You already know how to build the comparative itself — either the everyday πιο + adjective or the tidier synthetic -τερος. This page answers the next question: once you have said taller, cheaper, more tiring, how do you attach the thing you are comparing to — the than X part? English has a single word, than, and because it is not a preposition, nothing after it is marked. Greek makes you choose a construction, and each one demands a different case. The good news is that one of them, από + accusative, will carry almost everything you ever say. The others are worth knowing because you will read and hear them constantly.
από + accusative: the everyday answer
Από is an ordinary Greek preposition, and every ordinary preposition takes the accusative. So whatever follows από goes accusative: a noun phrase with its accusative article, or a strong pronoun in its accusative form.
Ο καφές εδώ είναι πιο δυνατός από αυτόν που πίνω στη δουλειά.
o kafés edhó íne pio dhinatós apó aftón pu píno sti dhuliá
The coffee here is stronger than the one I drink at work.
Η μικρή μου αδερφή είναι πια πιο ψηλή από μένα.
i mikrí mu adherfí íne pia pio psilí apó ména
My little sister is now taller than me.
The pronoun is the point to nail down, because English misleads you here. Colloquial English says taller than me, but formal English says taller than I, and learners who were taught the second version reach for the Greek nominative εγώ. Greek allows no such debate: after a preposition the nominative is impossible, so it is από εμένα (or the shortened από μένα), never από εγώ. These strong forms are the standard, neutral way to say it — not slang.
| English | Greek (strong accusative) |
|---|---|
| than me | από εμένα / από μένα |
| than you (sg.) | από εσένα / από σένα |
| than him / her / it | από αυτόν / από αυτήν / από αυτό |
| than us / you (pl.) | από εμάς / από εσάς |
| than them | από αυτούς / από αυτές / από αυτά |
Ξέρει πολύ περισσότερα από εσένα για κρασιά, ρώτα τον.
kséri polí perisótera apó eséna ya krasiá, róta ton
He knows a lot more than you about wines — ask him.
To compare against a possessive — than mine, than ours — Greek uses the same από with the accusative of δικός μου ("my own"):
Το διαμέρισμά τους είναι πιο φωτεινό από το δικό μας.
to dhiamérizmá tus íne pio fotinó apó to dhikó mas
Their flat is brighter than ours.
Because από is just a preposition doing its normal job, the same accusative you meet after με, για, σε, χωρίς is at work here — the full picture is on the accusative after prepositions.
The genitive of comparison: correct, and clearly elevated
Ancient Greek marked the standard of comparison with a bare genitive, and Modern Greek keeps that construction alive in its formal register. It is not an error and it is not archaic — it is what a newspaper column, a court ruling or a school textbook writes, and it travels hand in hand with the one-word -τερος comparative. Hear the register climb across a single pair:
Η φετινή σοδειά ήταν καλύτερη από την περσινή.
i fetiní sodhiá ítan kalíteri apó tin persiní
This year's harvest was better than last year's. (everyday — the spoken default)
Η φετινή σοδειά ήταν καλύτερη της περσινής.
i fetiní sodhiá ítan kalíteri tis persinís
This year's harvest was better than last year's. (formal / written — correct, but noticeably elevated)
Both are good Greek. The difference is one of register, not of correctness — say the second in a taverna and it will sound bookish; write the first in a legal opinion and it will read as chatty. The genitive is most at home when the standard of comparison is an abstract noun: last year's figures, expectations, the average.
Τα κέρδη του τριμήνου ήταν χαμηλότερα των εκτιμήσεων.
ta kérdhi tu trimínu ítan chamilótera ton ektimíseon
The quarter's profits were lower than the estimates. (journalistic)
Ο ξάδερφός μου είναι μόλις έναν χρόνο μικρότερός μου.
o ksádherfós mu íne mólis énan chróno mikróterós mu
My cousin is only a year younger than me.
Before a clause: απ' ό,τι
When what you compare against is not a noun but a whole clause — than I expected, than usual, than it looks — bare από has nothing to govern, so Greek switches to απ' ό,τι (also written από ό,τι) and follows it with an ordinary finite clause.
Το ταξίδι κράτησε πολύ περισσότερο απ' ό,τι υπολογίζαμε.
to taksídhi krátise polí perisótero ap' óti ipoloyízame
The trip took much longer than we'd reckoned.
Σήμερα ο δρόμος είχε πιο πολλή κίνηση απ' ό,τι συνήθως.
símera o dhrómos íche pio polí kínisi ap' óti siníthos
The road had more traffic today than usual.
Το φαγητό βγήκε πιο νόστιμο απ' ό,τι περίμενα.
to fayitó vyíke pio nóstimo ap' óti perímena
The food turned out tastier than I expected.
Mind the comma inside ό,τι: this is the relative ό,τι ("whatever"), written with a comma between its two letters, and it is deliberately kept apart from the conjunction ότι ("that"), which has no comma. The two would otherwise be confusable.
παρά: a rejected alternative, not a measurement
Dictionaries often gloss παρά as "than," which sends learners to the wrong construction. Παρά does not introduce the thing you are measuring against — it introduces an alternative you are turning down. It shows up above all when you prefer one action to another, and when you weigh two properties of the same thing.
