Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая.

A wide staircase seems safer than a narrow one.

Breakdown of Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая.

• чем: than
• узкий: narrow
• лестница: the staircase
• казаться: to seem
• широкий: wide
• более: more
• безопасный: safe

Questions & Answers about Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая.

Why is безопасной in the instrumental case after кажется?

In Russian, when you use verbs like казаться (to seem), быть (to be, in the past/future), становиться (to become), the “resulting state” or “quality” is often put in the instrumental case.

• широкая лестница – nominative (subject)
• кажется – verb казаться, 3rd person singular
• более безопасной – instrumental (what it seems as)

Compare:

• Лестница кажется безопасной. – The staircase seems safe.
• Он кажется уставшим. – He seems tired.

So безопасной is feminine singular instrumental of безопасный, agreeing with лестница and used because of кажется.

Why is широкая лестница in the nominative, not instrumental?

Широкая лестница is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.

Russian basic pattern here is:

• [Subject in nominative] + кажется + [description in instrumental]

So:

• Широкая лестница (nominative) – the wide staircase (subject)
• кажется более безопасной (instrumental) – seems safer

Only the predicative part (what it seems) goes into the instrumental; the subject always stays nominative.

Why is the second adjective узкая, not узкой to match безопасной?

Узкая belongs to a different structure: it is part of the phrase following чем, the comparison part.

The pattern with более … чем … is:

• более + [adjective / adverb] + чем + [thing being compared]

The case after чем is usually the same as the case of the first thing being compared. Here we compare широкая лестница (nominative) with another staircase, so we use nominative feminine:

• широкая лестница (nominative)
• чем узкая (лестница) (also nominative, the noun лестница is just omitted)

Meanwhile, безопасной is in the instrumental because of кажется, not because of the comparison. So you get:

• широкая лестница – nominative (subject)
• кажется более безопасной – instrumental (predicative after кажется)
• чем узкая – nominative (second item in the comparison)

Can I say …кажется более безопасной, чем узкой instead of …чем узкая?

No, that would be incorrect/ungrammatical in standard Russian.

• более безопасной must be instrumental, because of кажется.
• The phrase after чем is not another predicative; it is the second element of the comparison: another staircase.

So чем узкой would suggest repeating the instrumental predicate, but the grammar requires you to repeat the compared noun phrase, not the predicative case. Therefore it should be nominative:

• Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая (лестница). ✅
• Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкой. ❌

Why don’t we repeat лестница after узкая, like чем узкая лестница?

You can repeat it:

• Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая лестница.

This is fully correct, just a bit heavier.

Russian often omits a repeated noun if the meaning is clear from context. Here, after чем, we already understand we’re comparing two staircases, so узкая alone is enough:

• чем узкая (лестница) – than a narrow one (a narrow staircase)

English uses one to avoid repetition; Russian usually just drops the noun and leaves the adjective.

Why are широкая, лестница, безопасной, and узкая all feminine forms?

Because лестница is a feminine noun. Nouns ending in -а / -я are usually feminine.

• лестница – feminine singular
• широкая лестница – adjective широкий agrees with лестница in gender, number, case → feminine, singular, nominative → широкая
• более безопасной – безопасный agrees with лестница in gender and number, but takes instrumental case because of кажется → feminine, singular, instrumental → безопасной
• узкая (лестница) – again, feminine, singular, nominative → узкая

So the gender is determined by лестница, and the endings change based on case and function in the sentence.

Could we say Широкая лестница более безопасна, чем узкая without кажется? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is correct, and it is a bit stronger.

• Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая.
  – A wide staircase *seems safer than a narrow one.*
  This sounds subjective, based on impression.

• Широкая лестница более безопасна, чем узкая.
  – A wide staircase *is safer than a narrow one.*
  This sounds like a more objective statement or fact.

Also notice the grammar change:

• With кажется → кажется безопасной (instrumental)
• Without кажется → более безопасна (short-form adjective, behaves like a predicate with есть understood)

Why is it более безопасной and not безопаснее? Are both possible?

Russian has two ways to form the comparative:

1. Synthetic form (single word):

   • безопасный → безопаснее (safer)

2. Analytic form with более

   • positive adjective:
   • более безопасный (more safe / safer)

In your sentence, grammatically you need the instrumental after кажется, so:

• кажется более безопасной – более
  • instrumental of безопасный
• кажется безопаснее – here безопаснее is an adverb-like comparative form; it does not inflect for case, so you can’t make it instrumental.

Both are possible, but the structure changes:

• Широкая лестница кажется более безопасной, чем узкая. ✅
• Широкая лестница кажется безопаснее, чем узкая. ✅

The first one is a bit more formal/neutral; the second (with безопаснее) is slightly more colloquial and compact.

Is there any difference in meaning between более безопасной and безопаснее here?

In this sentence, the meaning is practically the same: safer.

The differences are more about style and structure:

• более безопасной
  
  • Uses a regular adjective in instrumental after кажется.
  • Slightly more formal or careful in style.
• безопаснее
  
  • Short comparative form that doesn’t show case.
  • Feels a bit simpler and more conversational.

Many adjectives allow both, and native speakers switch freely depending on their style and rhythm. In written, more formal texts, более безопасной is very common.

What is the difference between кажется, выглядит, and похожа на?

They all express some kind of appearance, but with different nuances:

• кажется – seems, appears (to be)
  Often about an internal impression or judgment, not just visual:

  • Лестница кажется безопасной. – The staircase seems safe (maybe because of handrails, good lighting, etc.)

• выглядит – looks (visually)
  Focuses more on outward, visible appearance:

  • Лестница выглядит безопасной. – The staircase looks safe (based on what you see)

• похожа на – is similar to / looks like (compares with something else specifically):

  • Эта лестница похожа на пожарную лестницу. – This staircase looks like a fire escape.

In your sentence, кажется is natural because you’re talking about the perceived safety, not just how it visually looks.

How do you pronounce лестница, and what happens to the т?

Pronunciation (in IPA): [ˈlʲesnʲɪtsə]

Features:

• The written cluster стн is pronounced [sn].
• The т is not fully pronounced; it gets assimilated and effectively disappears in normal speech.
• Stress is on the first syllable: ЛЕстница.

So you say something like лес-ни-ца, not лест-ни-ца. This kind of consonant simplification is common in Russian.