English uses than for the second half of a comparison, and full noun phrases after it do not visibly change case; pronouns even alternate between everyday than me and expanded than I am. Greek divides the job among several constructions. The everyday default before a noun phrase or pronoun is από + accusative. Before a clause Greek uses απ' ό,τι; formal prose also preserves the genitive of comparison, while παρά joins contrasted alternatives without governing their case. This page sorts out which construction fits which kind of second term.
από + accusative: the everyday answer
Από is one of Greek's everyday prepositions, and every everyday preposition governs the accusative. So whatever follows από in a comparison goes accusative — a noun phrase with its accusative article, or a strong pronoun in its accusative form.
| English | Greek |
|---|---|
| than me | από εμένα / από μένα(shortened, everyday) |
| than you (sg.) | από εσένα / από σένα |
| than him / her | από αυτόν / από αυτήν |
| than us / you (pl.) | από εμάς / από εσάς |
| than them | από αυτούς / από αυτές / από αυτά |
| than my brother | από τον αδερφό μου |
Είναι πιο ψηλός από τον αδερφό του, αν και είναι δύο χρόνια μικρότερος.
íne pio psilós apó ton adherfó tu, an ke íne dhío chrónia mikróteros
He's taller than his brother, even though he's two years younger.
Δουλεύει πιο σκληρά από εμένα και παίρνει τα μισά λεφτά.
dhulévi pio sklirá apó eména ke pérni ta misá leftá
She works harder than I do and gets half the money.
Το σπίτι τους είναι πιο μεγάλο από το δικό μας, αλλά πιο κρύο.
to spíti tus íne pio meghálo apó to dhikó mas, alá pio krío
Their house is bigger than ours, but colder.
The pronoun rule is the one to nail down, because English is misleading 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 has no such debate: after a preposition the nominative is impossible, so it is από εμένα, always. This is the same accusative you meet after με, για, σε, χωρίς — see Accusative after prepositions.
Ήρθαν περισσότεροι από πενήντα άνθρωποι στην παρουσίαση.
írthan perisóteri apó penínda ánthropi stin parusíasi
More than fifty people came to the presentation.
Note that with a numeral or an adverb there is no visible case at all (από πενήντα, από σήμερα) — the construction is the same, the marking simply has nowhere to land.
The genitive of comparison: correct, and clearly elevated
Ancient Greek marked the standard of comparison with a bare genitive, and Modern Greek has kept the construction alive in its formal register. It is not an error and it is not archaic; it appears in newspaper editorials, legal writing and school textbooks. Compare the two versions of a single sentence:
Είναι πιο ψηλός από τον αδερφό του.
íne pio psilós apó ton adherfó tu
He's taller than his brother. (everyday — the default in speech)
Είναι ψηλότερος του αδερφού του.
íne psilóteros tu adherfú tu
He's taller than his brother. (formal / written — correct, but noticeably elevated)
Both are good Greek. The first is the neutral choice in ordinary speech and general writing; the second is noticeably elevated and belongs especially to formal or journalistic prose. The difference is one of register, not correctness.
Two practical points about the genitive version. First, formal genitive comparisons normally use an established one-word comparative in -τερος (ψηλότερος, μεγαλύτερος, υψηλότερος). That does not make the one-word comparative formal by itself: ordinary Greek freely says ψηλότερος από τον αδερφό του. Second, the bare genitive is most alive where the standard is an abstract noun — expectations, last year's figures, the average.
Τα φετινά έσοδα ήταν υψηλότερα των περσινών.
ta fetiná ésodha ítan ipsilótera ton persinón
This year's revenue was higher than last year's. (journalistic)
Η ανεργία παραμένει υψηλότερη του μέσου όρου της Ευρωζώνης.
i aneryía paraméni ipsilóteri tu mésu óru tis Evrozónis
Unemployment remains above the eurozone average. (journalistic / formal)
That page also owns the one place this genitive is thoroughly colloquial: when the standard of comparison is a pronoun, everyday Greek attaches a weak genitive clitic straight to the comparative — μεγαλύτερός μου, ψηλότερή σου, with the compulsory second accent. That construction is common in ordinary speech, unlike the full-noun genitive above.
Before a clause: απ' ό,τι
When what you are comparing against is not a noun but a whole clause — than I expected, than it looks — Greek cannot use bare από, because there is no noun phrase for it to govern. It uses απ' ό,τι (also written από ό,τι), and what follows is an ordinary finite clause with an ordinary verb.
Ήταν πολύ πιο δύσκολο απ' ό,τι περίμενα.
ítan polí pio dhískolo ap' óti perímena
It was much harder than I expected.
Το διαμέρισμα είναι πιο μικρό απ' ό,τι φαίνεται στις φωτογραφίες.
to dhiamérizma íne pio mikró ap' óti fénete stis fotoghrafíes
The flat is smaller than it looks in the photos.
Keep the comma out of ό,τι's way: this is the relative ό,τι ("whatever"), written with a comma between the two letters, and it is not the conjunction ότι ("that"). The two are distinguished in writing precisely because they would otherwise be confusable.
παρά: contrast, not measurement
Παρά is often glossed "than" in dictionaries, which sends learners to the wrong construction. It does not introduce the thing you are measuring against; it introduces a rejected alternative. Three places it genuinely belongs:
| Use | Example | What the second term does |
|---|---|---|
| preferring one action to another | Προτιμώ να μείνω παρά να βγω. | να + verb, mirroring the first |
| two properties of the same thing | Είναι πιο τεμπέλης παρά ανίκανος. | same case as the first term |
| set phrases and proverbs | Κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ. | frozen |
Προτιμώ να περπατήσω μισή ώρα παρά να περιμένω το λεωφορείο.
protimó na perpatíso misí óra pará na periméno to leoforío
I'd rather walk for half an hour than wait for the bus.
