In Arabic, most short adjectives form the comparative ("bigger," "longer") by fitting into a specific word pattern. However, words for colors and adjectives derived from longer, complex verbs cannot use this standard pattern. Instead, they require a helper word.
Comparatives with Complex Words
To say that something is "more customized" or "more tinted," Arabic uses a helper word like أكثر (more) or أقل (less), followed directly by the noun form of the action, known as the verbal noun (مصدر).
Because this verbal noun specifies in what way the subject is "more" or "less," it acts as an adverb of specification. Therefore, it must be in the accusative case, which typically means it takes the ending ـًا.
| I want to make the car more customized. | أريد أن أجعل السيارة أكثر تخصيصا.ureedu an aj'ala as-sayyârata akthara takhseesan |
| I want the car's glass to be more tinted. | أريد أن يكون زجاج السيارة أكثر تظليلا.urîdu an yakûna zujâju s-sayyârati akthara tazlîlan |
Comparing Colors
Colors strictly follow this exact same rule. You cannot use a color directly in the standard comparative pattern. Instead, you use أكثر or أقل followed by the abstract noun of the color, such as سواد (blackness), حمرة (redness), or بياض (whiteness), again in the accusative case.
| The new paint is blacker than the old one. | الطلاء الجديد أكثر سوادا من القديم.attilâ'u al-jadîdu aktharu sawâdan mina al-qadîm |
| This sports car is redder than blood. | هذه السيارة الرياضية أكثر حمرة من الدم.hâdhihi s-sayyâratu r-riyâdiyyatu aktharu humratan mina d-dami |
You can use the same structure with أقل to indicate that something has less of a particular quality or color.
| I prefer that the color be less red. | أفضل أن يكون اللون أقل حمرة.ufaddilu an yakûna l-lawnu aqalla humratan |
Forming the Superlative
To express the superlative—meaning "the most" or "the least"—simply make the helper word definite by adding الـ, transforming it into الأكثر or الأقل. The verbal noun that follows remains indefinite and in the accusative case just like before.
| This design is the most customized in the workshop. | هذا التصميم هو الأكثر تخصيصا في الورشة.hâdhâ at-tasmîm huwa al-akthar takhsîsan fî al-warsha |
| When the worker washed the car, it became the whitest in the street. | لما غسل العامل السيارة، أصبحت الأكثر بياضا في الشارع.lammâ ghasala l-'âmilu s-sayyârata, asbahati l-akthara bayâdan fi sh-shâri'i. |
Seeing the endings
This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is usually something you hear in the audio but cannot see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:
| as written | fully vocalized | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الطلاء الجديد أكثر سوادا من القديم. | الطِّلَاءُ الجَدِيدُ أَكْثَرُ سَوَادًا مِنَ القَدِيمِ. | The new paint is blacker than the old one. |
| هذه السيارة الرياضية أكثر حمرة من الدم. | هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ الرِّيَاضِيَّةُ أَكْثَرُ حُمْرَةً مِنَ الدَّمِ. | This sports car is redder than blood. |
| هذا التصميم هو الأكثر تخصيصا في الورشة. | هَذَا التَّصْمِيمُ هُوَ الأَكْثَرُ تَخْصِيصًا فِي الوَرْشَةِ. | This design is the most customized in the workshop. |
When the noun after أكثر or أقل names the quality being compared, it is indefinite and accusative. On سَوَادًا it shows as a written alif, but on a word ending in ة it is only heard: حُمْرَةً. After الأَكْثَرُ, the most, it stays exactly the same: تَخْصِيصًا.
