Arabic Blog

Comparison is between two in terms of a certain quality usually expressed by an adjective, e.g. taller than. When we compare between 2 people or things in Arabic, we typically use the form (أفعل) followed by the preposition (من), e.g. “taller than“ is (أطول من)

محمد أكبر من أحمد ولكن أحمد أطول منه.

“Mohammed is older than Ahmed, but Ahmed in taller than him.“

بيتي أقدم من بيتك

“My house is older than yours.“

Below is a list of adjectives and their comparative forms. I tried to include opposites to be easier to learn.

When we have long adjectives, containing three or more syllables, we cannot use the (أفعل) form. Instead, we use (أكثر) followed by the verbal noun derived from the adjective and (من). We have to note that this is different from English, because in English we use more followed by the adjective, while in Arabic, we use the verbal noun, e.g.

رامي منضبط ولكن منى أكثر انضباطاً منه.

Ramy is punctual, but Mona is more punctual than him.

Below is a list of adjectives that can be used in this form and their comparative counterparts:

It should be noted that the verbal noun after (أكثر) should be in the accusative form and ends in (تنوين الفتح).