The Comparative (mai, mai puțin, la fel de) | Romanian Grammar

English has two ways to make a comparative — it adds -er to short adjectives (taller, bigger) and puts more in front of long ones (more expensive, more beautiful). Romanian has only one way: it always puts the little word mai in front of the adjective, no matter how short or long. There are no comparative suffixes at all. Înalt ("tall") never becomes înalter; it becomes mai înalt ("taller"). Once you accept that Romanian comparison is fully analytic — a word in front, never an ending on the back — half the work is done.

The other half is the than-word, and here Romanian is more precise than English. English uses than for "bigger than" and as...as for "as big as." Romanian splits the job between two words: decât when the two things are unequal, and ca when they are equal. Map them once — decât ↔ than (unequal), ca ↔ as (equal) — and you will rarely slip.

Superiority: mai ... decât (more ... than)

To say one thing has more of a quality than another, put mai before the adjective and decât before the standard of comparison. The adjective still agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes — mai and decât are invariable, but the adjective between them is not.

Ana e mai înaltă decât Maria.

Ana is taller than Maria.

Apartamentul nostru e mai mic decât al vostru.

Our apartment is smaller than yours.

Filmul a fost mai lung decât mă așteptam.

The film was longer than I expected.

Notice in the first example that înaltă is feminine (it agrees with Ana), not the dictionary form înalt. The comparative wraps mai ... decât around an adjective that keeps doing its normal agreement job.

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Mai is the universal comparative marker. There is no Romanian equivalent of the English -er suffix — not for short adjectives, not for anything. If you ever feel tempted to "add an ending," stop and reach for mai instead.

When the second term is a pronoun, Romanian uses the strong (stressed) pronoun after decât: decât mine, decât tine, decât el, decât noi. English uses the object form here too ("taller than me"), so this feels familiar.

Fratele meu e mai mare decât mine cu trei ani.

My brother is three years older than me.

Nimeni nu gătește mai bine decât bunica.

Nobody cooks better than Grandma.

Inferiority: mai puțin ... decât (less ... than)

To say one thing has less of a quality, replace mai with mai puțin ("less," literally "more little"). The than-word stays decât, because you are still comparing two unequal things.

Telefonul ăsta e mai puțin scump decât celălalt.

This phone is less expensive than the other one.

Drumul prin pădure e mai puțin obositor decât pe șosea.

The route through the forest is less tiring than the one on the highway.

In everyday speech, Romanians often dodge mai puțin by flipping the sentence to use the opposite adjective with plain mai: instead of mai puțin scump ("less expensive") you will frequently hear mai ieftin ("cheaper"). Both are correct; mai puțin + adjective sounds a touch more measured or formal, while the flipped version is the default in casual talk.

Varianta asta e mai ieftină — adică mai puțin scumpă, dar la fel de bună.

This option is cheaper — that is, less expensive, but just as good.

Equality: la fel de ... ca / tot atât de ... ca (as ... as)

For equality — "as tall as," "as good as" — Romanian uses la fel de + adjective, and crucially the than-word changes to ca (not decât). The pattern is la fel de + adjective + ca + standard.

E la fel de bun ca tine la șah.

He's as good as you at chess.

Camera mea e la fel de mare ca a ta.

My room is as big as yours.

Drumul de întoarcere a fost la fel de lung ca cel de dus.

The way back was just as long as the way there.

A slightly more formal or emphatic synonym for la fel de is tot atât de (literally "all that much"). It means exactly the same thing and is interchangeable, though it sounds a little more bookish.

Era tot atât de încântat ca un copil de Crăciun.

He was every bit as delighted as a child at Christmas.

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The split is the whole game: decât for inequality (mai înalt decât / mai puțin scump decât), ca for equality (la fel de mare ca). English blurs this — "than" vs. "as...as" — but Romanian draws the line with two distinct words. Whenever you write la fel de, your reflex should be to finish with ca, never decât.

After ca in equality comparisons, pronouns also appear in their strong form: ca mine, ca tine, ca el, ca noi. You may also hear the reinforced ca și ("as ... as") in speech, especially before a vowel, where it smooths pronunciation: la fel de harnic ca și colegul lui.

Comparing with quantities and verbs

The same logic extends beyond adjectives. With nouns, "more X than" is mai mult/mai multe ... decât, agreeing with the noun; "less" is mai puțin/mai puține. With verbs, mai mult and mai puțin attach to the action.

Beau mai multă cafea decât ar trebui.

I drink more coffee than I should.

Muncește mai mult decât oricine din echipă.

He works harder than anyone on the team.

These overlap with the comparison of adverbs; see Comparison of Adverbs for mai bine, mai repede, and the rest.

Quick reference

Relation	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Superiority	mai + adj. + decât	mai înalt decât	taller than
Inferiority	mai puțin + adj. + decât	mai puțin scump decât	less expensive than
Equality	la fel de / tot atât de + adj. + ca	la fel de mare ca	as big as

Common Mistakes

Don't invent an English-style -er suffix. Romanian comparison is always mai + adjective:

❌ Ana e înaltăer decât Maria.

Incorrect — there is no -er suffix in Romanian.

✅ Ana e mai înaltă decât Maria.

Ana is taller than Maria.

Don't use decât in an equality comparison — equality takes ca:

❌ E la fel de bun decât tine.

Incorrect — equality uses 'ca', not 'decât'.

✅ E la fel de bun ca tine.

He's as good as you.

And the mirror error — don't use ca for an unequal comparison:

❌ E mai înalt ca era prevăzut.

Awkward/incorrect in standard usage — inequality takes 'decât'.

✅ E mai înalt decât era prevăzut.

He's taller than was expected.

Don't forget that the adjective still agrees — mai does not freeze it:

❌ Mașinile lor sunt mai scump decât ale noastre.

Incorrect — the adjective must agree: feminine plural 'scumpe'.

✅ Mașinile lor sunt mai scumpe decât ale noastre.

Their cars are more expensive than ours.

Don't drop the de inside la fel de — it is part of the fixed frame:

❌ E la fel mare ca a ta.

Incorrect — the equality frame is 'la fel de' + adjective.

✅ E la fel de mare ca a ta.

It's as big as yours.

Key Takeaways

Romanian forms every comparative analytically with mai (superiority) or mai puțin (inferiority). There is no comparative suffix.
The than-word splits by relation: decât for inequality, ca for equality. Map decât ↔ than, ca ↔ as.
Equality uses the frame la fel de (or tot atât de) + adjective + ca.
The adjective between mai and decât still agrees in gender and number with its noun.
Pronouns after decât and ca take their strong form: decât mine, ca tine.

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