Comparison of Adjectives in Norwegian

In Brief

Most short Norwegian adjectives form the comparative with -ere and the superlative with -est: fin → finere → finest (“nice → nicer → nicest”). Use enn after a comparative, and use mer/mest with many longer adjectives: mer interessant, mest interessant. Several very common adjectives are irregular, including god → bedre → best.

Overview

Comparison lets you describe differences in degree: one apartment can be større (“bigger”) than another, and one route can be kortest (“shortest”) of all. Norwegian traditionally calls the three forms positiv, komparativ, and superlativ. In plain terms, these are the basic form (stor), the “more” form (større), and the “most” form (størst).

This is an A2 topic because the main pattern is compact and useful in everyday conversation. You can use it to compare prices, ages, distances, weather, food, and preferences. The beginner rule is simple: learn -ere, -est, and enn, then memorise the most frequent irregular forms.

English offers a helpful starting point because it also contrasts endings (small, smaller, smallest) with separate words (interesting, more interesting, most interesting). The exact dividing line is not identical, however. Do not choose mechanically from the English translation: learn whether a Norwegian adjective normally takes endings or mer/mest.

How It Works

The three degrees of comparison

A regular short adjective normally follows this pattern:

Degree	Norwegian form	Meaning	Typical use
Positive (positiv)	fin	nice	no comparison
Comparative (komparativ)	finere	nicer / more nice	comparison between degrees
Superlative (superlativ)	finest	nicest	highest degree in a group

More examples:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative	English
rask	raskere	raskest	fast, faster, fastest
billig	billigere	billigst	cheap, cheaper, cheapest
varm	varmere	varmest	warm, warmer, warmest
kald	kaldere	kaldest	cold, colder, coldest
sterk	sterkere	sterkest	strong, stronger, strongest

Spelling may adjust when the ending is added. For example, vakker becomes vakrere and vakrest, with the unstressed e disappearing. It is more reliable to learn the complete three-part series than to try to derive every spelling while speaking.

Comparatives with enn

The usual pattern is:

A + verb + comparative + enn + B

• Oslo er større enn Bergen. — Oslo is bigger than Bergen.
• Denne boka er billigere enn den andre. — This book is cheaper than the other one.
• Hun er eldre enn meg. — She is older than me.

Norwegian enn corresponds to “than,” not “then.” The word after enn can be a noun phrase, a pronoun, or a fuller clause:

• Det tok lengre tid enn forventet. — It took longer than expected.
• Han løper raskere enn jeg gjør. — He runs faster than I do.

In everyday speech, object forms such as meg and deg are natural after enn: eldre enn meg. A clause with a subject form is also possible when the verb is stated or understood clearly: eldre enn jeg er (“older than I am”).

Comparative forms do not agree

An adjective normally agrees with a noun in its basic form: en stor bil, et stort hus, store hus. Agreement means changing the adjective to match the noun’s gender, number, or definiteness. The comparative, by contrast, stays unchanged:

Noun phrase	Norwegian	English
common gender singular	en større bil	a bigger car
neuter singular	et større hus	a bigger house
plural	større biler	bigger cars
definite	den større bilen	the bigger car

Do not add -t or another -e to the comparative. The form is større in every row.

Superlatives: størst and største

The short superlative form is common after a verb when the subject itself has the highest degree:

• Huset er størst. — The house is biggest.
• Hvem er raskest? — Who is fastest?
• Denne løsningen fungerer best. — This solution works best.

Before a definite noun, Norwegian normally uses the -e form together with the definite adjective construction:

• den største byen — the biggest city
• det billigste hotellet — the cheapest hotel
• de raskeste togene — the fastest trains

Notice the double marking: det appears before the adjective, and hotellet has the definite ending. This follows the same pattern as det store hotellet. The -e form is also used in phrases where the noun is definite in meaning, including possessives and genitives:

• min beste venn — my best friend
• Norges største by — Norway’s biggest city

The superlative can also stand alone with a definite article:

• Dette er den billigste. — This is the cheapest one.
• Det er det beste. — That is the best.

Longer adjectives with mer and mest

Many longer adjectives, especially those ending in -isk or derived from participles, prefer separate comparison words:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative	English
interessant	mer interessant	mest interessant	interesting, more interesting, most interesting
praktisk	mer praktisk	mest praktisk	practical, more practical, most practical
komplisert	mer komplisert	mest komplisert	complicated, more complicated, most complicated
spennende	mer spennende	mest spennende	exciting, more exciting, most exciting

Here mer means “more” and mest means “most.” Do not combine them with an ending: use mer interessant, not mer interessantere. Some adjectives allow variation in real usage, but the forms you encounter in reliable dictionaries are the safest models.

Essential irregular forms

These common adjectives should be memorised as complete sets:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative	English
god	bedre	best	good, better, best
dårlig	verre	verst	bad, worse, worst
liten	mindre	minst	small, smaller, smallest
gammel	eldre	eldst	old, older, oldest
ung	yngre	yngst	young, younger, youngest
stor	større	størst	big, bigger, biggest
lang	lengre	lengst	long, longer, longest
tung	tyngre	tyngst	heavy, heavier, heaviest

Quantity words also have comparison forms:

Basic form	Comparative	Superlative	Use
mye	mer	mest	much / an uncounted amount
mange	flere	flest	many / countable items
få	færre	færrest	few / countable items

Thus mer kaffe means “more coffee,” while flere kopper means “more cups.” This countable–uncountable distinction resembles English more versus more, but Norwegian visibly uses different words in the basic forms: mange and mye.

