besser / léiwer / manner

Irregular Comparatives

Level 2

gutt → besser, vill → méi, gär → léiwer, wéineg → manner.

How It Works

1. The four forms

  • gutt (good, well) → besser (better) → am beschten
  • vill (much, many) → méi (more) → am meeschten
  • gär (gladly) → léiwer (rather) → am léifsten
  • wéineg (little, few) → manner (less, fewer) → am mannsten

The last column shows the superlatives; see The Superlative. Than is wéi or ewéi, as with Méi ... wéi.

2. Besser
Besser means better, both as a describing word and for how someone does something: Hatt schwätzt besser Lëtzebuergesch wéi ech. Et geet mer besser means I feel better. Before a noun it takes the normal endings: eng besser Offer (a better offer), e bessere Plang (a better plan).

3. Méi
With a noun, méi simply means more: Ech brauch méi Zäit (I need more time). It is the same word that builds comparatives, so méi alone is already the comparative of vill. See Quantities.

4. Léiwer
Gär tells what you like doing. Léiwer tells what you like better, or would rather do: Ech drénke léiwer Téi wéi Kaffi, Mir bleiwe léiwer doheem. With hunn it means to prefer something: Ech hu léiwer Hënn wéi Kazen.

5. Manner
Manner means less or fewer: Iess manner Zocker! (Eat less sugar!), Hatt verdéngt manner ewéi hien.

Examples (6)

  1. Ech drénke léiwer Téi wéi Kaffi.

    I prefer tea to coffee.

    Word by Word: I drink rather tea than coffee.

    Léiwer is the comparative of gär.

  2. Et geet mer haut besser.

    I feel better today.

  3. Hatt schwätzt besser Lëtzebuergesch wéi ech.

    She speaks Luxembourgish better than I do.

  4. Ech brauch méi Zäit.

    I need more time.

    With a noun, méi means more.

  5. D'Sarah verdéngt manner ewéi hire Brudder.

    Sarah earns less than her brother.

  6. Mir bleiwe léiwer doheem.

    We would rather stay at home.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding méi to besser.

    Et geet mer haut méi besser.
    Et geet mer haut besser.

    Besser already means better, so méi is not needed.

  • Using méi gutt instead of besser.

    Hatt schwätzt méi gutt ewéi ech.
    Hatt schwätzt besser ewéi ech.

    The comparative of gutt is always besser.

  • Using méi vill instead of méi.

    Ech hu méi vill Zäit wéi du.
    Ech hu méi Zäit wéi du.

    Méi alone is the comparative of vill.

How It Connects

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

besser / léiwer / mannerLevel 2Irregular Comparatives

Learn This First

Before Irregular Comparatives, learn Comparing: Méi ... wéi and Liking With Gär.

Words in This Pattern

léiwermannermannerwéinegwéineg