A Lebanese comparison is a complete predicate, not a fragment waiting for a word meaning English is: هاي الغرفة أوسع من التانية “this room is wider than the other one.” The subject comes first, and the comparative expression supplies the new information directly.
This page focuses on the whole sentence: what is compared, how the standard is introduced, where equality differs from superiority, and how negation changes the claim. The internal formation of أكبر، أحسن، أغلى and productive أكتر + adjective is developed on the comparative adjective page.
The core comparative sentence
The everyday pattern is:
| Compared item | Comparative predicate | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| هاي الغرفة | أوسع | من التانية |
| هاد الفندق | أغلى | من يلي حد المحطة |
| القهوة هون | أطيب | من قهوة المكتب |
هاي الغرفة أوسع من التانية.
hāy el-ghorfe awsaʿ min et-tēnye.
This room is wider than the other one. (informal; feminine subject, invariant elative)
هاد الفندق أغلى من يلي حد المحطة.
hād el-fondoʾ aghla min yalle ḥadd el-maḥaṭṭa.
This hotel is more expensive than the one by the station. (informal; beginner هاد)
القهوة هون أطيب من قهوة المكتب بكتير.
el-ʾahwe hōn aṭyab min ʾahwit el-maktab b-ktīr.
The coffee here is much better than the office coffee. (informal; degree difference added)
من introduces the standard—the person, thing, or earlier state against which the subject is measured. The comparative itself stays predicative, so there is no present-tense بيكون merely because English has is.
Elatives and productive أكتر
Frequent inherited elatives such as أكبر “bigger/older,” أحسن “better,” أسرع “faster,” and أغلى “more expensive” are invariant. They do not acquire feminine or plural endings when used comparatively.
مايا أكبر من أخوها بسنتين.
Māya akbar min akhūha b-santēn.
Maya is two years older than her brother. (feminine subject; invariant أكبر)
هالطريقين أقصر من طريق الجبل.
haṭ-ṭarīʾēn aʾṣar min ṭarīʾ el-zhabal.
These two roads are shorter than the mountain road. (dual noun phrase; invariant أقصر)
When no familiar lexical elative is natural, Lebanese uses أكتر + adjective. The adjective after أكتر keeps its ordinary agreement.
هاي الشقة أكتر مرتبة من التانية.
hāy esh-shiʾʾa aktar mrattabe min et-tēnye.
This apartment is tidier than the other one. (feminine agreement after أكتر)
الموظفين الجداد أكتر منظمين من الفريق القديم.
el-mwaẓẓafīn el-zhdēd aktar mnaẓẓamīn min el-farīʾ el-ʾdīm.
The new employees are more organized than the old team. (human plural agreement)
The choice between a lexical elative and أكتر is partly lexical. There is no honest rule that generates every preferred form; learn common elatives as vocabulary and use أكتر where the analytic pattern is established.
Build from short to expanded
Context can supply the standard, so a short answer may contain only the compared item and predicate. Add the standard and degree phrase when the listener needs them.
هاي أوسع.
hāy awsaʿ.
This one is wider. (short answer; standard supplied by context)
هاي أوسع من التانية.
hāy awsaʿ min et-tēnye.
This one is wider than the other one. (standard made explicit)
هاي أوسع من التانية بكتير، خصوصي من جهة الصالون.
hāy awsaʿ min et-tēnye b-ktīr, khṣūṣe min zhihet eṣ-ṣālōn.
This one is much wider than the other, especially around the living room. (degree and domain added)
The demonstrative already identifies the subject. Adding هي before it is not required. In an answer to “which one?”, هاي أوسع sounds lighter than a mechanically expanded “it—this one—is wider.”
Equality with قدّ
قدّʾadd presents two things as equal in size, amount, age, or another recoverable measure. A following phrase can name the dimension explicitly.
هاي العلبة قد التانية بالحجم.
hāy el-ʿelbe ʾadd et-tēnye bil-ḥazhem.
This box is the same size as the other one. (exact dimensional equality)
هاد الممر قد التاني بالعرض.
hād el-mamarr ʾadd et-tēne bil-ʿareḍ.
This corridor is as wide as the other one. (width made explicit)
البنت صارت قد إمها بالطول.
el-binet ṣārit ʾadd imma biṭ-ṭūl.
The girl has become as tall as her mother. (equal height reached over time)
قدّ often relies on context for the scale. Without بالحجم، بالطول، بالعرض, listeners infer the most relevant dimension.
Similarity and looser equality with متل
متلmitel means “like.” With an adjective it can support an English “as ... as” translation, but its core claim is similarity, not mathematical equality on a scale.
سامي سريع متل رامي، بس أسلوبه غير.
Sēme srīʿ mitel Rāme, bass oslūbo ghēr.
