Konparazioa — comparative of superiority
Comparing is one of the most common acts of language: this one is bigger than that one, I am shorter than you, the omelette is better than yesterday. In Basque, the formula is very regular and, once you master it, it opens up a lot of new sentences.
The formula
X baino Y-AGO(A)
- baino is placed between the two compared terms — it’s equivalent to “than”.
- -ago is added to the adjective or adverb (like the English “-er” or the Spanish comparative marker).
- If it goes with a definite noun, the adjective takes its usual -a: altuagoa.
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| Bigger | handiagoa |
| Smaller | txikiagoa |
| More expensive | garestiagoa |
| Prettier | politagoa |
| Faster | azkaragoa |
Example sentences
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| Lander is taller than Olatz | Lander Olatz baino altuagoa da |
| This house is bigger than that one | Etxe hau hura baino handiagoa da |
| Bilbao is bigger than Donosti | Bilbo Donostia baino handiagoa da |
| The coffee is more expensive than the tea | Kafea tea baino garestiago dago |
| Garazi runs faster than me | Garazik nik baino azkarrago egiten du korrika |
Word order: in Basque, the “than” (baino) goes between the two things being compared, not after the adjective. X baino Y-agoa is literally “X than Y-more”.
Irregular adjectives
Some adjectives don’t follow the regular rule and are worth memorizing:
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| Good → better | ona → hobea |
| Bad → worse | txarra → okerragoa |
| Much/Many → more | asko → gehiago |
| Little/Few → less | gutxi → gutxiago |
Liburu hau hura baino hobea da. — This book is better than that one.
Garazik nik baino gehiago ikasten du. — Garazi studies more than I do.
Comparative with verbs
When you compare actions or quantities, gehiago / gutxiago works as an adverb:
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| I work more than you | Zuk baino gehiago lan egiten dut |
| He/She studies less than before | Lehen baino gutxiago ikasten du |
| I eat more fruit than vegetables | Barazkiak baino fruta gehiago jaten dut |
Gehiago and gutxiago go before the verb or the modified noun, and baino keeps its place between the two terms.
Comparative with adverbs
| Adverb | Comparative |
|---|---|
| azkar (fast) | azkarrago |
| poliki (slowly) | polikiago |
| ondo (well) | hobeto (irregular) |
| gaizki (badly) | okerrago |
| berandu (late) | beranduago |
| goiz (early) | goizago |
Hobeto egiten duzu lan. — You work better.
Goizago etorriko naiz bihar. — I will come earlier tomorrow.
Negation: “less than”
For “less than”, the natural formula is gutxiago + baino:
Lander nik baino gutxiago lan egiten du. — Lander works less than I do.
Or with the comparative inverted:
Olatz Lander baino txikiagoa da. (= Lander is taller than Olatz, formulated the other way around.)
Negations with hain — “not as”
A very productive formula:
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| It’s not as expensive | Ez da hain garestia |
| Not as fast | Ez hain azkar |
| It’s not as big as you thought | Ez da uste zenuen bezain handia |
Hain is used for “so” or “as” (= this much). Combined with ez it works to soften comparisons.
Mini-dialogue
— Anboto, etxe berria zer moduz?
— Aurrekoa baino handiagoa da, eta argia ere askoz argiagoa da. Baina logelak txikiagoak dira.
— Eta kalea?
— Lehen baino lasaiagoa: ez dago hainbeste autorik.
Mnemonic trick
Memorize the formula as a block:
X baino Y-agoa da.
And for the irregulars: hobea, okerragoa, gehiago, gutxiago. With that, you cover 95% of A2-level superiority comparisons.
Cultural note: in everyday speech, you’ll also hear reinforced expressions: askoz handiagoa (much bigger), pixka bat handiagoa (a little bigger), dezente handiagoa (quite a bit bigger). These are nuances that, while not strictly A2, pepper every conversation.
Ejercicios
"Lander Olatz baino altuagoa da" means…
How do you form the comparative of "txikia"?
This house is bigger than that one = Etxe hau hura handiagoa da.