If you want to say in English that something is very, very, very good, you have to keep adding more verys — or reach for a synonym like incredibly or extremely. Spanish has a more elegant solution. It bakes the intensity directly into the adjective with a suffix: -ísimo. Bueno (good) becomes buenísimo (incredibly good). Caro (expensive) becomes carísimo (eye-wateringly expensive). Difícil (difficult) becomes dificilísimo (devilishly difficult). The suffix is one of the most productive — and most distinctly Spanish — parts of the adjective system.
This page covers the absolute superlative: how it differs from the relative superlative, how to form it, the spelling pitfalls, the Latinate alternatives (óptimo, pésimo, máximo, mínimo), and the peninsular register notes that often go missing from textbooks. For the el más alto de la clase construction, see the relative superlative page.
Relative vs absolute: two different superlatives
Spanish has two superlatives, and they do different jobs:
- Relative superlative: el más alto de la clase — picks one out of a group. There is always a reference set, explicit or implied.
- Absolute superlative: altísimo — just describes the degree as extreme. No comparison, no group. "Very tall," "incredibly tall," with no implicit list of other tall people.
Juan es el más alto de la clase.
Juan is the tallest in the class. — Relative: picked from a group.
Juan es altísimo.
Juan is incredibly tall. — Absolute: extreme degree, no group.
Both involve "high" — but they say different things. The relative superlative is a ranking; the absolute superlative is just an amplifier.
How to form the regular -ísimo
The basic recipe is mechanical:
Drop the final vowel of the adjective (if there is one) and add -ísimo / -ísima / -ísimos / -ísimas.
The suffix agrees in gender and number with the noun, just like any other four-form adjective.
| Base adjective | Absolute superlative | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| alto | altísimo | incredibly tall |
| guapa | guapísima | stunning |
| caro | carísimo | extortionately expensive |
| interesante | interesantísimo | fascinating |
| difícil | dificilísimo | devilishly hard |
| fácil | facilísimo | dead easy |
| amable | amabilísimo | incredibly kind |
| feliz | felicísimo | blissfully happy |
Notice how the suffix attaches: alt- + -ísimo = altísimo; guap- + -ísima = guapísima. The accent on the í is mandatory — it marks the stress on that syllable. Skipping the accent is a spelling error.
La película está buenísima, te va a encantar.
The film is brilliant, you're going to love it. (peninsular) — Buenísima with estar describes the speaker's impression.
El examen fue dificilísimo, no terminé.
The exam was incredibly hard — I didn't finish.
Estoy cansadísimo, llevo toda la semana sin dormir bien.
I'm absolutely exhausted — I've been sleeping badly all week.
¡Qué guapísima estás con ese vestido!
You look stunning in that dress! (peninsular)
Spelling shifts: the -c-, -g-, -z- traps
This is where -ísimo gets interesting. Some consonants change their spelling before -ísimo to preserve the sound of the original adjective. Spanish phonology insists that c before i is pronounced /θ/ (the soft th-sound in Spain), g before i is /x/ (the harsh j-sound), and z is never written before i. The suffix begins with í, so the original consonant must shift to preserve the pronunciation.
-co → -quísimo
Adjectives ending in -co shift to -quísimo. The qu keeps the hard /k/ sound.
| Base | Absolute superlative |
|---|---|
| rico | riquísimo |
| poco | poquísimo |
| blanco | blanquísimo |
| flaco | flaquísimo |
| seco | sequísimo |
If you wrote ricísimo, it would be pronounced /ri-θí-si-mo/ — the /k/ sound would be gone, turned into a Castilian "th." The qu spelling protects the /k/.
Esta paella está riquísima, ¿la has hecho tú?
This paella is incredibly tasty — did you make it?
Tengo poquísimo tiempo, no puedo quedar hoy.
I have very little time — I can't meet up today.
-go → -guísimo
Adjectives ending in -go shift to -guísimo. The u is silent; it keeps the g hard (/g/) instead of letting it soften to /x/.
| Base | Absolute superlative |
|---|---|
| largo | larguísimo |
| vago | vaguísimo |
| amargo | amarguísimo |
Without the u, largisimo would be pronounced /lar-xí-si-mo/ — the g would be a /x/, not a /g/.
La película era larguísima, casi tres horas.
