Superlative Sentences

A superlative sentence (frase superlativa) picks one element out of a group and says it stands at the extreme — the tallest, the most expensive, the least comfortable. Portuguese, like English, splits superlatives into two very different kinds. The relative superlative (superlativo relativo) compares against a specific reference set — the tallest in the class, the cheapest of the three. The absolute superlative (superlativo absoluto) just intensifies the quality without comparing at all — extremely tall, incredibly cheap. Both are everyday tools in Portuguese, but the absolute has a peculiarity English speakers do not have a direct match for: Portuguese can turn almost any adjective into a one-word intensified form with the suffix -íssimo (altíssimo, caríssimo, facílimo). Learning to recognize and use this suffix is a small rite of passage — it is the point at which learners start to sound Portuguese rather than just speaking it correctly.

The quick answer

For the relative superlative ("the most / the least X of a group"), use o/a/os/as mais or o/a/os/as menos + adjective, followed by a de-phrase naming the reference set: o mais alto da turma (the tallest in the class). For the absolute superlative ("extremely X"), you have two options: the analytical muito / extremamente / bastante + adjective (everyday speech), or the synthetic suffix -íssimo attached directly to the adjective (slightly more emphatic and, for some speakers, mildly formal). A small set of adjectives — ótimo, péssimo, máximo, mínimo, supremo, ínfimo — are irregular synthetic superlatives that learners need to memorise.

The relative superlative: o mais / o menos + de

The relative superlative picks out the extreme member of a known group. The structure is rigid:

definite article + (noun) + mais/menos + adjective + de + reference set

The definite article (o, a, os, as) is what makes this a superlative rather than a simple comparative. Without the article, mais alto just means taller; with the article, o mais alto means the tallest.

Notice the last two examples. When the superlative includes an explicit noun (restaurante, filme), the noun sits between the article and mais/menos: o restaurante mais barato, not o mais barato restaurante. The English word order — the cheapest restaurant — puts the adjective before the noun; Portuguese puts it after.

The de-phrase: naming the reference set

The de-phrase (de + noun/clause) tells the listener against what group the extreme is being measured. It can be dropped when context makes it obvious, but it is grammatically central to the construction.

Notice that when the de-phrase is a clause (que conheço, que já vi, que li), Portuguese uses the indicative — not the subjunctive — in straightforward statements of fact. The subjunctive appears only when the superlative is hypothetical or negated: é a coisa mais estranha que ele possa ter dito (it's the strangest thing he might have said).

With irregular comparatives

The four irregular comparatives (melhor, pior, maior, menor) serve double duty as superlatives — you simply add the definite article.

As with plain comparatives, European Portuguese prefers mais pequeno for concrete physical size and reserves menor for abstract or figurative smallness: o menor dos males (the lesser of two evils), a menor alteração (the slightest change). In fact, o mais pequeno is more common in everyday PT-PT speech than o menor.

The absolute superlative: extremely X

The absolute superlative does not compare against a reference set. It simply intensifies the adjective — roughly equivalent to English very, extremely, incredibly. Portuguese offers two ways to build it: the analytical (periphrastic) form and the synthetic (one-word) form in -íssimo.

Analytical absolute superlative: muito / extremamente / bastante

The everyday pattern is simply muito + adjective, or one of its stronger cousins (extremamente, bastante, imenso, super-).

Synthetic absolute superlative: the -íssimo suffix

This is where Portuguese does something English does not have a clean equivalent for. Take almost any adjective, attach -íssimo (with gender and number agreement), and you get a one-word emphatic form.

Spelling changes in -íssimo forms

The suffix itself is regular, but the stem often shifts for phonological reasons. Learning the main patterns saves a lot of guesswork:

Latinate stems: a PT-PT specialty

European Portuguese has held onto a small set of learned Latinate stems in the synthetic superlative that Brazilian Portuguese has largely dropped. These sound educated, slightly formal, and are recognisably PT-PT.

You will not need to produce these in speech. But you should recognise them when reading — they appear in newspapers, in literary prose, and in the speech of educated older speakers.

Irregular synthetic superlatives to memorise

Four adjectives have irregular one-word absolute superlatives that have fully lexicalised — they work as standalone words and should be memorised as units. Importantly, they also function as the superlative counterparts of the irregular comparatives melhor, pior, maior, menor.

Under AO90 orthography, ótimo is written without the p — the older óptimo spelling is no longer standard in European Portuguese. Same for ótica (not óptica) and several similar words.

Register: when to use which form

The relative superlative is register-neutral and appears everywhere. The absolute superlative forms split by register:

Despite what older textbooks suggest, the -íssimo suffix is completely natural in spoken European Portuguese for emphasis. A speaker saying o bolo estava boníssimo or estou cansadíssimo sounds fully native — if anything, a bit warmer and more expressive than the plain muito bom / muito cansado. The suffix is productive; new words can take it on (giríssimo from giro, fixíssimo from fixe, both teen-slang superlatives of everyday adjectives).

Superlative of adverbs

Adverbs can also take superlative forms, but the mechanics are slightly different. For the relative superlative, use o mais / o menos + adverb + possível or + a clause.

For the absolute superlative of adverbs, either attach -íssimo directly (when the adverb ends in -mente or has an -o stem) or use a periphrastic intensifier.

With bem and mal, the synthetic forms otimamente and pessimamente exist but are much less common than the periphrastic muito bem / muito mal. Just use the periphrastic form. Note the spelling: adverbs in -mente drop the graphical accent of the base adjective because the stress shifts to -men- (so ótima → otimamente, péssima → pessimamente).

The "superlative of + a superlative" pattern

Portuguese often stacks a superlative within a superlative for expressive effect: o melhor dos melhores, a maior das maiores, o pior dos piores. This is an emphatic idiomatic pattern, common in sports commentary, reviews, and storytelling.

Plural agreement

Both the relative and absolute superlatives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Learners sometimes forget the feminine plural, especially with irregular forms.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Relative superlative: definite article + mais / menos
  • adjective + de
    • reference set: o mais alto da turma. The de-phrase is the diagnostic feature.
• Absolute superlative: intensifies without comparing. Two main routes: periphrastic (muito / extremamente / bastante + adj) or synthetic (-íssimo).
• The -íssimo suffix is productive and fully natural in spoken PT-PT, carrying emphatic warmth. It agrees in gender and number.
• Stem changes with -íssimo follow predictable patterns: rico → riquíssimo, feliz → felicíssimo, amável → amabilíssimo, bom → boníssimo.
• Memorise the irregulars: ótimo (excellent), péssimo (awful), máximo (greatest), mínimo (least), supremo/sumo, ínfimo.
• European Portuguese preserves Latinate stems (paupérrimo, celebérrimo, amicíssimo, nobilíssimo) as a formal/literary register — recognise these in reading.
• Under AO90, ótimo (not óptimo), ótica, receção — the silent consonants drop.
• Do not double-intensify: muito péssimo and muito boníssimo are redundant. Pick one device.