In a Hindi comparison, से se marks the standard against which something is measured. The usual order is thing being described + standard से + adjective: यह कमरा उस कमरे से बड़ा है yah kamrā us kamre se baṛā hai “this room is bigger than that room.” English puts than before its standard too, but Hindi also requires the noun before से to have its oblique form.
This comparison use is related conceptually to source and separation: one item is measured “away from” a reference point. In modern Hindi, however, से simply functions as a comparison marker here; it does not mean literal movement “from.”
The basic unequal comparison
Hindi often needs no separate word meaning more or an English -er ending. An adjective plus a से standard is enough to establish the comparison.
यह रास्ता मुख्य सड़क से छोटा है।
yah rāstā mukhya saṛak se choṭā hai.
This route is shorter than the main road.
आज कल से ज़्यादा गर्मी है।
āj kal se zyādā garmī hai.
It is hotter today than yesterday.
In the first example, छोटा receives a comparative reading because मुख्य सड़क से supplies a standard. In the second, ज़्यादा zyādā “more” measures the quantity गर्मी. With gradable adjectives such as लंबा, सस्ता, and तेज़, ज़्यादा can add emphasis but is not normally required: यह वाला उससे सस्ता है already means “this one is cheaper than that one.”
नई ट्रेन पुरानी ट्रेन से काफ़ी तेज़ है।
naī ṭren purānī ṭren se kāfī tez hai.
The new train is considerably faster than the old train.
Adverbs such as काफ़ी “considerably,” थोड़ा “slightly,” and बहुत “much” state the size of the difference. They do not replace से when the standard is expressed.
The standard is oblique
Because से is a simple postposition, a changing noun must be oblique. Feminine singular nouns and many consonant-final singular nouns show no visible change, but masculine -आ nouns and plurals do.
| Direct form | Comparison standard |
|---|---|
| लड़का laṛkā | लड़के से laṛke se |
| बच्चे bacce | बच्चों से baccoṃ se |
| लड़की laṛkī | लड़की से laṛkī se |
| किताबें kitābeṃ | किताबों से kitāboṃ se |
मेरी बेटी अपने भाई से लंबी हो गई है।
merī beṭī apne bhāī se lambī ho gaī hai.
My daughter has grown taller than her brother.
इन कमरों का किराया पुराने कमरों से कम है।
in kamroṃ kā kirāyā purāne kamroṃ se kam hai.
The rent for these rooms is lower than for the old rooms.
The comparison phrase does not control adjective agreement. In बेटी ... लंबी, the described noun बेटी controls feminine लंबी; भाई से is only the standard. English speakers sometimes mistakenly make the nearest noun feel like the controller.
Pronouns as standards
Pronouns use their conventional से forms: मुझसे “than me,” तुमसे “than you,” आपसे “than you” (respectful), इससे/उससे “than this/that or him/her,” and इनसे/उनसे “than these/those or them.”
तुम मुझसे बेहतर हिंदी बोलते हो।
tum mujhse behtar hindī bolte ho.
You speak Hindi better than I do. (informal)
आपसे ज़्यादा धैर्य इस टीम में किसी के पास नहीं है।
āpse zyādā dhairya is ṭīm meṃ kisī ke pās nahīṃ hai.
No one on this team has more patience than you do. (respectful)
These forms are not transparent citation pronoun plus postposition: neutral standard Hindi has मुझसे, not मैं से, and उससे, not वह से. The omitted repeated predicate in the English translation (“than I do”) needs no counterpart in Hindi.
More, less, better, and different
ज़्यादा ... से compares a greater amount; कम ... से compares a smaller one. Lexical comparatives such as बेहतर behtar “better” and relational adjectives such as अलग alag “different” also take a से standard.
इस महीने ख़र्च आमदनी से ज़्यादा हो गया।
is mahīne xarc āmdanī se zyādā ho gayā.
This month, expenditure exceeded income.