Sami is fast like Rami, but his style is different. (similarity in the relevant property)
القهوة بهالمحل طيبة متل قهوة البيت.
el-ʾahwe b-hal-maḥall ṭayybe mitel ʾahwit el-bēt.
The coffee at this place is as good as coffee at home. (informal similarity/equative reading)
Use قدّ when equal measure is central; use متل when the comparison is “like” in quality, manner, or type. Real speech permits overlap, so the distinction is a meaning preference rather than an absolute ban.
Negated comparison
Place مش before a nonverbal comparative predicate. The affirmative says one item exceeds the standard; the negative merely denies that relation.
هاد الطريق أسرع من التاني.
hād eṭ-ṭarīʾ asraʿ min et-tēne.
This route is faster than the other one. (affirmative superiority)
هاد الطريق مش أسرع من التاني.
hād eṭ-ṭarīʾ mish asraʿ min et-tēne.
This route isn't faster than the other one. (it may take the same time or longer)
هاي الغرفة مش قد التانية بالحجم.
hāy el-ghorfe mish ʾadd et-tēnye bil-ḥazhem.
This room isn't the same size as the other one. (equality denied)
“Not wider” does not logically mean “narrower”: equality remains possible. If you know the opposite comparison, say it directly: أضيق من “narrower than.”
Dialogue: choosing a café
أي قهوة أهدى، هاي ولا يلي بالساحة؟
ayy ʾahwe ahda, hāy walla yalle bis-sēḥa?
Nour: Which café is quieter, this one or the one in the square?
هاي أهدى وأرخص من التانية.
hāy ahda w-arkhaṣ min et-tēnye.
Ziad: This one is quieter and cheaper than the other one. (two predicates share one standard)
بس القهوة فيها طيبة متل التانية؟
bass el-ʾahwe fiyya ṭayybe mitel et-tēnye?
Nour: But is its coffee as good as the other one's? (quality similarity; suffixed فيها pronounced fiyya)
إيه، ويمكن أطيب كمان.
ē, w-yimken aṭyab kamēn.
Ziad: Yes, and maybe even better. (subject and standard omitted because both are established)
Common Mistakes
Inserting a present copula
❌ هاي الصالة بتكون أوسع من التانية.
Wrong for the intended plain present comparison — بتكون adds a contextual, habitual, or prospective meaning.
✅ هاي الصالة أوسع من التانية.
hāy eṣ-ṣāle awsaʿ min et-tēnye.
This hall is wider than the other one.
Omitting من before an overt standard
❌ هاد الكرسي أريح التاني.
Incorrect — the explicit standard needs من.
✅ هاد الكرسي أريح من التاني.
hād el-korse aryaḥ min et-tēne.
This chair is more comfortable than the other one.
Forcing an overt pronoun in a short answer
❌ أي وحدة أرخص؟ هي هاي أرخص.
Overbuilt for the intended neutral answer — هاي already identifies the selected item.
✅ أي وحدة أرخص؟ هاي أرخص.
ayy waḥde arkhaṣ? hāy arkhaṣ.
Which one is cheaper? This one is cheaper.
Mixing an MSA standard phrase into everyday speech
❌ هاي الغرفة أكبر من الغرفة الأخرى.
Wrong for the requested everyday Beirut register — الأخرى creates an unmotivated formal-style standard phrase.
✅ هاي الغرفة أكبر من التانية.
hāy el-ghorfe akbar min et-tēnye.
This room is bigger than the other one. (informal Lebanese)
Key Takeaways
A present comparison is normally subject + comparative predicate + من standard, with no word for English is. Frequent elatives stay invariant; adjectives after أكتر agree normally. Use قدّ for equality on a measure and متل for similarity or looser equative readings. مش negates the comparative predicate, and “not more” does not automatically assert “less.” Once the compared item or standard is established, Lebanese can omit it rather than forcing an English-style pronoun.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Comparatives with أكتر and Elative FormsA2 — Compare people and things with productive أكتر phrases, inherited elatives, and standards introduced by من.
- Superlatives and Definite ComparisonB1 — Express the highest degree with preposed and article-bearing elatives, superlative constructs, and أكتر شي.
- Degree Modification and Adjective ScaleB1 — Adjust adjective strength with كتير, شوي, هالقد, endpoint-sensitive expressions, and pragmatic understatement.
- Basic Nominal SentencesA1 — Build present Lebanese sentences with noun, pronoun, adjective, and prepositional predicates without an English-style copula.
- مش with Nominal, Adjectival, and Participial PredicatesA1 — Use مش to negate present identities, properties, locations, and participial states in urban Lebanese Arabic.
- من: From, Of, and ThanA1 — Use من for sources, materials, partitives, causes, and comparisons, with natural connected pronunciation and suffix forms.