The film was endlessly long — almost three hours.
Mi compañero de piso es vaguísimo, no hace nada.
My flatmate is incredibly lazy — he does nothing.
-z → -císimo
Adjectives ending in -z shift to -císimo. Spanish never writes z before i or e — the z is replaced by c, which is pronounced /θ/ in that position (the same sound as the original z in Spain).
| Base | Absolute superlative |
|---|---|
| feliz | felicísimo |
| audaz | audacísimo |
| veloz | velocísimo |
This is the same rule that turns feliz plural into felices, lápiz plural into lápices: Spanish replaces z with c before i or e. It is a universal spelling habit, not just a -ísimo quirk.
Estoy felicísima por la noticia.
I'm overjoyed by the news.
Es un coche velocísimo, llega a los doscientos sin esfuerzo.
It's a blisteringly fast car — it reaches two hundred without effort.
Other shape shifts
A few more adjectives have less obvious -ísimo forms because of stem changes:
- fuerte → fortísimo (Latin stem returns) or fuertísimo (regular). Both are accepted; fortísimo sounds more formal/literary.
- caliente → calentísimo (regular). Calientísimo is also heard but considered less standard.
- antiguo → antiquísimo (Latin spelling). Antig- loses the u and adds -qu- to preserve /k/.
- joven → jovencísimo (insertion of -c- to keep the n from becoming awkward).
- amable → amabilísimo (Latin stem; -able becomes -abilísimo).
- noble → nobilísimo.
These are not random — they preserve Latin roots that the modern adjective has lost. You don't need to derive them; you memorize them as set forms.
El edificio es antiquísimo, del siglo XII.
The building is incredibly ancient — from the twelfth century.
Mi abuela es una mujer amabilísima, siempre tiene una sonrisa.
My grandmother is an exceptionally kind woman — she always has a smile.
Adjectives that resist -ísimo
Not every adjective takes the suffix gracefully. Some block it for phonological reasons (the result would be hard to pronounce), some for register reasons (the adjective itself is too formal or too colloquial), and some because there is a competing form that has eaten the niche.
- Compound or technical adjectives like electrodoméstico, anticonstitucional — never take -ísimo.
- Already-superlative-sounding adjectives like eterno (eternal), infinito (infinite), único (unique) — adding -ísimo is logically odd. Único by definition can't be more unique.
- Some informal short adjectives prefer reduplication or intensifiers: guay (cool, peninsular slang) doesn't form *guayísimo in writing — Spaniards say muy guay or súper guay instead.
For these cases, the workaround is muy + adjective or súper-, re-, extra-.
The Latinate alternatives: óptimo, pésimo, máximo, mínimo
A small set of common adjectives has inherited Latin superlatives that exist alongside (or instead of) the -ísimo form. These come from Latin's own superlative-forming pattern and sound markedly more formal or literary in Spanish.
| Adjective | Regular -ísimo | Latinate form | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| bueno | buenísimo | óptimo | formal / written |
| malo | malísimo | pésimo | formal / written |
| grande | grandísimo | máximo | formal / written |
| pequeño | pequeñísimo | mínimo | formal / written |
| alto | altísimo | supremo / sumo | formal / literary |
| bajo | bajísimo | ínfimo | formal / literary |
In everyday peninsular speech, the -ísimo forms dominate. Pésimo and óptimo show up in newspapers, business writing, and academic prose. Mínimo and máximo are common in fixed expressions and technical contexts (el precio máximo, el esfuerzo mínimo).
La paella estaba buenísima. (informal)
The paella was incredible.
El servicio del hotel fue óptimo. (formal)
The hotel service was first-rate.
Hizo un trabajo malísimo, lo tuvieron que repetir. (informal)
He did a terrible job — they had to redo it.
La calidad fue pésima, exigimos un reembolso. (formal)
The quality was abysmal — we demand a refund.
-ísimo and muy: cannot stack
A common learner mistake: putting muy in front of an -ísimo form. You cannot do this. The -ísimo suffix already encodes "very" — combining the two is like saying very veriest in English.
❌ Es muy altísimo.
Muy + ísimo is ungrammatical. Pick one.
✅ Es altísimo. / Es muy alto.
He's incredibly tall. / He's very tall.
