Catalan normally compares a quality with més “more” or menys “less,” followed by an adjective and a standard introduced by que: més tranquil que, menys cara que. The adjective still agrees with the noun, while més and menys remain unchanged. Two frequent adjectives also have inherited comparative forms: millor “better” and pitjor “worse.”
English speakers must keep three jobs separate: the degree word marks the scale, the adjective marks agreement, and que introduces what is being compared. Catalan distributes these meanings across the whole phrase rather than building an English-style ending such as “-er.”
The basic comparative pattern
| Relation | Pattern | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| superiority | més + adjective + que | més ràpid que el tren |
| inferiority | menys + adjective + que | menys sorollosa que l'altra |
| equality | tan + adjective + com | tan pràctic com abans |
| better | millor + que | una solució millor que l'anterior |
| worse | pitjor + que | unes condicions pitjors que les nostres |
Aquest camí és més curt que la carretera i molt menys perillós.
This path is shorter than the road and much less dangerous.
Les habitacions interiors són menys lluminoses que les que donen al carrer.
The inner rooms are less bright than those facing the street.
The forms curt and perillós are masculine singular because they describe camí. Lluminoses is feminine plural because it describes habitacions. Degree does not block agreement: més and menys never take gender or number endings, but the adjective does.
Que introduces the standard
Use que before the person, thing, phrase, or clause that supplies the standard. English uses “than”; Spanish uses the cognate que. The Catalan form has no accent here.
La reunió d'avui ha estat més útil que la de dilluns.
Today's meeting was more useful than Monday's.
Treballar des de casa és menys cansat que travessar la ciutat cada matí.
Working from home is less tiring than crossing the city every morning.
A definite article may stand in for an omitted noun: la de dilluns means “the one on Monday.” Do not copy English article distribution by dropping la. The two compared terms should also be structurally parallel: an event can naturally be compared with another event, as in treballar... que travessar....
With personal pronouns, Catalan uses the ordinary strong form: més alt que jo, més pacient que tu, menys nervioses que nosaltres. (formal) A more explicit clause can remove ambiguity: més alt que no pas jo or més alt que jo no soc. The reinforcing sequence no pas is especially useful when the two terms are long or when the comparison could be mistaken for a negative clause.
El primer informe és més breu i clar que no pas el segon.
The first report is shorter and clearer than the second.
Here que no pas reinforces the contrast; no does not negate the second report. In everyday comparisons, plain que is usually sufficient.
Equality uses tan... com
For equal degree, use invariant tan before an adjective and com before the standard. Do not use agreeing tant/tanta/tants/tantes unless a noun is being quantified.
La segona proposta és tan ambiciosa com la primera, però resulta més realista.
The second proposal is as ambitious as the first, but it is more realistic.
Compare tan clara com l'altra “as clear as the other one” with tantes preguntes com l'altra classe “as many questions as the other class.” In the second pattern, tantes is a quantifier agreeing with the feminine plural noun preguntes, not a degree word modifying an adjective.
Millor and pitjor
Bo and dolent have the usual comparative forms millor and pitjor. These forms distinguish number but not gender.
| Singular, both genders | Plural, both genders | |
|---|---|---|
| better | millor | millors |
| worse | pitjor | pitjors |
Necessitem una connexió millor i unes eines més fiables per treballar des d'aquí.
We need a better connection and more reliable tools to work from here.
Aquestes són les pitjors setmanes de l'any per buscar pis.
These are the worst weeks of the year for looking for an apartment.
Unlike més bo and més dolent, millor and pitjor package the comparison into the adjective itself. Consequently, do not double the comparison: més millor and més pitjor are nonstandard. Més bo is nevertheless possible when bo has a concrete meaning such as “tasty,” “kind,” or “morally good,” especially when the speaker is explicitly increasing degree. In most neutral evaluations, millor is the safer and more idiomatic choice.
El pa d'avui és més bo que el d'ahir, però el del forn del barri encara és millor.
Today's bread tastes better than yesterday's, but the neighborhood bakery's is better still.
The first comparison focuses on how tasty the bread is; the second gives a more general evaluation. This is a real nuance, not a completely mechanical prohibition against més bo.