ऑनलाइन तस्वीर असली रंग से थोड़ी अलग दिख रही है।
onlāin tasvīr aslī raṅg se thoṛī alag dikh rahī hai.
The online photo looks slightly different from the real color.
The second use overlaps English different from, while the grammar remains a comparison between two reference points. In careful standard prose, ज़्यादा बेहतर is usually redundant because बेहतर already means “better,” though it occurs informally as emphasis (informal).
Comparison is not equality
With scalar adjectives, से presents an unequal comparison. Equality normally uses जितना ... उतना “as much/as ... as” or जैसा “like/as,” depending on structure.
यह बैग उस बैग जितना भारी है।
yah baig us baig jitnā bhārī hai.
This bag is as heavy as that bag.
Compare यह बैग उस बैग से भारी है “this bag is heavier than that bag.” Replacing जितना with से changes equality into inequality; these are not interchangeable translations of English as.
From a comparison with everyone to सबसे
सबसे sabse is synchronically the ordinary superlative marker: सबसे अच्छा “best,” सबसे तेज़ “fastest.” Its structure can be understood as “in comparison with all,” but learners should treat it as a fixed, highly productive superlative expression.
इस मोहल्ले में वह दुकान सबसे सस्ती है।
is mohalle meṃ vah dukān sabse sastī hai.
That shop is the cheapest in this neighborhood.
A natural exchange
कौन-सा फ़ोन लें? — यह मॉडल उस वाले से हल्का है, लेकिन बैटरी थोड़ी कम चलती है।
kaun-sā fon leṃ? — yah moḍal us vāle se halkā hai, lekin baiṭrī thoṛī kam caltī hai.
Which phone should we get? — This model is lighter than that one, but its battery lasts a little less long.
Here उस वाले से uses वाला as a stand-in for an understood phone. This is a common conversational way to compare visible alternatives.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English word order
❌ यह घर बड़ा उस घर से है।
Incorrect: keep the से standard before the comparative adjective in the neutral pattern.
✅ यह घर उस घर से बड़ा है।
yah ghar us ghar se baṛā hai.
This house is bigger than that house.
2. Leaving a masculine -आ noun direct
❌ यह बच्चा उस लड़का से लंबा है।
Incorrect: लड़का must become oblique लड़के.
✅ यह बच्चा उस लड़के से लंबा है।
yah baccā us laṛke se lambā hai.
This child is taller than that boy.
3. Using a citation-form pronoun
❌ रीना मैं से तेज़ दौड़ती है।
Incorrect: मैं has the postpositional form मुझसे.
✅ रीना मुझसे तेज़ दौड़ती है।
rīnā mujhse tez dauṛtī hai.
Reena runs faster than I do.
4. Using से for equality
❌ यह कमरा उस कमरे से उतना बड़ा है।
Incorrect for equality: use the जितना–उतना frame, not comparison-standard से.
✅ यह कमरा उस कमरे जितना बड़ा है।
yah kamrā us kamre jitnā baṛā hai.
This room is as big as that room.
Key Takeaways
- Put the standard before से, then state the comparative property.
- A separate word meaning “more” is often unnecessary; से creates the unequal comparison.
- The standard is oblique, and pronouns use forms such as मुझसे and उससे.
- जितना/उतना expresses equality, while सबसे builds a superlative.
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Start learning Hindi →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.
- से as source and separationA2 — Use से for origins, departure points, separation, and starting times with correct oblique nouns and fused pronoun forms.
- Postpositions and oblique complementsA1 — Build Hindi relational phrases by placing a postposition after an oblique noun or special pronoun form instead of translating English prepositions word for word.
- Pronouns with से and मेंA2 — Form मुझसे, उससे, हममें, उनमें and related fused forms while preserving person, number, deixis, and honorific reference.
- The oblique before simple postpositionsA2 — Apply oblique case consistently to complete noun phrases before simple Hindi postpositions such as को, ने, से, में, पर, and तक.