Comparative Degree in Russian

Overview

The comparative degree in Russian allows you to compare two things, expressing that something is more or less of a quality than something else. At the A2 level, comparatives are essential for expressing preferences, making choices, and describing relative qualities -- all common in everyday conversation.

Russian has two comparative forms: the simple (synthetic) comparative and the compound (analytic) comparative. The simple form (быстрее, лучше) is more common in speech and acts as an adverb or predicate adjective. The compound form (более быстрый) declines like a regular adjective and is used attributively before nouns. Both forms are useful in different contexts.

Russian comparatives also feature several important irregular forms -- лучше (better), хуже (worse), больше (bigger/more), меньше (smaller/less) -- that are among the most frequently used words in the language. "Than" can be expressed either with чем or by putting the compared item in the genitive case.

How It Works

Simple (Synthetic) Comparative

Formation: adjective/adverb stem + -ее (standard) or -е (with consonant change)

Adjective	Comparative	Meaning
быстрый	быстрее	faster
красивый	красивее	more beautiful
интересный	интереснее	more interesting
тёплый	теплее	warmer

Consonant-Change Comparatives (-е)

Adjective	Comparative	Change
молодой	моложе	д → ж
дорогой	дороже	г → ж
тихий	тише	х → ш
простой	проще	ст → щ

Irregular Comparatives

Adjective	Comparative
хороший (good)	лучше
плохой (bad)	хуже
большой (big)	больше
маленький (small)	меньше
старый (old)	старше
молодой (young)	моложе/младше

"Than" -- Two Options

1. Чем: Москва больше, чем Киев. (Moscow is bigger than Kyiv.)
2. Genitive: Он старше меня. (He is older than me.)

Examples in Context

Russian	English	Note
Он старше меня.	He is older than me.	Genitive for "than"
Этот дом больше того.	This house is bigger than that one.	Irregular comparative
Она говорит быстрее.	She speaks faster.	Simple comparative
Москва более дорогая, чем Киев.	Moscow is more expensive than Kyiv.	Compound comparative
Сегодня теплее, чем вчера.	Today is warmer than yesterday.	Чем for "than"
Эта книга интереснее.	This book is more interesting.	Simple comparative
Он лучше говорит по-русски.	He speaks Russian better.	Irregular
Моя сестра младше меня.	My sister is younger than me.	Age comparison
Здесь тише.	It's quieter here.	Consonant change
Это дороже.	This is more expensive.	Short comparative

Common Mistakes

Using более with simple comparatives

• Wrong: более лучше (double comparative)
• Right: лучше or более хороший
• Why: Do not combine более with the simple comparative form. Use one or the other.

Wrong consonant change

• Wrong: дорогее (applying -ее to consonant-change stem)
• Right: дороже (г → ж + -е)
• Why: Many adjectives undergo consonant changes in the comparative and take -е, not -ее.

Forgetting irregular forms

• Wrong: хорошее (applying regular pattern to хороший)
• Right: лучше
• Why: The most common adjectives have irregular comparative forms that must be memorized.

Practice Tips

• Memorize the irregular comparatives first (лучше, хуже, больше, меньше, старше) -- they are the most frequent.
• Practice both "than" constructions: Он старше, чем я / Он старше меня. Both are correct; the genitive form is more concise.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Adjective Agreement (Nominative) -- know basic adjective forms before comparing them
• Next steps: Superlative Degree -- expressing "the most" and "the best"