Making Comparisons in Swedish
In this lesson you'll learn how to make comparisons in Swedish. You'll also learn some more common Swedish adjectives.
A Swedish short story is included at the end of the lesson.
Online flashcards and a quiz are also included to help you learn the Swedish adjectives introduced in this lesson.
Comparative and Superlative
The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are used when comparing one thing to another. For the comparative form of Swedish adjectives, the suffix are is added to the end of the adjective. for the superlative form, the suffix ast is added to the end of the adjective.
Similar to English, mer and mest can be used instead for adjectives of three or more syllables.
| grön | green | |
| comparative | grönare | greener |
| superlative | grönast | greenest |
Note: When the superlative form precedes a noun, an e is added to the end.
Examples
| Jag springer snabbare än dig. | I run faster than you. |
| Jag är snabbast av alla. | I am the fastest of all. |
| Hon har den snabbaste bilen. | She has the fastest car. |
Irregular Comparisons
Several adjectives in Swedish have irregular comparative and superlative forms. The following table shows these irregular adjectives.
| comparative | superlative | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| bra | bättre | bäst | good |
| god | bättre | bäst | good |
| dålig | värre | värst | bad |
| gammal | äldre | äldst | old |
| liten | mindre | minst | small |
| låg | lägre | lägst | low |
| många | fler | flest | many |
| stor | större | störst | big/great |
| ung | yngre | yngst | young |
Examples
| Hans hus är det största i staden. | His house is the biggest in the city |
| Hon är bättre på att spela fotboll än jag. | She is better at playing football than me. |
| Han är äldre än jag. | He is older than I am. |
| Jag är yngst i klassen. | I am the youngest in the class |
To learn more about using adjectives in Swedish, have a look at the lesson on the grammar of adjectives.
Swedish Vocabulary
The following is a list of some very common Swedish adjectives.
| arg | angry |
| bra | good |
| dålig | bad |
| enkel | simple |
| het | hot |
| intressant | interesting |
| kall | cold |
| kort | short (not long) |
| lätt | light (not heavy) |
| ny | new |
| svår | hard (difficult) |
| varm | hot, warm |
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Flashcards
Here are some flashcards to help you learn the comparative and superlative forms of Swedish adjectives as well as the adjectives included in this lesson.
Read and Listen
Here is a short story in Swedish to help your reading and listening comprehension of the Swedish language. The English translation of the story is also included to make it easier to understand the story.
Listen to the Story
| Försvinnandet i Bergsbyn | The Disappearance in Mountain Village |
|---|---|
| I den lilla bergsbyn Lindsjö var ingenting som det verkade. En efter en började invånarna försvinna spårlöst. Det började med Erika, den unga lärarinnan som alla kände och älskade. Hennes sista ord till sin bästa vän var, "Jag har sett något jag inte borde ha sett." | In the small mountain village of Lindsjö, nothing was as it seemed. One by one, the inhabitants began to disappear without a trace. It started with Erika, the young teacher everyone knew and loved. Her last words to her best friend were, "I saw something I shouldn't have seen." |
| Polisen, ledd av den erfarna inspektören Jonas, kunde inte hitta några ledtrådar. Det var som om byns dimma hade slukat dem. När tre till bybor försvann inom en vecka, inklusive borgmästaren, började paniken sprida sig. Byns gator som en gång var fyllda av barnens skratt, låg nu öde och tysta. | The police, led by the experienced Inspector Jonas, couldn't find any clues. It was as if the village's fog had swallowed them. When three more villagers disappeared within a week, including the mayor, panic began to spread. The village streets, once filled with children's laughter, were now deserted and silent. |
| En natt när Jonas granskade gamla fallfiler, hittade han en anteckning som Erika hade skrivit. "Källargångarna under den gamla kyrkan." Jonas insåg att han måste undersöka de underjordiska tunnlarna som sträckte sig under byn. | One night, while Jonas was reviewing old case files, he found a note written by Erika. "The cellars under the old church." Jonas realized he had to investigate the underground tunnels that stretched beneath the village. | Med ficklampan som enda ljuskälla steg Jonas ner i mörkret. Han kunde höra sitt eget hjärtslag eka i de trånga gångarna. Plötsligt hörde han ett svagt ljud. Han följde ljudet och fann en gammal dörr. Bakom dörren fann han byborna, rädda men oskadda. De hade hållits fångna av en man som hade tappat sitt förstånd, övertygad om att byborna konspirerade mot honom. | With only a flashlight to guide him, Jonas descended into the darkness. He could hear his own heartbeat echoing in the narrow corridors. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound. He followed the noise and found an old door. Behind the door, he found the villagers, frightened but unharmed. They had been held captive by a man who had lost his mind, convinced the villagers were conspiring against him. |
| Jonas lyckades rädda alla, och den lilla byn kunde återgå till sitt lugna liv, men för evigt förändrade av mysteriet som hade omringat dem. | Jonas managed to rescue everyone, and the little village could return to its peaceful life, forever changed by the mystery that had surrounded them. |
Quiz
Here is a quiz to help you learn the comparative and superlative forms of Swedish adjectives as well as the Swedish adjectives introduced in this lesson.