Examples in Context

Norwegian	English	Note
Denne jakka er billigere enn den blå.	This jacket is cheaper than the blue one.	Regular comparative + enn
Hun er eldre enn meg.	She is older than me.	Irregular gammel → eldre
Kan vi finne en kortere vei?	Can we find a shorter route?	Comparative before a common-gender noun
Vi trenger et større bord.	We need a bigger table.	No neuter -t on the comparative
De nye togene er raskere.	The new trains are faster.	Same comparative with a plural subject
Dette var den kaldeste dagen i året.	This was the coldest day of the year.	Definite attributive superlative
Mount Everest er høyest.	Mount Everest is the highest.	Short superlative after er
Det er det beste alternativet.	That is the best option.	Irregular superlative in a definite phrase
Denne forklaringen er mer interessant enn den første.	This explanation is more interesting than the first.	Long adjective with mer
Det var den mest kompliserte delen.	It was the most complicated part.	Definite phrase with mest
Jeg drikker mer kaffe om vinteren.	I drink more coffee in winter.	Uncounted quantity
Det går flere busser på hverdager.	More buses run on weekdays.	Countable plural quantity
Hvilken restaurant er best?	Which restaurant is best?	Stand-alone irregular superlative
Lillesøsteren min er yngst i familien.	My younger sister is the youngest in the family.	Superlative within a group

Common Mistakes

Adding agreement endings to a comparative

• Wrong: et størret hus
• Right: et større hus
• Why: Comparative forms do not change for neuter nouns. Større is used with common gender, neuter, singular, and plural nouns.

Using som instead of enn after a comparative

• Wrong: Han er høyere som meg.
• Right: Han er høyere enn meg.
• Why: A difference uses comparative + enn. Som belongs in equality patterns such as like høy som (“as tall as”).

Making a double comparative

• Wrong: mer billigere
• Right: billigere
• Why: Billig already takes the ending -ere. Use either an ending or mer, not both.

Regularising a common irregular adjective

• Wrong: Denne er godere.
• Right: Denne er bedre.
• Why: The comparative of god is bedre, and its superlative is best. Frequent irregular sets need to be learned separately.

Forgetting the definite superlative form

• Wrong: den størst byen
• Right: den største byen
• Why: A superlative before a definite noun normally takes -e, and the noun carries its definite ending too.

Confusing mer and flere

• Wrong: mer bøker
• Right: flere bøker
• Why: Use flere with countable plural things such as books. Use mer with an uncounted amount: mer tid, mer vann.

Usage Notes

Norwegian speakers often leave the comparison group unstated when context makes it clear. Denne er billigere can simply mean “This one is cheaper,” with no need to repeat what it is cheaper than. Likewise, Hvem er eldst? asks “Who is oldest?” within the group already under discussion.

A superlative is often followed by a phrase that identifies the group: i klassen (“in the class”), av alle (“of all”), or i verden (“in the world”). Norwegian commonly uses i with places and groups: den høyeste bygningen i byen (“the tallest building in the city”).

The words lengre and lenger are distinguished in careful Bokmål usage. Lengre is the comparative adjective of lang and modifies a noun: en lengre pause (“a longer break”). Lenger is generally adverbial, describing duration or distance: Vi kan ikke vente lenger (“We cannot wait any longer”). Speech and informal writing may show variation, but this distinction is useful in edited text.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these patterns at A2, but you will meet them later.

Equality and lower degree

To say that two things have the same degree, use like … som or så … som:

• Bilen er like rask som toget. — The car is as fast as the train.
• Oppgaven var ikke så vanskelig som jeg trodde. — The task was not as difficult as I thought.

To express a lower degree, use mindre and minst:

• Denne løsningen er mindre praktisk. — This solution is less practical.
• Det er det minst dyre alternativet. — It is the least expensive option.

Increasing change

A repeated comparative describes a continuing increase or decrease:

• Det blir kaldere og kaldere. — It is getting colder and colder.
• Prisene blir høyere og høyere. — Prices are getting higher and higher.
• Hun ble mer og mer interessert. — She became more and more interested.

For linked changes, Norwegian uses jo … desto or jo … jo:

• Jo tidligere vi drar, desto bedre. — The earlier we leave, the better.
• Jo mer du øver, jo lettere blir det. — The more you practise, the easier it becomes.

Comparison forms used as adverbs

The same forms can describe how an action happens rather than describe a noun:

• Kan du snakke saktere? — Can you speak more slowly?
• Hun løper raskest av alle. — She runs fastest of everyone.
• Dette fungerer bedre. — This works better.

An adverb is a word or form that describes an action, quality, or whole statement rather than a noun. In these examples, saktere, raskest, and bedre tell us about speaking, running, and functioning. This explains why comparison forms appear even when there is no noun nearby.

Practice Tips

1. Learn in sets of three. Make cards such as stor – større – størst and say one short sentence with each form. Give irregular sets extra review time.
2. Compare real objects around you. Use pairs first—Koppen er mindre enn glasset—then choose a winner from three objects: Denne koppen er minst.
3. Sort adjectives by strategy. Keep one list for -ere/-est, one for mer/mest, and one for irregular forms. When you meet a new adjective, check a Norwegian dictionary and add the whole comparison pattern.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Adjective Agreement — review basic forms such as stor, stort, and store before comparing adjectives.