Είναι πιο τεμπέλης παρά ανίκανος, για να είμαστε δίκαιοι.
íne pio tembélis pará aníkanos, ya na ímaste dhíkei
He's more lazy than incompetent, to be fair.
Όπως λέει η παροιμία, κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ.
ópos léi i parimía, kálio arghá pará poté
As the proverb says, better late than never.
The second row is the interesting one for case. In πιο τεμπέλης παρά ανίκανος, both adjectives describe the same subject, so both are nominative — παρά is not governing anything, it is simply joining two terms that already have their case from elsewhere. Swap the subject for an object and both terms go accusative: Τον θεωρώ πιο τεμπέλη παρά ανίκανο.
Superlatives: από όλους, or the genitive όλων
The same split appears one level up. With a superlative, the group you are picking from is normally από + accusative, and the genitive alternative is the more formal one — though here the genitive is far more current than it is with comparatives, because όλων is short and idiomatic.
Είναι ο πιο γρήγορος από όλους μας, με διαφορά.
íne o pio ghríghoros apó ólus mas, me dhiaforá
He's the fastest of all of us, by a mile.
Είναι ο γρηγορότερος όλων μας, με διαφορά.
íne o ghrighoróteros ólon mas, me dhiaforá
He is the fastest of us all, by a distance. (formal / written)
Quick decision table
| What follows "than"? | Use | Case |
|---|---|---|
| a noun phrase | από | accusative — από τον Γιάννη |
| a pronoun | από | accusative strong form — από εμένα |
| a pronoun, in casual speech | comparative + clitic | genitive clitic — μεγαλύτερός μου |
| a clause with a verb | απ' ό,τι | no case — a full clause follows |
| a rejected alternative | παρά | same case as the first term |
| formal writing, abstract standard | -τερος + genitive | genitive — υψηλότερα των περσινών |
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the pronoun in the nominative after από. Formal English than I is behind this every time.
❌ Ο Νίκος είναι πιο ψηλός από εγώ.
Incorrect — από governs the accusative: από εμένα.
✅ Ο Νίκος είναι πιο ψηλός από εμένα, αλλά πιο αδύνατος.
o Níkos íne pio psilós apó eména, alá pio adhínatos
Nikos is taller than me, but skinnier.
2. Leaving a full noun in the nominative after από. The article has to change as well.
❌ Τρέχει πιο γρήγορα από ο αδερφός του.
Incorrect — accusative after από: από τον αδερφό του.
✅ Τρέχει πιο γρήγορα από τον αδερφό του, και ας καπνίζει.
tréchi pio ghríghora apó ton adherfó tu, ke as kapnízi
He runs faster than his brother, even though he smokes.
3. Using παρά where a clause needs απ' ό,τι.
❌ Είναι πιο ακριβό παρά περίμενα.
Incorrect — before a clause use απ' ό,τι: πιο ακριβό απ' ό,τι περίμενα.
✅ Είναι πιο ακριβό απ' ό,τι περίμενα, αλλά το αξίζει.
íne pio akrivó ap' óti perímena, alá to aksízi
It's more expensive than I expected, but it's worth it.
4. Putting a weak pronoun after από. Clitics can never follow a preposition.
❌ Η Μαρία είναι μεγαλύτερη από μου.
Incorrect — either από + strong pronoun (από μένα) or the clitic on the comparative (μεγαλύτερή μου).
✅ Η Μαρία είναι μεγαλύτερή μου τρία χρόνια.
i María íne meghalíterí mu tría chrónia
Maria is three years older than me.
5. Reaching for the genitive of comparison in conversation. Not wrong — but it lands in the wrong register, the way "he is taller than he" would in English.
✅ Η καινούργια δουλειά είναι πιο κουραστική από την προηγούμενη.
i kenúrya dhuliá íne pio kurastikí apó tin proighúmeni
The new job is more tiring than the previous one. (everyday)
✅ Η νέα θέση είναι κουραστικότερη της προηγούμενης.
i néa thési íne kurastikóteri tis proighúmenis
The new post is more tiring than the previous one. (formal / written — correct, but bookish in speech)
Key Takeaways
- από + accusative is the working answer for "than": από τον Γιάννη, από εμένα, από αυτούς. Never a nominative pronoun.
- The genitive of comparison (ψηλότερος του αδερφού του) is correct but elevated and normally appears with a one-word comparative in formal or journalistic prose; the same one-word forms also combine freely with everyday από.
- Before a clause, use απ' ό,τι: πιο δύσκολο 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 τεμπέλης παρά ανίκανος.
- With superlatives, both από όλους and the genitive όλων are current; the genitive is the more formal but perfectly idiomatic option.
- The colloquial comparative + genitive clitic (μεγαλύτερός μου) is treated on Genitive with adjectives.
Related Topics
- από in ComparisonsA2 — Understand how source-marking από introduces a comparison baseline in everyday Greek, especially with manner, time, amounts, thresholds, and από ποτέ.
- Comparative With πιοA2 — The everyday way to say 'more X' in Greek — the invariable little word πιο placed in front of any gradable 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).
- Learned–Demotic DoubletsC1 — Read and choose learned and demotic Greek word pairs by register, domain, and specialized modern meaning.