There are two ways to say "more X" in Greek, and this page teaches the one you should reach for first: put the little word πιο in front of the positive adjective. πιο ψηλός (taller), πιο εύκολο (easier), πιο ακριβός (more expensive). For adjectives that admit a degree contrast, this analytic pattern is fully productive: you can use it even when you do not know whether a conventional one-word comparative exists. Established synthetic forms such as ψηλότερος get their own page, but πιο is the reliable default, so start here.
πιο + adjective: the reliable default
The recipe could not be simpler: πιο goes directly before the adjective, and the adjective keeps its normal ending. That is the whole rule. English speakers will find this instantly familiar, because more behaves the same way — more expensive, more careful.
Αυτός ο δρόμος είναι πιο σύντομος, θα φτάσουμε πιο γρήγορα.
aftós o dhrómos íne pio síndomos, tha ftásume pio ghríghora
This road is shorter — we'll get there faster.
Το δεύτερο ξενοδοχείο ήταν πιο ακριβό, αλλά και πιο καθαρό.
to dhéftero ksenodhochío ítan pio akrivó, alá ke pio katharó
The second hotel was more expensive, but also cleaner.
Πάρε το άλλο μαχαίρι, είναι πιο κοφτερό.
páre to álo machéri, íne pio kofteró
Take the other knife, it's sharper.
Notice in the first example that πιο can even stack onto an adverb (πιο γρήγορα, "faster") — but its home base is the adjective.
πιο never moves — the adjective still agrees
Here is the point that trips learners up, precisely because English lulls them into thinking it works exactly like more. In English, both the intensifier and the adjective are frozen: she is more tall, they are more tall — nothing changes. In Greek, πιο itself is invariable, but the adjective behind it is still a full-blooded Greek adjective and must agree with its noun in gender, number and case, exactly as it would on its own.
Watch the same adjective, όμορφος, reshape itself while πιο sits perfectly still:
Ο δρόμος της παραλίας είναι πιο όμορφος από τον κεντρικό.
o dhrómos tis paralías íne pio ómorfos apó ton kendrikó
The coast road is prettier than the main one.
Η κόρη τους έγινε πιο όμορφη κι από τη μητέρα της.
i kóri tus éyine pio ómorfi ki apó ti mitéra tis
Their daughter has grown even prettier than her mother.
Το δωμάτιο με θέα είναι πιο ακριβό, αλλά αξίζει.
to dhomátio me théa íne pio akrivó, alá aksízi
The room with a view is more expensive, but it's worth it.
Masculine όμορφος, feminine όμορφη, neuter ακριβό — three endings, one fixed πιο. If you ever catch yourself leaving the adjective in its dictionary form because "πιο already did the work," that is the English habit talking.
Saying what you compare to: από + accusative
To add the second half of a comparison — the than part — Greek uses από followed by the accusative:
Η Μαρία είναι πιο δυναμική από όλους στην ομάδα.
i María íne pio dhinamikí apó ólus stin omádha
Maria is more driven than everyone on the team.
Το καλοκαίρι φέτος ήταν πιο ζεστό από πέρσι.
to kalokéri fétos ítan pio zestó apó pérsi
The summer was hotter this year than last.
Two things are worth flagging without going deep. First, the pronoun after από goes accusative — από εμένα ("than me"), not από εγώ — a point that catches everyone at first. Second, Greek also has constructions without από: everyday speech can attach a genitive clitic directly to the comparative (ψηλότερός μου, "taller than me"), while formal writing can use a full genitive noun phrase. These alternatives and their register difference are worked out under case in comparisons. On this page, use από + accusative as your reliable default.
"Less": λιγότερο + adjective
The mirror image of πιο is λιγότερο ("less"), and it behaves the same way — it sits in front of the adjective and stays invariable while the adjective agrees:
Αυτή η άσκηση είναι λιγότερο δύσκολη από την προηγούμενη.
aftí i áskisi íne lighótero dhískoli apó tin proighúmeni
This exercise is less difficult than the previous one.
Προτιμώ ένα λιγότερο ακριβό εστιατόριο για απόψε.
protimó éna lighótero akrivó estiatório ya apópse
I'd rather have a less expensive restaurant for tonight.
"As … as" and "equally": τόσο … όσο, εξίσου
For comparisons of equality — "as tall as," "just as good" — Greek uses the pair τόσο … όσο wrapped around the adjective, most often in a negative ("not as … as"):
Δεν είμαι τόσο ψηλός όσο ο πατέρας μου.
dhen íme tóso psilós óso o patéras mu
I'm not as tall as my father.
