Learn Hardcore Polish: Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten. - This building is taller than that one.

You also use to in sentences like To jest budynek (This is a building), where to is more like “this/it” as a standalone pronoun, not an adjective before a noun.

What is the difference between ten and tamten?

Both are demonstrative pronouns (like “this/that” in English):

ten = this (near the speaker)
tamten = that (one) (farther away, or at least contrasted with “this”)

In the sentence:

Ten budynek = this building (here / the one I’m indicating as the first one)
tamten = that one (over there / the other one we’re comparing it to)

So the sentence literally means:
This building is taller than that (one).

Why is it tamten at the end, and not tamten budynek?

You can say both:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten.
Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten budynek.

Using just tamten is natural because the word budynek is already mentioned earlier and is understood from context. Repeating budynek would sound more formal or emphatic, and usually isn’t needed in everyday speech—just like in English you usually say “this building is taller than that one”, not “than that building” every time.

Why is the adjective wyższy and not the basic form wysoki?

Wysoki means “tall / high”.
Wyższy is the comparative form: “taller / higher”.

Polish forms many comparative adjectives by changing the stem:

wysoki → wyższy (tall → taller)
duży → większy (big → bigger)
mały → mniejszy (small → smaller)

So in comparisons like “X is taller than Y”, you need the comparative form wyższy, not the base form wysoki.

Why isn’t it bardziej wysoki for “more tall”?

For most short, common adjectives, Polish uses a synthetic comparative (a changed form of the adjective itself), not bardziej + adjective.

So you say:

wysoki → wyższy (not bardziej wysoki)
tani → tańszy (not bardziej tani)
brzydki → brzydszy (not bardziej brzydki)

You use bardziej + adjective mainly when:

the adjective is long or borrowed:
interesujący → bardziej interesujący (more interesting)
sympatyczny → bardziej sympatyczny

With wysoki, the correct and natural comparative is wyższy.

What does niż mean, and how is it used?

Niż is a conjunction that corresponds to English “than” in comparisons.

Pattern:

[noun/pronoun] + jest + [comparative adjective] + niż + [noun/pronoun]

Examples:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten.
This building is taller than that one.
Ona jest młodsza niż jej siostra.
She is younger than her sister.
Jestem lepszy niż myślisz.
I am better than you think.

The word after niż stays in the nominative (dictionary) form, just like the subject before the verb in many such sentences: tamten, jej siostra, ty etc.

Could I use od instead of niż here?

Yes, you can also say:

Ten budynek jest wyższy od tamtego.

Both niż and od are common in comparisons, but:

With niż, the compared element is in the nominative:
wyższy niż tamten
With od, it’s in the genitive:
wyższy od tamtego

Both sentences are correct and natural:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten.
Ten budynek jest wyższy od tamtego.

There is no big difference in meaning here; it’s a stylistic choice.

What case are ten budynek and tamten in?

Both are in the nominative singular masculine form.

Ten budynek – nominative (it’s the subject)
tamten – also nominative (because niż functions like a conjunction, linking a second “hidden” subject: tamten (budynek) jest [niższy])

If you use od, then the second part changes to genitive:

od tamtego (budynku) – genitive

Does the adjective wyższy agree with budynek in gender and number?

Yes. In Polish, adjectives and their comparative forms agree with the noun in:

gender
number
case

Here:

budynek – masculine singular, nominative
wyższy – masculine singular, nominative (to match budynek)
tamten – masculine singular, nominative (agreeing with the understood budynek)

If you change the noun, the adjective changes too:

Ta wieża jest wyższa niż tamta. (This tower is taller than that one.)
– wieża (fem.), so wyższa, tamta (fem.)
To drzewo jest wyższe niż tamto. (This tree is taller than that one.)
– drzewo (neut.), so wyższe, tamto (neut.)

Is the verb jest necessary here? Could I say Ten budynek wyższy niż tamten?

In a normal, full sentence, you must use jest:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten. ✅

Dropping jest sounds incomplete or like a fragment (e.g. a note on a diagram, a headline, or very colloquial speech), similar to English “This building taller than that one” with no “is”.

So in standard spoken and written Polish, include jest.

Can I change the word order, e.g. Ten budynek jest niż tamten wyższy?

No, that specific word order is unnatural or wrong.

The normal and natural patterns are:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten.
Ten budynek jest wyższy od tamtego.

You can move parts a bit for emphasis, but not in the middle of the comparative phrase:

Ten budynek jest znacznie wyższy niż tamten.
(far taller than that one)
Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten o dwa metry.
(taller than that one by two meters)

But jest niż tamten wyższy is not how Polish speakers structure this.

How do I pronounce wyższy?

Approximate pronunciation (in English-like spelling):

wy – like “vi” in “village”, but with very short, central vowel [ɨ]
ż – like the “s” in “measure” ([ʐ]/[ʒ])
sz – like “sh” in “shoe” ([ʂ]/[ʃ])
y – again the Polish [ɨ], similar to a very short “i” but further back

So wyższy sounds roughly like: “VYZH-shih” (with the two consonant sounds ż + sz next to each other).

The double consonant spelling (ż + sz) shows two separate sounds, not a long single one.

Can wyższy also mean “higher” (not only “taller”)?

Yes. Wysoki / wyższy covers both “tall / taller” and “high / higher”, depending on context:

Ten budynek jest wyższy niż tamten.
→ taller (because it’s about a building’s height)
Ta półka jest wyżej niż tamta.
→ higher (shelf position)
Na większej wysokości is more technical (at a higher altitude), but wyższy is very common in many “higher” comparisons:

Examples:

Ceny są wyższe niż w zeszłym roku. – Prices are higher than last year.
Temperatura jest wyższa niż wczoraj. – The temperature is higher than yesterday.

Are there similar sentences I can model on this one?

Yes, the pattern is very productive:

Ten/Ta/To + [noun] + jest + [comparative adjective] + niż/od + ten/tamten/etc.

Examples:

Ten dom jest większy niż tamten.
This house is bigger than that one.
Ta książka jest ciekawsza niż tamta.
This book is more interesting than that one.
To auto jest szybsze niż tamto.
This car is faster than that one.
Ten film jest lepszy od tamtego.
This film is better than that one.