A + Adjective + hơn + B

1. Universal and Regular
This pattern is used in all situations, from casual speech to formal writing. There are no irregular word forms for comparative adjectives in Vietnamese because it is an isolating language, meaning words never change form or conjugate under any circumstances. For example, tốt (good) simply becomes tốt hơn (better), and xấu (bad) becomes xấu hơn (worse).

2. Adjectives vs. Nouns and Verbs
Use hơn directly with adjectives (e.g., cao hơn = taller). For nouns, you use nhiều (much/many) to form nhiều hơn (e.g., có nhiều tiền hơn = have more money). To express 'less/fewer' with nouns, use ít ... hơn (e.g., có ít tiền hơn = have less money). For verbs, it depends: verbs of emotion, preference, or cognitive/mental states (like hiểu, biết, nhớ) take hơn directly (e.g., thích hơn = like more; tôi hiểu hơn = I understand better), while action verbs often use an adverb before hơn (e.g., chạy nhanh hơn = run faster). Note that this looks identical to the adjective pattern because in Vietnamese, adjectives and adverbs usually share the exact same word form (e.g., nhanh means both 'fast' and 'quickly'). For quantity with verbs, use nhiều hơn (e.g., ăn nhiều hơn = eat more). If the verb has an object, nhiều can go before or after the object, but this changes the nuance: ăn nhiều cơm hơn strictly means a larger quantity of rice, whereas placing it at the end as in ăn cơm nhiều hơn frequently implies frequency (eating rice more often).

3. No Prepositions Needed
In English, you say 'taller than me'. In Vietnamese, hơn connects directly to the second object without any extra prepositions. Note that Vietnamese pronouns do not change case depending on their position in the sentence (e.g., 'I' and 'me' are both tôi), so 'taller than me' is simply cao hơn tôi. Just like in English, if the context is clear, you can drop the 'than B' part and simply say Cái này tốt hơn (This one is better). For added emphasis or in slightly more formal contexts, you can pair hơn with so với (compared to), as in A cao hơn so với B. Furthermore, in casual Vietnamese, when making a general comparison of superiority or inferiority, the adjective or the comparative marker can sometimes be dropped, allowing hơn or kém to function as verbs directly (e.g., Cái này hơn = This one is better; Tôi kém anh ấy = I am worse than him).

4. Adding Intensifiers and Amounts
To express degree or exact amounts, you can add words like nhiều (a lot), một chút (a little), or specific measurements right after hơn. For example, cao hơn nhiều means 'much taller', and cao hơn 5 centimet means '5 centimeters taller'. You can also use this for age, like lớn hơn 2 tuổi (2 years older). See hơn + Amount for more details.

5. Negative Comparisons
To say 'less [adjective] than', you use the word order ít/kém + Adjective + hơn (e.g., ít thông minh hơn = less smart). Note that kém cannot be attached to just any adjective (you cannot say kém cao hơn for 'less tall'). It is generally restricted to contexts of quality, ability, or performance (e.g., học kém hơn = study worse, chất lượng kém hơn = lower quality). For basic physical adjectives, native speakers heavily prefer using the direct antonym (e.g., saying thấp hơn 'shorter' instead of ít cao hơn 'less tall'). Most importantly, in daily speech, native speakers overwhelmingly prefer using the negative equality structure không ... bằng (not as ... as) over ít ... hơn. For example, Cái này không tốt bằng cái kia (This is not as good as that).