Comparative: Regular Forms | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

To compare two things in Brazilian Portuguese, you place a comparison word in front of the adjective. There is no suffix like English -er: instead of changing the adjective itself, Portuguese builds comparatives analytically, by adding mais (more), menos (less), or tão (as). This page covers the three regular patterns — superiority, inferiority, and equality — and the small connector words (do que, que, quanto, como) that trip up beginners.

The big picture: no -er suffix

English has two comparative systems: a suffix for short words (tall → taller) and a periphrastic form for long words (expensive → more expensive). Portuguese has only the second system. Every regular comparative looks like mais + adjective + connector.

A Bia é mais alta que a irmã.

Bia is taller than her sister.

Esse celular é mais caro do que o outro.

This phone is more expensive than the other one.

There is no alter, no -er form to learn — which actually makes the regular system easier than English. The complications are all in the connector words.

Superiority: mais ... (do) que

The pattern is mais + adjective + (do) que.

O metrô é mais rápido que o ônibus nesse horário.

The subway is faster than the bus at this time of day.

Essa praia é mais bonita do que aquela perto do hotel.

This beach is prettier than the one near the hotel.

Falar é mais fácil do que fazer.

Talking is easier than doing.

Inferiority: menos ... (do) que

The pattern is menos + adjective + (do) que. In everyday speech Brazilians often prefer to flip the sentence and use mais instead (o ônibus é mais lento), but menos is fully correct and common in writing.

Esse restaurante é menos caro do que parece.

This restaurant is less expensive than it looks.

A prova de hoje foi menos difícil que a anterior.

Today's test was less difficult than the previous one.

Equality: tão ... quanto / como

For equality the pattern is tão + adjective + quanto (or tão + adjective + como). Both quanto and como are correct; quanto is slightly more common in Brazil, como a touch more formal.

Ela é tão inteligente quanto o irmão.

She is as intelligent as her brother.

O filme não foi tão bom quanto o livro.

The movie wasn't as good as the book.

Esse bairro é tão tranquilo como o meu.

This neighborhood is as quiet as mine.

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Equality always uses tão — never mais. A frequent beginner error is mais alto como. The fixed pairings are: superiority/inferiority → (do) que; equality → tão ... quanto/como. Don't mix the connectors.

do que vs que — which connector?

Both do que and que are correct after mais and menos, but there is a clear preference rule.

Before a simple noun or pronoun, both work and que alone is lighter and very common in speech: mais alto que o irmão / mais alto do que o irmão.
Before a conjugated clause (anything with its own verb), Brazilians strongly prefer do que, because bare que would clash with the conjunction que.

Ele gasta mais do que ganha.

He spends more than he earns.

A viagem custou mais do que eu imaginava.

The trip cost more than I imagined.

Compare the awkwardness of bare que there: gasta mais que ganha sounds clipped and is avoided. With a following clause, reach for do que.

What follows the comparison	Preferred connector	Example
Noun / pronoun	que or do que	mais alto (do) que ela
A clause with a verb	do que	gasta mais do que ganha
A number	(do) que / de	mais de dez pessoas*

Before a bare quantity, Portuguese uses *de, not que: mais de dez pessoas (more than ten people), menos de cem reais (less than a hundred reais). Using que here is a transfer error from English.

Tinha mais de cinquenta pessoas na fila.

There were more than fifty people in the line.

tão...quanto vs tanto...quanto

This is the single most useful distinction on the page. Both express equality, but they attach to different word classes:

tão + adjective/adverb + quanto — for qualities: tão alto quanto, tão rápido quanto.
tanto + noun + quanto (with agreement: tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas) — for quantities of nouns: tanto dinheiro quanto, tantas pessoas quanto.
verb + tanto quanto — for amounts of action: trabalha tanto quanto eu.

Tenho tantos livros quanto você.

I have as many books as you.

Ele come tanto quanto dois adultos.

He eats as much as two adults.

Não ganho tanto dinheiro quanto gostaria.

I don't earn as much money as I'd like.

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Quick test: if the word after the equality marker is an adjective or adverb, use tão. If it's a noun, use tanto/tanta/tantos/tantas and make it agree. If it modifies a verb, use tanto invariably.

Comparing two qualities of the same thing

When you compare two adjectives applied to one subject (he is more X than Y), Brazilian Portuguese requires do que, not bare que — and the second adjective does not take a second mais.

Ele é mais bonito do que inteligente.

He's more handsome than (he is) intelligent.

Essa decisão foi mais emocional do que racional.

That decision was more emotional than rational.

The bare que version (mais bonito que inteligente) is heard, but careful speakers and writing favor do que here, since the two terms being weighed are parallel and do que keeps them balanced.

Comparison with English

Two things surprise English speakers:

No short-word suffix. You never say altmais or attach anything to the adjective. Tall, fast, big, smart all use the same mais X frame. This removes the irregular-spelling headaches English has (big → bigger, happy → happier).
"Than" splits into three. English than covers que, do que, and de (before numbers). The number case especially catches learners: more than ten is mais *de dez, never *mais que dez in the counting sense.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ela é mais alta como a irmã.

Incorrect — superiority never uses 'como'; use '(do) que'.

✅ Ela é mais alta do que a irmã.

She is taller than her sister.

❌ Tão inteligente que o irmão.

Incorrect — equality uses 'tão...quanto/como', not 'que'.

✅ Tão inteligente quanto o irmão.

As intelligent as her brother.

❌ Tinha mais que cinquenta pessoas na fila.

Incorrect — before a bare number use 'de', not 'que'.

✅ Tinha mais de cinquenta pessoas na fila.

There were more than fifty people in the line.

❌ Tenho tão livros quanto você.

Incorrect — 'livros' is a noun, so use 'tantos', not 'tão'.

✅ Tenho tantos livros quanto você.

I have as many books as you.

❌ Ele gasta mais que ganha.

Awkward — before a clause, prefer 'do que'.

✅ Ele gasta mais do que ganha.