How to Use Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives in Romanian

Understanding Adjectives in Romanian

In Romanian, adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they describe. When expressing comparisons, Romanian uses specific forms to indicate comparative and superlative degrees, similar to English but with unique structures.

Forming the Comparative of Adjectives in Romanian

The comparative form in Romanian is used to compare two things, equivalent to English "-er" or "more" forms. Romanian comparatives are formed using the adverbs mai (meaning "more") or mai puțin (meaning "less") placed before the adjective.

For example:

• Maria este mai înaltă decât Ana. (Maria is taller than Ana.)
• Acest film este mai interesant decât celălalt. (This movie is more interesting than the other one.)
• El este mai puțin obosit decât ieri. (He is less tired than yesterday.)

Forming the Superlative of Adjectives in Romanian

The superlative expresses the highest degree of a quality. Romanian has two types of superlatives: relative and absolute.

Relative Superlative

Used to say something is the most or least among a group. Formed by combining the definite article with cel mai (the most) or cel mai puțin (the least) plus the adjective.

Examples:

• El este cel mai bun elev din clasă. (He is the best student in the class.)
• Aceasta este cea mai frumoasă floare din grădină. (This is the most beautiful flower in the garden.)
• Acesta este cel mai puțin scump produs. (This is the least expensive product.)

Absolute Superlative

Used to express a very high degree of a quality without comparison. It is formed by adding suffixes like -iss or -r to the adjective, often with the prefix foarte (very) for emphasis.

Examples:

• frumos → frumușel / foarte frumos (very beautiful)
• bun → foarte bun (very good)
• rapid → foarte rapid (very fast)

Common Irregular Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Some Romanian adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. Here are a few important ones:

Using Comparatives and Superlatives in Sentences

When constructing sentences with comparatives and superlatives, Romanian often uses the conjunction decât (than) after the comparative adjective to introduce the second element of comparison.

Example:

• El este mai înalt decât fratele său. (He is taller than his brother.)
• Aceasta este cea mai frumoasă carte din bibliotecă. (This is the most beautiful book in the library.)