How to Use Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives in Indonesian

Understanding Adjectives in Indonesian

In Indonesian, adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns, similar to English. However, unlike English, Indonesian adjectives do not change form based on number or gender. For example, besar means "big" and remains the same whether describing one or many objects.

Forming Comparative Adjectives in Indonesian

To express comparison ("bigger", "more beautiful"), Indonesian typically uses the word lebih before the adjective. Lebih means "more" and is placed directly before the adjective to indicate the comparative form.

For example:

• Rumah ini lebih besar daripada rumah itu. (This house is bigger than that house.)
• Dia lebih pintar dari saya. (He/She is smarter than me.)

Using 'daripada' and 'dari' for 'than'

Both daripada and dari can be used to mean "than" in comparisons. Daripada is more formal and common in writing, while dari is often used in everyday speech.

Examples:

• Saya lebih tinggi daripada dia. (I am taller than him/her.)
• Mobil itu lebih mahal dari mobil saya. (That car is more expensive than my car.)

Forming Superlative Adjectives in Indonesian

To express the superlative ("the biggest", "the most beautiful"), Indonesian uses the word paling before the adjective. Paling means "most" and indicates the highest degree of the quality.

Examples:

• Dia adalah siswa yang paling pintar di kelas. (He/She is the smartest student in the class.)
• Ini adalah buku yang paling menarik. (This is the most interesting book.)

Using 'paling' with adjectives

The word paling is placed directly before the adjective without any changes to the adjective itself.

Other Ways to Express Comparison and Superlative

Sometimes, Indonesian uses reduplication or other words to express emphasis or comparison, but lebih and paling are the most common and straightforward methods.

For example, to say "very big", you can say sangat besar (very big), but this is not a comparative or superlative form.

Summary of Comparative and Superlative Forms

• Comparative: lebih + adjective + daripada/dari (than)
• Superlative: paling + adjective (the most)

Practice Examples

Try translating these sentences into Indonesian using the comparative or superlative forms:

1. My house is bigger than yours.
2. She is the most talented singer.
3. This book is more interesting than that one.
4. He is taller than his brother.

Answers:

1. Rumah saya lebih besar daripada rumahmu.
2. Dia adalah penyanyi yang paling berbakat.
3. Buku ini lebih menarik daripada buku itu.
4. Dia lebih tinggi daripada saudaranya.