Welcome to part 2 of our exploration of the comparative in Russian. We’ll be continuing from where we left off in the last post.
| The comparative expresses inferiority or superiority when comparing two things. ex. purple is better than pink, the student is smarter than the teacher, etc. |
We were learning about the short form. We’ll continue. There is more to this form. While this form is more common, it’s also full of irregularities. I’ve grouped the most common forms below. Please make note of them as you come across them in your studies.
Here I’ve compiled a list of 40+ adjectives and their irregular comparative forms.
Remember that these can only be used with the short form.
| –ше |
| хороший [good] | лучше [better] |
| высокий [tall, high] | выше [taller, higher] |
| старый [old] | старше [older] |
| ранний [early] | раньше [earlier, before] |
| тихий [quiet] | тише [quieter] |
| далёкий [far] | дальше [farther, further] |
| маленький [small] | меньше [smaller] |
| большой [big] | больше [bigger] |
| тонький [thin] | тоньше [thinner] |
| Сегодня погода лучше, чем вчера. Today the weather’s better than [it was] yesterday. |
| Моему брату 35 лет, он старше меня. My brother’s 35 years old, he’s older than me. |
| –же |
| плохой [bad] | хуже [worse] |
| низкий [low, short] | ниже [lower, shorter] |
| молодой [young] | моложе [younger] |
| глубокий [deep] | глубже [deeper] |
| строгий [strict] | строже [stricter] |
| долгий [long] | дольже [longer] |
| близкий [close] | ближе [closer] |
| дорогой [expensive, dear] | дороже [more expensive, dearer] |
| поздний [late] | позже [later] |
| узкий [narrow] | уже [narrower] |
| редкий [rare] | реже [rarer] |
| гладкий [smooth] | гляже [smoother] |
| жидкий [thin] -referring to liquid- | жиже [thinner] – |
| твёрдый [hard] | твёрже [harder] |
| тугой [taut] | туже [tauter] |
| Наш новый учитель строже бывшего. Our new teacher is stricter than the previous one. |
| Эти брюки уже, чем они выглядят. These pants are tighter than they look. |
| This is why stress is necessary to highlight in Russian. уже [already] and уже [narrower] |
| –ще |
| сладкий [sweet] | слаще [sweeter] |
| простой [simple] | проще [simpler] |
| частый [often] | чаще [often] |
| чистый [clean] | чище [cleaner] |
| толстый [stout] | толще [stouter] |
| густой [thick] | гуще [thicker] |
| Мёдовый торт слаще шоколадного. The honey cake is sweeter than the chocolate one. |
| Завтра квартира будет чище. Tomorrow the apartment will be cleaner. |
| –че |
| короткий [short] | короче [shorter] |
| богатый [rich] | богаче [richer] |
| жаркий [hot] | жарче [hotter] |
| лёгкий [light] | легче [lighter] |
| крепкий [strong] | крепче [stronger] |
| громкий [loud] | громче [louder] |
| горький [bitter] | горче [bitterer] |
| дикий [wild] | диче [wilder] |
| крутой [steep] | круче [steeper] |
| мягкий [soft] | мягче [softer] |
| мелкий [fine] | мельче [finer] |
| Ты думаешь, что чешский легче словацкого? Do you think that Czech is easier than Slovak? |
| Эти подушки мягче, чем те. These pillows are softer than those ones. |
| –е |
| дешёвый [cheap] | дешевле [cheaper] |
| широкий [wide] | шире [wider] |
| Продуткы на рынке дешевле, чем в супермаркете. Products at the market are cheaper than in the supermarket. |
| Мои плечи шире, чем раньше. My shoulders are wider than (they were) before. |
And that’s all for today’s simple, yet useful post.
Next, we’ll be learning the superlative. Be on the lookout for it.
My Slavic Studies 