Norwegian builds comparatives and superlatives two ways. The default is endings: fin → finere → finest ("nice → nicer → nicest"), covered in Regular Comparison. But a large group of adjectives instead uses the separate words mer ("more") and mest ("most"), exactly as English uses "more/most" for more interesting, most impressive. This page is about that second route — when to reach for mer/mest instead of an ending. The good news for English speakers is that the split between "takes endings" and "takes mer/mest" lines up almost perfectly with the English instinct, so much of your job is just learning which Norwegian adjectives count as "long."
The core rule: short native = endings, long/derived = mer/mest
The dividing line is essentially the same one English draws:
- Short, native adjectives take endings: stor → større, fin → finere, billig → billigere, kald → kaldere.
- Long, borrowed, or derived adjectives take mer/mest: interessant → mer interessant → mest interessant.
If your English ear would say "more interesting" rather than "interestinger," Norwegian almost certainly wants mer interessant too. The parallel is close enough to trust as a first guess.
Denne boka er mer interessant enn den forrige.
This book is more interesting than the previous one.
Det var den mest imponerende konserten jeg har vært på.
It was the most impressive concert I've been to.
Oppgaven ble mer komplisert enn vi trodde.
The task turned out more complicated than we thought.
Participles ALWAYS take mer/mest
This is the firmest rule on the page: participles used as adjectives — both present participles (in -ende) and past participles (used adjectivally) — always take mer/mest, never an ending. There is no such word as "elskere" or "spennendere." (For participles functioning as adjectives generally, see Participles as Adjectives.)
Filmen ble mer og mer spennende mot slutten.
The film got more and more exciting towards the end. (spennende, present participle)
Hun er en av de mest elskede forfatterne i landet.
She's one of the most beloved authors in the country. (elsket, past participle)
Denne jobben er mye mer slitsom enn den gamle.
This job is much more exhausting than the old one. (slitsom — derived, takes mer)
The reason is structural: a participle is built from a verb and already carries its own ending (-ende, -et, -t), so there's no room to bolt a comparative ending on top. Norwegian solves it the way English does — with a separate word.
-isk, -sk, -et derivatives take mer/mest
Adjectives derived with the suffixes -isk/-sk (often from nouns or borrowings) and -et (giving a "-ish / having the quality of" sense) belong to the mer/mest group too:
Den nye løsningen er mer praktisk.
The new solution is more practical. (praktisk, -isk)
Han ble mer og mer skeptisk utover kvelden.
He grew more and more sceptical as the evening went on. (skeptisk)
Hun er den mest sjarmerende personen jeg kjenner.
She's the most charming person I know. (sjarmerende, -ende)
mest and the definite -e ending
A spelling point worth flagging: in the superlative, when the adjective is definite (after den/det/de or a possessive), it takes the definite -e ending even though mest carries the comparison. So den mest kjente ("the best-known"), det mest spennende ("the most exciting one"):
Munch er kanskje den mest kjente norske maleren.
Munch is perhaps the best-known Norwegian painter. (den mest kjente — definite -e)
Det mest spennende skjedde helt på slutten.
The most exciting thing happened right at the end. (det mest spennende)
This mirrors the endings route, where the superlative also takes -e when definite (den fineste) — the only difference is whether the comparison rides on mest or on the suffix.
Some adjectives allow both
A handful of medium-length adjectives accept either route, with no real difference in meaning — though one usually sounds more natural. vanlig ("common"), for instance, is heard both as vanligere and mer vanlig:
Det blir mer vanlig å jobbe hjemmefra.
It's becoming more common to work from home. (mer vanlig, also: vanligere)
Engelsk blir stadig mer dominerende i forskningen.
English is becoming ever more dominant in research. (dominerende — participle, only mer)
When you're unsure and the adjective is clearly long, borrowed, or a participle, mer/mest is the safe default — it's never wrong on those, whereas an ending on a participle definitely is.
Quick reference
| Adjective type | Route | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short native | endings (-ere/-est) | stor → større → størst |
| Long / borrowed | mer/mest | interessant → mer interessant → mest interessant |
| Present participle (-ende) | mer/mest (always) | spennende → mer spennende |
| Past participle (-et/-t) | mer/mest (always) | elsket → mer elsket → mest elsket |
| -isk/-sk/-et derivative | mer/mest | praktisk → mer praktisk |
Common Mistakes
English transfer mostly helps here — the danger is over-applying mer to short native adjectives that need an ending, and (more rarely) trying to put an ending on a participle.
❌ Huset deres er mer stort enn vårt.
Incorrect — short native 'stor' takes the ending: større, not 'mer stor'.
✅ Huset deres er større enn vårt.
Their house is bigger than ours.
❌ Denne veien er mer kort.
Incorrect — short 'kort' inflects: kortere.
✅ Denne veien er kortere.
This road is shorter.
❌ Den andre filmen var spennendere.
Incorrect — participles never take -ere; use mer.
✅ Den andre filmen var mer spennende.
The other film was more exciting.
❌ Han er den mest kjent forfatteren.
Incorrect — in the definite superlative the adjective takes -e: kjente.
✅ Han er den mest kjente forfatteren.
He's the best-known author.
❌ Dette er det mest billige alternativet.
Incorrect — short native 'billig' inflects: det billigste, not 'mest billige'.
✅ Dette er det billigste alternativet.
This is the cheapest option.
Key takeaways
- Short native adjectives take endings (stor → større); long/borrowed/derived take mer/mest (mer interessant).
- The split mirrors English almost exactly: if English says "more X," Norwegian usually says mer X.
- Participles always take mer/mest — present (-ende) and past (-et/-t) alike: mer spennende, mest elsket. Endings like "spennendere" don't exist.
- -isk/-sk/-et derivatives go with mer/mest: mer praktisk, mer skeptisk.
- In the definite superlative, the adjective still takes -e: den mest kjente, det mest spennende.
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- Comparison: -ere, -estA2 — Regular Norwegian adjectives compare with -ere (finere, billigere) and the superlative -est (finest, billigst); the comparative never agrees, the definite superlative adds -e (den fineste), and a stress-pattern syncope shortens words like enkel → enklere.
- Participles as AdjectivesB1 — How Norwegian past participles inflect like adjectives when they describe a noun (en stekt fisk, stekte poteter, den malte veggen) — and how invariant present participles in -ende (kokende vann, et smilende barn) differ — distinguished from the unchanging supine in har stekt.
- Irregular Comparison: bedre, større, eldreB1 — The nine high-frequency irregular comparatives — god/bedre/best, stor/større/størst, gammel/eldre/eldst, ung/yngre/yngst, lang/lengre/lengst, liten/mindre/minst, mye/mer/mest, mange/flere/flest, få/færre/færrest — plus the umlaut pattern and the lengre/lenger trap.
- Adjectives: OverviewA1 — Norwegian adjectives have just three written shapes — bare, -t, and -e — and this page maps where each one goes: indefinite predicate, indefinite attributive, and definite attributive.