Το ταξίδι δεν ήταν τόσο κουραστικό όσο περίμενα.
to taksídhi dhen ítan tóso kurastikó óso perímena
The trip wasn't as tiring as I expected.
When the two things are simply equal, the one-word εξίσου ("equally, just as") does the job, and it links its second term with με ("with"):
Το δεύτερο βιβλίο είναι εξίσου καλό με το πρώτο.
to dhéftero vivlío íne eksísu kaló me to próto
The second book is just as good as the first.
πιο or ψηλότερος? Both, but not together
Greek also has established one-word comparatives such as ψηλός → ψηλότερος and ακριβός → ακριβότερος. They often express the same core comparison as πιο + positive, and both patterns occur in speech and writing. A familiar synthetic form may be especially compact or entrenched in a phrase, while the analytic form remains productive. The one thing you must never do is combine them: πιο ακριβότερος marks comparison twice. The synthetic pattern is laid out on the comparative in -τερος.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving the adjective in its dictionary form. πιο is invariable, but the adjective is not — it must agree with its noun.
❌ Η αδερφή μου είναι πιο ψηλό από εμένα.
Incorrect — the adjective must be feminine to match αδερφή: πιο ψηλή.
✅ Η αδερφή μου είναι πιο ψηλή από εμένα.
i adherfí mu íne pio psilí apó eména
My sister is taller than me.
2. Stacking πιο on top of a -τερος form. Choose one comparative; never both.
❌ Αυτό το κινητό είναι πιο ακριβότερο από το δικό μου.
Incorrect — πιο ακριβό or ακριβότερο, but not both together.
✅ Αυτό το κινητό είναι πιο ακριβό από το δικό μου.
aftó to kinitó íne pio akrivó apó to dhikó mu
This phone is more expensive than mine.
3. Treating σαν as if it always meant "than". σαν marks similarity ("like/as"), not the measured standard of an inequality. It can therefore occur in the same sentence as πιο when it is a separate similative adjunct:
✅ Σε σχέση με πέρσι, λύνει τα προβλήματα πιο έξυπνα, σαν τον αδερφό της.
se schési me pérsi, líni ta provlímata pio éksipna, san ton adherfó tis
Compared with last year, she solves problems more cleverly, like her brother does. (σαν adds a similarity)
✅ Λύνει τα προβλήματα πιο έξυπνα από τον αδερφό της.
líni ta provlímata pio éksipna apó ton adherfó tis
She solves problems more cleverly than her brother does. (από names the comparison standard)
4. Putting πιο after the adjective. πιο always comes before the word it lifts.
❌ Ο καινούριος δρόμος είναι σύντομος πιο.
Incorrect — πιο goes in front of the adjective: πιο σύντομος.
✅ Ο καινούριος δρόμος είναι πιο σύντομος από τον παλιό.
o kenúrios dhrómos íne pio síndomos apó ton palió
The new road is shorter than the old one.
Key Takeaways
- The everyday comparative is πιο + positive adjective: πιο ψηλός, πιο εύκολο, πιο ακριβός. It is fully productive with adjectives that admit a degree contrast.
- πιο never changes, but the adjective behind it still agrees with its noun in gender, number and case.
- Attach the second term with από + accusative (πιο ψηλός από εμένα); the genitive alternative is under case in comparisons.
- "Less" is λιγότερο (invariable, adjective agrees); Greek often prefers flipping to the opposite (πιο κοντός over λιγότερο ψηλός).
- Equality is τόσο … όσο ("as … as") and εξίσου … με ("just as … as").
- πιο + positive and an established synthetic form often express the same comparison; standard πιο καλός / πιο μεγάλος coexist with καλύτερος / μεγαλύτερος. Never stack πιο on an already comparative form.
Related Topics
- Synthetic Comparative in -τεροςB1 — Greek's one-word comparative — ψηλός → ψηλότερος, ακριβός → ακριβότερος, βαθύς → βαθύτερος — built from the adjective's own stem with -ότερος / -ύτερος, why it declines like an ordinary -ος/-η/-ο adjective and takes a fixed accent on the suffix, how it trades off against the everyday πιο, and the one rule you must never break: don't use both.
- Case in ComparisonsB1 — How to say 'than' in Greek and what case follows — everyday από + accusative with a nominal standard, the learned genitive of comparison (ψηλότερος του αδερφού του) in formal writing, απ' ό,τι before a clause, and the narrow job that παρά still does.