Hindi can mark degree analytically by placing invariant अधिक adhik “more” or कम kam “less” before an adjective: अधिक उपयोगी “more useful,” कम महँगा “less expensive.” अधिक is especially common in formal, administrative, and academic writing; everyday conversation often prefers ज़्यादा. कम is neutral across registers. For the neutral and conversational alternatives, compare बहुत, ज़्यादा, and काफ़ी.
These degree words do not agree. A following declinable adjective still changes for its own head noun.
Agreement belongs to the adjective
| Head noun | With अधिक | With कम |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular direct | अधिक महँगा विकल्प | कम महँगा विकल्प |
| masculine plural direct | अधिक महँगे विकल्प | कम महँगे विकल्प |
| masculine singular oblique | अधिक महँगे विकल्प पर | कम महँगे विकल्प पर |
| feminine singular | अधिक महँगी योजना | कम महँगी योजना |
| feminine plural | अधिक महँगी योजनाएँ | कम महँगी योजनाएँ |
अधिक/कम remain unchanged throughout. Declinable महँगा supplies -आ, -ए, -ई.
हमें कम महँगा लेकिन अधिक भरोसेमंद उपकरण चाहिए।
hameṃ kam mahãgā lekin adhik bharosemand upkaraṇ cāhie.
We need a less expensive but more reliable device. (formal)
अधिक महँगी योजनाओं पर बाद में चर्चा होगी।
adhik mahãgī yojnāoṃ par bād meṃ carcā hogī.
The more expensive plans will be discussed later. (formal)
The second noun phrase is feminine plural oblique before पर. Feminine महँगी stays in -ई; the noun marks plurality and case.
Attributive and predicative uses
यह अधिक व्यावहारिक समाधान है।
yah adhik vyāvahārik samādhān hai.
This is a more practical solution. (formal)
दूसरी प्रक्रिया कम जटिल है।
dūsrī prakriyā kam jaṭil hai.
The second procedure is less complex.
In the first, अधिक व्यावहारिक is attributive before समाधान. In the second, कम जटिल is predicative. Indeclinable व्यावहारिक/जटिल keep one shape in both positions.
With a declinable predicate, agreement remains visible:
नई सेवा पुरानी सेवा से अधिक महँगी है।
naī sevā purānī sevā se adhik mahãgī hai.
The new service is more expensive than the old service. (formal)
Feminine सेवा controls महँगी; अधिक is fixed.
Comparison standards with से
अधिक/कम state direction on a scale. When the standard is overt, mark it with से.
यह तरीका पिछले तरीके से अधिक प्रभावी है।
yah tarīkā pichle tarīke se adhik prabhāvī hai.
This method is more effective than the previous method. (formal)
यह दवा दूसरी दवा से कम असरदार है।
yah davā dūsrī davā se kam asardār hai.
This medicine is less effective than the other medicine.
The standard is oblique पिछले तरीके से in the first sentence. अधिक does not replace से; it expresses “more,” while से introduces “than X.”
अधिक versus ज़्यादा
यह मॉडल ज़्यादा तेज़ है।
yah moḍal zyādā tez hai.
This model is faster. (everyday)
यह मॉडल अधिक दक्ष है।
yah moḍal adhik dakṣ hai.
This model is more efficient. (formal/technical)
Both are grammatical. ज़्यादा is the ordinary conversational choice for “more” and can also imply excess. अधिक is stylistically at home in reports, comparisons, instructions, and institutional prose. अधिक अच्छा is possible, but बेहतर or conversational ज़्यादा अच्छा is often more idiomatic.
“More X” versus “additional X”
English more hides two structures. Degree अधिक आरामदायक कुर्सियाँ means chairs that are more comfortable. Additional quantity uses और after a number or noun phrase.
हमें अधिक आरामदायक कुर्सियाँ चाहिए।
hameṃ adhik ārāmdāyak kursiyā̃ cāhie.
We need more comfortable chairs. (greater comfort)
हमें दो कुर्सियाँ और चाहिए।
hameṃ do kursiyā̃ aur cāhie.