If you want even more intensity, peninsular Spanish offers other tools instead:
- súper- (prefix): súper interesante, súper caro.
- re-, requete- (intensifying prefix, colloquial): requeteguapa (drop-dead gorgeous).
- una pasada de + noun: una pasada de coche (an absolute beast of a car).
- adverbs: increíblemente, sumamente, terriblemente, extraordinariamente.
Está súper buena la película, no te la pierdas.
The film is so good — don't miss it. (informal Spain)
El examen fue increíblemente difícil.
The exam was incredibly difficult.
Peninsular vs Latin American notes
The -ísimo suffix is alive and well in both. The peninsular twist worth flagging:
- In Spain, estar + -ísimo is a high-frequency way to comment on appearance, food, films, music — anything you are evaluating in the moment. La paella está buenísima, Esta peli está muy buena/buenísima. The choice of estar (not ser) reflects the subjective, in-the-moment evaluation.
- Some peninsular slang prefers reduplication or alternate intensifiers: está la mar de bueno (it's incredibly good, idiomatic), está de muerte (it's to die for), está que te cagas (it's awesome — vulgar but very common). These coexist with -ísimo.
- The Latinate forms (óptimo, pésimo) are heard in Spain mostly in news, business, and formal contexts. Latin American Spanish uses them slightly more readily in some registers.
When -ísimo attaches to nouns or adverbs
The suffix is officially for adjectives but is occasionally attached to nouns or adverbs for stylistic effect — almost always colloquial and playful.
- Adverbs: muchísimo (very much, from mucho), poquísimo (very little), tardísimo (very late), prontísimo (very early). These are normal and used constantly.
- Nouns (informal/jokey): campeonísimo (super-champion), amigísimo (super-friend). Treat these as set expressions, not a productive pattern.
Me gustó muchísimo la película.
I really, really liked the film. — Muchísimo is a standard intensifier from mucho.
Llegamos tardísimo a la fiesta, ya casi no quedaba nadie.
We got to the party super late — there was hardly anyone left.
Common Mistakes
❌ Es muy buenísimo.
Muy + ísimo doubles up the same idea. Cannot combine them.
✅ Es buenísimo. / Es muy bueno.
It's incredibly good. / It's very good.
❌ Esta tarta está ricísima.
The c → qu shift is missing. Rico → riquísimo to preserve the /k/ sound.
✅ Esta tarta está riquísima.
This cake is incredibly tasty.
❌ El viaje fue largísimo.
The g → gu shift is missing. Largo → larguísimo to preserve the hard /g/.
✅ El viaje fue larguísimo.
The journey was endlessly long.
❌ Es altisimo.
Missing the accent on the í. The stress falls on í-si-mo, and Spanish marks it with a written accent.
✅ Es altísimo.
He's incredibly tall.
❌ Estoy felizísima.
The z → c shift is missing. Spanish never writes z before i: feliz → felicísima.
✅ Estoy felicísima.
I'm overjoyed.
❌ La paella es buenísima. (when commenting on this specific paella)
When commenting on a specific dish in the moment, peninsular Spanish uses estar — the food's current state, not its essence.
✅ La paella está buenísima.
The paella is incredible. — Estar for subjective in-the-moment evaluation.
Key takeaways
- The absolute superlative intensifies an adjective without comparison: altísimo = incredibly tall. Distinct from the relative superlative (el más alto), which picks one out of a group.
- Formation: drop the final vowel and add -ísimo, -ísima, -ísimos, -ísimas. The accent on the í is mandatory.
- Spelling shifts preserve sound: -co → -quísimo (riquísimo), -go → -guísimo (larguísimo), -z → -císimo (felicísimo). These are the same patterns that govern plurals and verb conjugations.
- A handful of adjectives keep Latin stems: amable → amabilísimo, antiguo → antiquísimo.
- Latinate forms (óptimo, pésimo, máximo, mínimo, ínfimo, supremo) are formal/written alternatives. In everyday peninsular speech, -ísimo dominates.
- Cannot stack with muy: ❌ muy altísimo. Pick one intensifier.
- The suffix attaches to a few common adverbs too: muchísimo, poquísimo, tardísimo.
- Peninsular Spanish loves estar + -ísimo for evaluations in the moment: la paella está buenísima, estás guapísima hoy.
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