Més gran, més petit, major, and menor
The Spanish cognates mayor and menor tempt learners to overuse Catalan major and menor. In ordinary speech, Catalan normally uses més gran for both “bigger” and “older,” and més petit for “smaller” and “younger.”
La meva germana és dos anys més gran que jo, però viu en un pis més petit.
My sister is two years older than I am, but she lives in a smaller apartment.
Major and menor are common in restricted meanings: major d'edat / menor d'edat, and (formal) comparisons such as un risc major “a greater risk” or una despesa menor “a smaller expense.” They distinguish number (majors, menors) but not gender. Saying la meva germana és major que jo is readily understood, yet més gran que jo is the neutral contemporary choice for age.
Gender can also disrupt an otherwise correct comparison. Catalan avantatge is masculine, unlike Spanish ventaja: say un avantatge més clar and uns avantatges més clars, not una avantatge més clara.
Que versus de before numbers
Use que when two explicit terms are compared. Use de when a number is a threshold meaning “more/less than that amount.”
Aquest any han vingut més visitants que l'any passat.
More visitors came this year than last year.
Aquest any han vingut més de deu mil visitants.
More than ten thousand visitors came this year.
The first sentence compares two years; the second says that the total crossed the threshold of ten thousand. If a numerical measure states the difference between two terms, no de appears before that measure: La Berta és tres centímetres més alta que la Núria. The phrase tres centímetres measures the gap, while que la Núria remains the standard.
Les noves taules són deu centímetres més llargues que les antigues.
The new tables are ten centimeters longer than the old ones.
Agreement and variety consistency
A comparison may contain several agreeing words, but the degree words remain fixed:
Aquestes dues rutes noves són més curtes, més segures i menys costerudes que les antigues.
These two new routes are shorter, safer, and less steep than the old ones.
Aquestes, rutes, noves, curtes, segures, and costerudes are all feminine plural. Placing every modifier before the noun would sound unnatural: neutral Catalan says aquestes dues rutes noves, not aquestes noves dues rutes.
The comparative system itself is shared by the standards. Keep the surrounding paradigms consistent: Central aquestes rutes meves són millors; (regional: Valencian) estes rutes meues són millors. A hybrid such as aquestes rutes meues is avoidable in a single-variety model.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving the adjective in a default masculine singular form.
❌ Les habitacions són més tranquil que les del davant.
Incorrect — tranquil must agree with feminine plural habitacions.
✅ Les habitacions són més tranquil·les que les del davant.
The rooms are quieter than the ones at the front.
2. Doubling a suppletive comparative.
❌ Aquesta opció és més millor que l'altra.
Incorrect — millor already means better.
✅ Aquesta opció és millor que l'altra.
This option is better than the other one.
3. Using que before a numerical threshold.
❌ El trajecte dura més que dues hores.
Incorrect for the meaning over two hours — a numerical threshold takes de.
✅ El trajecte dura més de dues hores.
The journey takes more than two hours.
4. Copying Spanish mayor for ordinary age comparison.
❌ L'Arnau és major que la seva cosina.
Awkward as a neutral age comparison — major has more restricted uses in Catalan.
✅ L'Arnau és més gran que la seva cosina.
Arnau is older than his cousin.
5. Mixing Central and Valencian neighboring forms.
❌ Estes dues propostes meves són millors.
Inconsistent in a single-variety model — estes is Valencian while meves is Central.
✅ Aquestes dues propostes meves són millors.
These two proposals of mine are better. Central standard baseline.
Key Takeaways
Use més/menys + adjective + que for unequal comparison and tan + adjective + com for equality. Keep més, menys, and tan invariant, but make the adjective agree. Use millor/millors and pitjor/pitjors without an extra més. Finally, distinguish an explicit comparison with que from a numerical threshold with de.
Continue with superlatives to see how comparison selects an extreme member of a set, and review basic adjective agreement if the adjective endings themselves are not yet automatic.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
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- Adjectives with Ser and EstarB1 — Choose ser for characterization and estar for attained states, while recognizing adjectives whose meaning changes with the copula.
- Prou, Massa, Bastant, and GaireB1 — Express enough, excess, moderate quantity, and polarity-sensitive quantity with the right agreement and word order.
- Degree AdverbsA2 — Distinguish molt, ben, gaire, massa, prou, bastant, força, and tan by degree, polarity, and what they modify.