Comparisons of Inequality

When you want to say that one thing is more or less than another, Spanish uses a simple and consistent structure built around más (more) and menos (less/fewer). These comparisons of inequality are one of the most useful patterns in the language, and the good news is that the basic rule is easy to learn and rarely has exceptions.

The core pattern is: más/menos + adjective, adverb, or noun + que. This single structure covers comparing people, things, qualities, quantities, and actions.

The Basic Pattern

Use más for more and menos for less or fewer. Add que when introducing the second thing you are comparing to.

Notice that Spanish does not have a shorter form like English -er (taller, faster). It simply uses más in front of the adjective or adverb, no matter how short or long the word is. This makes comparisons very regular — más pequeño, más grande, más inteligente all follow the same rule.

Comparing Nouns

You can compare quantities of things by placing más or menos before a noun.

Notice that there is no article between más/menos and the noun. You say más hermanos, not más los hermanos. This is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make when they translate word-for-word.

Comparing Verbs (Actions)

To compare how much two subjects do something, put más or menos after the verb.

Here más follows the verb estudio and is followed by que introducing the second person. This is one of the simplest comparison patterns and very common in everyday conversation.

Before Numbers: Más de and Menos de

Here is the most important exception to the basic pattern. When you are comparing with a specific number or quantity, Spanish uses de instead of que.

This applies to any specific numerical expression: más de mil dólares, menos de la mitad, más del doble. Whenever you see a number, switch from que to de.

Compare:

Negative Sentences With "No... Más Que"

A tricky construction you will hear is no... más que, which does not mean not more than as you might expect. It means only.

This is a fixed expression. To actually say not more than (with a numerical limit), you use no... más de:

No tengo más de dos pesos = I don't have more than two pesos (could be one, could be zero — but no more than two).

Keep these two expressions separate in your mind. They look almost identical but mean completely different things.

Irregular Comparatives

A handful of very common adjectives have irregular comparative forms that replace the más + adjective pattern entirely. Memorize these four:

Do not say más bueno or más malo; say mejor or peor. These irregular forms follow the same que / de rule for the second element.

Note that mayor and menor are almost exclusively used for age and size/importance. For physical size ("bigger" in the sense of volume), you can still say más grande or más pequeño, and these are completely correct.

Superlatives

You can form the superlative (the most, the -est) by adding a definite article: el más, la más, los más, las más, plus optionally de to introduce the group.

Note that Spanish uses de where English uses in for the group — of the class, literally. This is worth remembering because direct translation leads to the wrong preposition.

For comparisons where two things are equal, continue to Comparisons of Equality. For a deeper dive into adjective comparatives, see the adjectives section.