Προτιμώ να περπατήσω μέχρι το κέντρο παρά να ψάχνω για πάρκινγκ.
protimó na perpatíso méchri to kéndro pará na psáchno ya párking
I'd rather walk to the centre than hunt for parking.
Ήταν πιο τυχερός παρά ικανός σ' αυτή τη δουλειά.
ítan pio ticherós pará ikanós s' aftí ti dhuliá
He was more lucky than skilled at this job.
The second sentence is the interesting one for case. In πιο τυχερός παρά ικανός, both adjectives describe the same subject, so both are nominative — παρά is not governing anything, it merely joins two terms that already have their case from elsewhere. Swap the subject for an object and both go accusative: Τον θεωρώ πιο τυχερό παρά ικανό.
A useful idiom: "than ever"
For than ever, Greek reaches back to από with ποτέ ("ever/never"):
Νιώθω πιο δυνατή από ποτέ μετά τις διακοπές.
niótho pio dhinatí apó poté metá tis dhiakopés
I feel stronger than ever after the holidays.
Which one, quickly
| What follows "than"? | Use | Case |
|---|---|---|
| a noun phrase | από | accusative — από τον αδερφό του |
| a pronoun | από | accusative strong form — από μένα |
| a pronoun, casual speech | comparative + clitic | genitive clitic — μικρότερός μου |
| a whole clause | απ' ό,τι | no case — a finite clause follows |
| a rejected alternative | παρά | same case as the first term |
| formal / abstract standard | -τερος + genitive | genitive — χαμηλότερα των εκτιμήσεων |
The case-by-case reasoning — why από governs the accusative, why the genitive survives only in the formal layer — is set out in full on case in comparisons, which this page agrees with throughout.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the pronoun in the nominative after από. Formal English than I is behind this every time.
❌ Ο αδερφός μου τρώει πιο πολύ από εγώ.
Incorrect — από governs the accusative: από μένα.
✅ Ο αδερφός μου τρώει πιο πολύ από μένα, αλλά είναι πιο αδύνατος.
o adherfós mu trói pio polí apó ména, alá íne pio adhínatos
My brother eats more than me, but he's skinnier.
2. Using σαν for "than". After a comparative, "than" is από. Σαν means "like/as" and cannot introduce a comparison.
❌ Είναι πιο έξυπνη σαν τον αδερφό της.
Incorrect — 'than' after a comparative is από, not σαν ('like').
✅ Είναι πιο έξυπνη από τον αδερφό της.
íne pio éksipni apó ton adherfó tis
She's cleverer than her brother.
3. Leaving a full noun in the nominative after από. The article has to change too.
❌ Η καινούρια δουλειά πληρώνει καλύτερα από η παλιά.
Incorrect — accusative after από: από την παλιά.
✅ Η καινούρια δουλειά πληρώνει καλύτερα από την παλιά.
i kenúria dhuliá pliróni kalítera apó tin paliá
The new job pays better than the old one.
4. Using παρά where a clause needs απ' ό,τι.
❌ Ήρθαν πιο πολλοί παρά περιμέναμε.
Incorrect — before a clause use απ' ό,τι: πιο πολλοί απ' ό,τι περιμέναμε.
✅ Ήρθαν πιο πολλοί απ' ό,τι περιμέναμε στο πάρτι.
írthan pio polí ap' óti periméname sto párti
More people came than we expected at the party.
5. Reaching for the genitive of comparison in conversation. Not wrong — but it lands in the wrong register, the way "he is taller than she" would in English.
✅ Το δεύτερο σπίτι ήταν πιο ακριβό από το πρώτο.
to dhéftero spíti ítan pio akrivó apó to próto
The second house was more expensive than the first. (everyday)
✅ Η δεύτερη κατοικία ήταν ακριβότερη της πρώτης.
i dhéfteri katikía ítan akrivóteri tis prótis
The second residence was more expensive than the first. (formal / written — correct, but bookish in speech)
Key Takeaways
- από + accusative is the working answer for "than": από τον αδερφό του, από μένα, από αυτούς. Never a nominative pronoun.
- The strong pronoun forms (από μένα, από σένα, από αυτόν) are the standard, neutral way to say it — not colloquial.
- The genitive of comparison (καλύτερη της περσινής) is correct but elevated — formal, journalistic and written — and it pairs with the one-word -τερος comparative.
- Before a clause, use απ' ό,τι (πιο νόστιμο απ' ό,τι περίμενα); mind the comma in ό,τι.
- παρά introduces a rejected alternative, not a measurement, and its second term simply copies the case of the first (πιο τυχερός παρά ικανός).
- In casual speech, a pronoun standard attaches as a weak genitive clitic on the comparative (μικρότερός μου) — see genitive with adjectives.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Case in ComparisonsB1 — How to say 'than' in Greek and what case follows — από + accusative everywhere in speech, 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.
- Comparative With πιοA2 — The everyday way to say 'more X' in Greek — the invariable little word πιο placed in front of any adjective (πιο ψηλός, πιο εύκολο) — why it never changes while the adjective still agrees with its noun, how to attach the thing you're comparing to with από, and how to say 'less' (λιγότερο) and 'as…as' (τόσο…όσο, εξίσου).