Dutch comparatives and superlatives: groter, grootst, and dan vs als

Comparing things in Dutch is mostly good news for English speakers. Big, bigger, biggest becomes groot, groter, grootst. Same idea, similar endings. There are a few traps, though. Some spelling changes, a few irregular words, and one small word, dan, that even Dutch people get wrong. Let's go through all of it.

The core rule for Dutch comparatives and superlatives

To compare two things, add -er to the adjective. That's the comparative.

To say something is the most, add -st. That's the superlative.

To say what you're comparing with, use dan (than).

Mijn broer is ouder dan ik.

My brother is older than me.

De trein is sneller dan de bus.

The train is faster than the bus.

Spelling changes

The endings are regular. The spelling around them sometimes isn't. These changes follow the normal Dutch spelling rules for long and short vowels, so if you've learned those, nothing here is new.

Long vowels lose a letter. Groot has a long oo. When you add -er, the syllable opens up, and one o is enough: groter. Same with laag (low) and lager, laat (late) and later.

Short vowels double the consonant. Dik (thick) has a short i. To keep it short, the k doubles: dikker. Same with snel and sneller, dom (stupid) and dommer.

Words ending in -r add -der. Duur becomes duurder, not duurer. Ver (far) becomes verder. Zwaar (heavy) becomes zwaarder.

F becomes v, s becomes z. Lief (sweet, kind) becomes liever. Boos (angry) becomes bozer. Grijs (grey) becomes grijzer. The sound changes, so the spelling follows.

The superlative doesn't have these changes, because -st doesn't open the syllable. It's grootst, dikst, liefst.

Worked examples

Example 1: a simple comparison

Amsterdam is groter dan Utrecht.

Amsterdam is bigger than Utrecht.

Example 2: the same, not more

To say two things are equal, use even ... als or zo ... als.

Ik ben even oud als jij.

I'm as old as you.

Het was niet zo duur als ik dacht.

It wasn't as expensive as I thought.

So als belongs with "as," and dan belongs with "than." Remember that pair. It matters in a moment.

Example 3: the superlative after a verb

When the superlative comes after the verb, like after is, you put het in front of it.

Deze route is het snelst.

This route is the fastest.

Wie woont het dichtst bij kantoor?

Who lives closest to the office?

Example 4: the superlative before a noun

When the superlative comes before a noun, it's an adjective, so it gets the normal -e ending and the article of the noun.

Dit is de snelste route.

This is the fastest route.

Het is het oudste huis in de straat.

It's the oldest house in the street.

Example 5: comparatives before a noun

Comparatives follow the normal adjective -e rule too. That includes the exception for het-words with een.

We zoeken een grotere auto.

We're looking for a bigger car.

We zoeken een groter huis.

We're looking for a bigger house.

Een groter huis, with no -e, because huis is a het-word after een. That's exactly like een groot huis. If the adjective -e rule is still shaky for you, this is where it shows up again.

The irregular ones

A handful of very common words don't follow the pattern. You'll use these every day, so they're worth learning by heart.

Goed, beter, best works like English "good, better, best." No surprises there.

Graag, liever, liefst is the one English speakers don't expect. Graag is how you say you like doing something. Liever is how you say you prefer something. Het liefst is what you like most.

Ik drink graag koffie.

I like drinking coffee.

Ik drink liever thee.

I prefer to drink tea.

Ik drink het liefst water.

I like drinking water most of all.

You'll hear liever all the time. Wil je liever thee of koffie? (Would you rather have tea or coffee?) is a question you'll get at every Dutch birthday party.

Long adjectives

Here's something that makes Dutch easier than English. In English, long adjectives use "more": more interesting, more difficult. In Dutch, long adjectives usually just get -er like everything else.

Dit boek is interessanter dan de film.

This book is more interesting than the film.

Nederlands is moeilijker dan ik dacht.

Dutch is more difficult than I thought.

Meer interessant sounds wrong in most sentences. Use interessanter.

For the superlative, meest does show up sometimes, especially with adjectives made from verbs and some longer words: de meest gelezen krant (the most read newspaper), het meest praktisch (the most practical). You don't need a rule for this at first. When in doubt, add -er and -st.

Where English speakers go wrong

Common mistake: using als instead of dan. Hij is groter als ik is something you'll hear from plenty of Dutch people. But it's considered incorrect in standard Dutch, and it will cost you points in an NT2 exam. After a comparative, it's always dan: groter dan ik. Keep als for even ... als and zo ... als.

Common mistake: using meer where Dutch uses -er. English says "more expensive," so learners say meer duur. It's duurder.

Common mistake: using beter for preference. English says "I like tea better," so learners reach for beter. In Dutch, preference is liever. Ik heb liever thee (I prefer tea), not Ik heb beter thee.

Common mistake: forgetting het before a superlative after a verb. Deze route is snelst sounds unfinished. It's Deze route is het snelst.

Edge cases worth knowing

Worth knowing: Dutch has a nice way to say "the more, the better": hoe ... hoe.

Hoe eerder, hoe beter.

The sooner, the better.

Worth knowing: to say something keeps growing, use steeds plus a comparative.

Het wordt steeds drukker in de stad.

It's getting busier and busier in the city.

Heads up: after dan, spoken Dutch uses ik, jij, hij and so on: groter dan ik. English speakers sometimes want to say groter dan mij, because English says "bigger than me." You'll hear dan mij from some Dutch speakers, but dan ik is the standard form and the safe choice.

Putting it together

1. Comparative: add -er. Superlative: add -st.
2. Follow the normal spelling rules: long vowels lose a letter, short vowels double the consonant.
3. Words ending in -r get -der: duurder, verder.
4. Compare with dan: groter dan ik. Equal with even/zo ... als.
5. Superlative after a verb gets het: het snelst. Before a noun, it gets an article and -e: de snelste route.
6. Learn the irregulars: goed/beter/best, veel/meer/meest, weinig/minder/minst, graag/liever/liefst.
7. Long adjectives usually still take -er: interessanter, moeilijker.

Go practice this

Pick two cities, two jobs or two supermarkets you know, and write five sentences comparing them. Albert Heijn is duurder dan Lidl. Use at least one dan, one even ... als and one liever.

Next time someone offers you a choice in Dutch, answer with liever. Ik wil liever thee. It's a small sentence, but it'll start to feel automatic surprisingly fast.

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