We need two more chairs. (two additional chairs)
अधिक दो कुर्सियाँ is not the neutral Hindi structure for “two more chairs.” This meaning distinction is more important than matching the position of English more.
Scope with nouns and adjectives
कम can modify an adjective or quantify a noun. The phrase structure changes the interpretation.
कम अनुभवी कर्मचारियों को अतिरिक्त प्रशिक्षण मिलेगा।
kam anubhavī karmacāriyoṃ ko atirikt praśikṣaṇ milegā.
Less-experienced employees will receive additional training.
कम कर्मचारियों को अतिरिक्त प्रशिक्षण मिलेगा।
kam karmacāriyoṃ ko atirikt praśikṣaṇ milegā.
Fewer employees will receive additional training.
In the first, कम forms a degree phrase with अनुभवी. In the second, it quantifies कर्मचारी. Word position distinguishes lower experience from a smaller employee count.
Conventional scales
Context selects the scale. अधिक बड़ा can mean physically larger or more consequential depending on the noun; careful prose often chooses a more precise adjective such as व्यापक “wide-ranging” or गंभीर “serious.”
इस संशोधन का प्रभाव पहले अनुमान से अधिक व्यापक निकला।
is saṃśodhan kā prabhāv pahle anumān se adhik vyāpak niklā.
The impact of this amendment turned out to be broader than first estimated. (formal)
Here व्यापक identifies the relevant scale more precisely than generic बड़ा would.
Agreement in a ने-clause
समिति ने अधिक व्यावहारिक योजना चुनी।
samiti ne adhik vyāvahārik yojnā cunī.
The committee chose the more practical plan. (formal)
Feminine चुनी agrees with unmarked object योजना. Neither invariant adjective व्यावहारिक nor degree word अधिक displays this agreement, and the ने-marked agent does not control it.
Common Mistakes
1. Making अधिक agree
❌ हमें अधिका सुरक्षित जगह चाहिए।
Incorrect: अधिक is invariant.
✅ हमें अधिक सुरक्षित जगह चाहिए।
hameṃ adhik surakṣit jagah cāhie.
We need a safer place. (formal)
2. Giving the adjective the wrong gender
❌ यह कम महँगा योजना है।
Incorrect: feminine योजना requires महँगी.
✅ यह कम महँगी योजना है।
yah kam mahãgī yojnā hai.
This is the less expensive plan.
3. Translating “two more” as अधिक दो
❌ हमें अधिक दो दिन चाहिए।
Incorrect for two additional days: use दो दिन और.
✅ हमें दो दिन और चाहिए।
hameṃ do din aur cāhie.
We need two more days.
4. Omitting से before the standard
❌ यह प्रक्रिया पिछली प्रक्रिया अधिक सरल है।
Incorrect: an overt comparison standard requires से.
✅ यह प्रक्रिया पिछली प्रक्रिया से अधिक सरल है।
yah prakriyā pichlī prakriyā se adhik saral hai.
This process is simpler than the previous process. (formal)
Key Takeaways
- Invariant अधिक is formal “more”; invariant कम is neutral “less.”
- A declinable adjective after them still agrees with its head noun.
- Use से for an overt comparison standard.
- Distinguish degree “more comfortable” from additive दो ... और “two more.”
Related Topics
- Comparatives with सेB1 — Build unequal comparisons with an oblique standard plus से, while making the adjective agree with the item being described.
- Superlatives with सबसेB1 — Use सबसे before an adjective to select the highest or lowest member of a contextually defined comparison set.
- बहुत ज़्यादा काफ़ी degree modifiersB1 — Distinguish बहुत ‘very,’ ज़्यादा ‘more/too,’ and काफ़ी ‘quite/considerably/enough’ with adjective agreement and scope.
- Declinable adjectives in -āA1 — Form the -ā, -e, and -ī agreement pattern of variable Hindi adjectives across gender, number, case, and predicate position.
- कम little few and lessB1 — Use invariant कम for low quantity, low degree, and comparative ‘less/fewer’ readings across mass and count nouns.
- Formal written HindiB1 — Shape clear formal Hindi by coordinating audience, sentence architecture, address, and vocabulary instead of merely choosing longer words.