form the comparative, you attach -bb to the adjective stem. The way it attaches depends on how the word ends:

  • Vowel-ending stems: Add -bb directly. If the word ends in -a or -e, these vowels must lengthen to -á or -é (e.g., drága → drágább).
  • Consonant-ending stems: These require a linking vowel: -a- for back-vowel words and -e- for front-vowel words. Note that even front-rounded adjectives (with ö/ő/ü/ű) use -e- (e.g., dühös → dühösebb).

Stem Changes and Shortening:

  • Final Vowel Dropping: A few adjectives ending in long -ú or -ű drop these final vowels entirely and replace them with the linking vowels -a- or -e- before adding -bb (e.g., hosszú → hosszabb, könnyű → könnyebb). Others keep the vowel and simply add -bb (e.g., szomorú → szomorúbb).
  • Internal Vowel Shortening: Some common adjectives shorten their internal vowel (e.g., nehéz → nehezebb, kevés → kevesebb).
  • Szép (beautiful): The long vowel shortens and it takes no linking vowel (szebb).

Important Irregularities:

  • Kicsi (small): Becomes kisebb.
  • Jó (good): Becomes jobb.
  • Sok (many): Becomes több.
  • Nagy (big): Uses the linking vowel -o- (nagyobb).

To say 'than', you can use the word mint followed by the nominative case, or the suffix -nál/-nél.

Examples (6)

  1. Ez a kávé forróbb, mint a teád.

    This coffee is hotter than your tea.

    Word by Word: This the coffee hotter, than the tea-your.

    Forró (hot) ends in a vowel, so -bb is added directly.

  2. A budapesti metró gyorsabb a busznál.

    The Budapest metro is faster than the bus.

    Word by Word: The Budapest metro faster the bus-than.

    Gyors (fast) ends in a consonant and uses the linking vowel -a- before -bb.

  3. Szeretnék egy olcsóbb jegyet venni.

    I would like to buy a cheaper ticket.

    Word by Word: I-would-like a cheaper ticket-acc to-buy.

    Olcsó (cheap) ends in a vowel, so -bb is added directly.

  4. Ez a ház nagyobb, mint az a ház.

    This house is bigger than that house.

    Word by Word: This the house bigger, than that the house.

    Nagy (big) is an exception that uses -o- as a linking vowel.

  5. A te süteményed sokkal jobb!

    Your cake is much better!

    Word by Word: The your cake much better!

    Jó (good) is irregular and becomes 'jobb'.

  6. Ez a feladat nehezebb, de a könyv kisebb.

    This task is harder, but the book is smaller.

    Word by Word: This the task harder, but the book smaller.

    Nehéz (hard) shortens its stem vowel, and kicsi (small) is irregular (kisebb).

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to lengthen the final -a or -e.

    Ez a táska drágabb.
    Ez a táska drágább.

    In Hungarian, a final 'a' or 'e' lengthens to 'á' or 'é' before most suffixes, including the comparative -bb.

  • Using the wrong linking vowel for consonant stems.

    Péter magasobb, mint én.
    Péter magasabb, mint én.

    While plurals often use -o/e/ö, comparatives almost always use -a/e as linking vowels.

  • Using 'inkább' to mean 'more' with adjectives.

    Different MeaningEz a könyv inkább érdekes.
    Ez a könyv érdekesebb.

    Ez a könyv inkább érdekes is a real sentence meaning this book is rather interesting. Hungarian does not use a separate word for 'more' with adjectives; to say more interesting, use the -bb suffix: érdekesebb.

How It Connects

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-bbLevel 1Comparative Adjectives

Learn This First

To form the comparative in Hungarian, you need to understand how vowel harmony dictates the choice of linking vowels between the adjective stem and the -bb suffix. Additionally, familiarity with how adjectives function as both attributes and predicates is essential for using the comparative forms correctly in context.

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-bb