Comparisons with od
In Croatian, another very common way to say "than" when making comparisons is by using the preposition od.
Whenever you use od, the person or thing you are comparing against MUST be in the genitive case. For masculine nouns, this usually means adding an -a to the noun, and -og or -eg to any possessive adjectives (like mog or svog). Personal pronouns also take their genitive forms (for example, ja becomes mene).
| My brother is more stubborn than me. | Moj brat je tvrdoglaviji od mene. |
| Are you more handsome than your brother? | Jesi li zgodniji od svog brata? |
Different From
The od + genitive structure isn't just for comparative adjectives (like "bigger" or "more stubborn"). It is also the standard way to say that someone or something is "different from" someone else, using the adjective drugačiji.
| different (of another kind) | drugačiji |
| My son is different from his grandfather. | Moj sin je drugačiji od svog djeda. |
If you are comparing against a feminine noun, remember that the genitive ending is usually -e for both the noun and its possessive adjectives (like svoje majke).
| Is she more likeable than her mother? | Je li simpatičnija od svoje majke? |
| The new boss is much more polite than the former boss. | Novi šef je puno pristojniji od bivšeg šefa. |
Comparing Things and Concepts
You can compare anything using this structure, whether you are talking about people, plans, or abstract concepts like character and behavior. This works perfectly with irregular comparatives like bolji (better) and gori (worse) as well.
| Your plan is worse than my plan. | Tvoj plan je gori od mog plana. |
| His friend is better than your friend. | Njegov prijatelj je bolji od tvog prijatelja. |
| The difference in behavior is smaller than the difference in character. | Razlika u ponašanju je manja od razlike u karakteru. |
