Comparing: -ari and -ri

Level 2

The comparative adds -ari or -ri: ríkur → ríkari (richer), stór → stærri (bigger).

How It Works

Adding -ari. This is the most common ending:

  • ríkur → ríkari (richer)
  • sterkur → sterkari (stronger)
  • dýr → dýrari (more expensive)
  • kaldur → kaldari (colder)
  • erfiður → erfiðari (harder)

Adding -ri. Some common adjectives take -ri, and many of them change their vowel:

  • stór → stærri (bigger)
  • ungur → yngri (younger)
  • langur → lengri (longer)
  • hár → hærri (taller, higher)
  • nýr → nýrri (newer)

Adjectives in -legur also take -ri: fallegur → fallegri, skemmtilegur → skemmtilegri. A few very common adjectives change completely, like góður → betri: see irregular comparison.

Very few endings. The comparative uses only weak endings, so it hardly changes:

  • masculine and feminine, every case: stærri
  • neuter singular, every case: stærra
  • plural, all genders: stærri

So you say stærri bíll and stærri borg, but stærra hús. The same forms are used with or without the article.

Than. To compare with something, add en: Hún er sterkari en hann. To say much bigger, use miklu stærri.

Examples (6)

  1. Þessi bíll er dýrari.

    This car is more expensive.

    Word by Word: This car is dearer.

  2. Húsið okkar er stærra.

    Our house is bigger.

    Word by Word: The-house our is bigger.

    Neuter singular: stærra, not stærri.

  3. Við þurfum stærri íbúð.

    We need a bigger apartment.

    Word by Word: We need bigger apartment.

  4. Dagarnir eru lengri á sumrin.

    The days are longer in summer.

    Word by Word: The-days are longer in the-summers.

  5. Íslenska er skemmtilegri en ég hélt.

    Icelandic is more fun than I thought.

    Word by Word: Icelandic is funner than I thought.

  6. Yngri bróðir minn býr í Reykjavík.

    My younger brother lives in Reykjavík.

    Word by Word: Younger brother my lives in Reykjavík.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -ari to an adjective that takes -ri with a vowel change.

    Þetta hús er stórara.
    Þetta hús er stærra.

    stór takes -ri and changes ó to æ: stærri, and stærra in the neuter singular.

  • Using the masculine and feminine form with a neuter noun.

    Húsið er stærri.
    Húsið er stærra.

    In the neuter singular the comparative ends in -ra or -ara: stærra, betra, ríkara.

  • Building the comparative with meira, as in English "more fun".

    Íslenska er meira skemmtileg.
    Íslenska er skemmtilegri.

    Normal adjectives take an ending, even long ones. Only words that cannot take the ending, like spennandi (exciting), use meira: meira spennandi.

How It Connects

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

Comparing: -ari and -riLevel 2

Learn This First

The comparative builds on adjectives.