Этот шкаф больше, чем тот.

Russian usually omits the verb to be in the present tense.

So Этот шкаф больше, чем тот. literally looks like This wardrobe/cabinet bigger than that, but it means This wardrobe/cabinet is bigger than that one.

In past or future tense, Russian does use a form of to be, but not here.

Больше is the normal comparative form of большой (big). It means bigger / larger.

• большой = big
• больше = bigger

In this sentence, Russian uses the comparative form directly after the noun:

• Этот шкаф больше = This cabinet is bigger

Больший also exists, but it is used differently and is much less common in simple comparisons like this. A learner should normally use больше for bigger in sentences like this one.

Here чем means than.

It introduces the second part of the comparison:

• Этот шкаф больше, чем тот.
• This cabinet is bigger than that one.

So the pattern is:

• X больше, чем Y = X is bigger than Y

In standard Russian spelling, a comparison introduced by чем is normally separated by a comma.

So:

• Этот шкаф больше, чем тот.

That comma is the normal written punctuation here.

Russian often leaves out a noun when it is already clear from context.

So тот here really means тот шкаф = that cabinet / that wardrobe, but шкаф is omitted because it would be repetitive.

This is very natural in Russian, just like English that one instead of repeating the noun.

Because тот here stands for тот шкаф, and it stays in the nominative form.

In this sentence, the comparison is:

• Этот шкаф = subject
• больше = comparative
• чем тот (шкаф) = than that one

So тот is not changing case here; it is just a shortened form of тот шкаф.

Learners sometimes expect another case after чем, but in this kind of basic comparison, чем тот is normal.

Because шкаф is a masculine noun.

Russian demonstratives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• этот шкаф = this cabinet
• тот шкаф = that cabinet

If the noun were feminine, neuter, or plural, the forms would change.

For example:

• эта книга = this book
• то окно = that window
• эти шкафы = these cabinets

Шкаф is a masculine noun that usually means a large storage piece of furniture, such as:

• wardrobe
• cabinet
• cupboard
• sometimes closet in certain contexts

The best translation depends on context. If the meaning has already been given to the learner, the main thing to remember is that шкаф is a common masculine noun for a storage unit or cabinet-like piece of furniture.

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible, but the sentence you have is the most neutral and natural order.

• Этот шкаф больше, чем тот. = neutral, standard

You may see other orders for emphasis, but as a learner, this is the safest version to use.

A helpful pronunciation guide is:

• Этот → EH-tuht
• шкаф → shkahf
• больше → BOL-shuh
• чем → chyem
• тот → toht

A more careful stress guide:

• Э́тот шкаф бо́льше, чем тот.

The stressed syllables are:

• Э́тот
• бо́льше

Also note:

• ш is a hard sh sound
• ч in чем is softer than English ch
• final consonants in Russian are often pronounced firmly, so шкаф ends with a clear f sound

You could be understood, but it sounds unnatural in normal speech.

Russian strongly prefers:

• Этот шкаф больше, чем тот.

rather than:

• Этот шкаф более большой, чем тот.

Use больше as the normal comparative of большой.

Yes. This is a very common Russian comparison pattern:

• X [comparative], чем Y

Examples:

• Этот дом выше, чем тот. = This house is taller than that one.
• Моя машина быстрее, чем твоя. = My car is faster than yours.
• Сегодня теплее, чем вчера. = Today is warmer than yesterday.

So Этот шкаф больше, чем тот is a very useful model sentence.