Indonesian forms comparatives analytically: put lebih before the adjective and introduce the standard with daripada. Rina lebih tinggi daripada Sari means “Rina is taller than Sari.” The adjective stays unchanged; there is no equivalent of English -er.
The standard can also follow dari, especially in speech: lebih tinggi dari Sari (informal). Standard careful writing favors daripada for a comparison between properties or entities, while dari is widespread in everyday usage. This page explains both patterns while leaving adjective vocabulary and full derivational-affix paradigms to dedicated pages.
The core comparative pattern
Use:
subject + lebih + adjective + daripada + standard
Rina lebih tinggi daripada Sari.
Rina is taller than Sari.
Kakak saya lebih sabar daripada saya.
My older sibling is more patient than I am.
Tim baru itu lebih kompak daripada tim sebelumnya.
The new team is more cohesive than the previous team.
The comparison has three semantic parts:
| Part | In the example | Function |
|---|---|---|
| target | Rina | the person being evaluated |
| scale | lebih tinggi | the property and greater degree |
| standard | daripada Sari | the point of comparison |
Comparisons between people
People can be compared on physical, emotional, or behavioral properties.
Dimas lebih muda daripada kedua supervisornya.
Dimas is younger than both of his supervisors.
Dalam situasi sulit, Maya lebih tenang daripada saya.
In difficult situations, Maya is calmer than I am.
Anak kedua mereka lebih mandiri daripada kakaknya.
Their second child is more independent than the older sibling.
Indonesian adjectives show no agreement with the target or standard. Tenang remains tenang regardless of gender or number. Lebih carries the comparative degree for both English “-er” adjectives and “more” adjectives.
Comparing prices and quantities
Price comparisons use the same structure.
Harga tiket kereta lebih murah daripada harga tiket pesawat.
The train ticket price is cheaper than the plane ticket price.
Paket keluarga ini lebih mahal daripada paket reguler, tetapi isinya lebih banyak.
This family package is more expensive than the regular package, but it contains more.
Biaya pengiriman hari ini lebih rendah daripada kemarin.
Today's shipping cost is lower than yesterday's.
English can omit repeated material in “lower than yesterday's.” Indonesian also lets context recover the understood comparison point. In the last example, kemarin means the shipping cost yesterday, not the day itself as a physical object.
For numerical “more than,” lebih dari is standard: lebih dari seratus orang “more than one hundred people.” That quantity construction helps explain why dari is so common, but the careful adjective-comparison connector remains daripada.
Travel comparisons
The standard can be another mode, route, destination, or entire activity.
Naik kereta lebih nyaman daripada naik bus untuk perjalanan malam.
Taking the train is more comfortable than taking the bus for an overnight trip.
Jalur pantai lebih panjang daripada jalur pegunungan, tetapi pemandangannya lebih indah.
The coastal route is longer than the mountain route, but the scenery is more beautiful.
Berangkat pagi lebih aman daripada mengemudi larut malam.
Leaving in the morning is safer than driving late at night.
These standards are not limited to single nouns. Daripada naik bus and daripada mengemudi larut malam compare activities. Indonesian still uses the same analytic frame.
Daripada and dari
In careful standard prose, daripada clearly marks the standard of comparison:
Versi terbaru lebih stabil daripada versi sebelumnya.
The latest version is more stable than the previous version. (formal)
In conversation, dari is widespread:
Kamar ini lebih terang dari yang sebelah.
This room is brighter than the one next door. (informal)
Dia lebih cepat dari aku kalau naik sepeda.
He/She is faster than me when cycling. (informal)
Using dari here is not a rare mistake; it is an established spoken pattern. Use daripada in examinations, formal reports, and carefully edited comparisons (formal). Expect dari in everyday conversation (informal).
Write daripada as one word. The sequence dari pada has a different structure only when pada independently begins its own phrase; it is not the spelling of the comparative connector.
Omitting the standard
When context makes the comparison point obvious, the daripada/dari phrase can disappear.
A: Kita beli yang merah atau yang biru? B: Yang biru lebih murah.
A: Shall we buy the red one or the blue one? B: The blue one is cheaper.
Setelah pindah jadwal, perjalanan pulang terasa lebih cepat.
After the schedule change, the trip home felt faster.
In the dialogue, “than the red one” is recoverable. In the second sentence, the comparison may be with the former schedule or the speaker's normal experience. If more than one standard is plausible, state it explicitly.
Tahun ini biaya sewanya lebih tinggi daripada tahun lalu.
This year the rent is higher than last year.
Analytic comparison, not adjective inflection
The adjective never receives a comparative suffix:
| Adjective | Comparative phrase | English |
|---|---|---|
| tinggi | lebih tinggi | taller/higher |
| murah | lebih murah | cheaper |
| nyaman | lebih nyaman | more comfortable |
| baik | lebih baik | better |
Even English irregular “better” maps transparently to lebih baik. This regularity is one of the easier parts of Indonesian grammar: learn the adjective once and add an independent degree word.
Comparing two versus choosing the superlative
Lebih compares a target with a standard. Paling selects the highest degree within a set: yang paling murah “the cheapest one.” If exactly two options are being compared, use lebih for “the cheaper one.”
Dari dua hotel ini, hotel yang dekat stasiun lebih murah.
Of these two hotels, the hotel near the station is cheaper.
Dari lima hotel yang kami periksa, ini yang paling murah.
Of the five hotels we checked, this is the cheapest.
Everyday speech sometimes uses a superlative while choosing between two, just as English does, but careful comparison keeps the logical distinction. The superlative page develops paling.
Orthography
Write lebih separately from the adjective and daripada as one word: lebih murah daripada. Productive affixes attach to their bases, and full reduplication takes a hyphen, as in murah-murah. Normal Standard Indonesian examples use unaccented EYD V spelling.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an English comparative ending
❌ Rina lebih tinggier daripada Sari.
Incorrect — Indonesian adjectives do not take English -er.
✅ Budi lebih tinggi daripada Deni.
Budi is taller than Deni.
2. Omitting lebih but keeping the standard
❌ Harga tiket kereta murah daripada tiket pesawat.
Incorrect neutral comparative structure — the greater degree needs lebih.
✅ Harga tiket kereta lebih murah daripada tiket pesawat.
Train tickets are cheaper than plane tickets.
3. Writing daripada as two words
❌ Jalur ini lebih pendek dari pada jalur lama.
Incorrect spelling of the comparative connector.
✅ Jalur ini lebih pendek daripada jalur lama.
This route is shorter than the old route.
4. Using paling for a two-item comparison
❌ Dari dua tas ini, tas hitam paling ringan daripada tas merah.
Incorrectly mixes a superlative with a two-item daripada comparison.
✅ Dari dua tas ini, tas hitam lebih ringan daripada tas merah.
Of these two bags, the black bag is lighter than the red one.
5. Leaving an ambiguous standard unexpressed
Biaya hotelnya lebih mahal is grammatical when context supplies the standard. If several earlier prices could be the comparison point, name the intended one explicitly.
✅ Biaya hotelnya lebih mahal daripada biaya apartemen.
The hotel cost is higher than the apartment cost.
Key Takeaways
- Form comparatives with lebih + adjective.
- Introduce the standard with standard daripada; conversational dari is widespread.
- The adjective stays unchanged, with no English-style -er.
- Omit the standard only when context makes it recoverable.
- Use lebih, not paling, for a straightforward comparison between two items.
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