Just like in English, some common Icelandic adjectives are irregular. Instead of adding a standard suffix for the comparative and superlative, they change their stem entirely.
Good, Better, Best
For example, góður (good) becomes betri (better) and bestur (best).
| The food is better here. | Maturinn er betri hérna. |
When a superlative describes a definite noun (like the best chef), it takes a "weak" ending (typically -a, -i, or -u). Notice how bestur becomes besti here:
| He is the best chef in town. | Hann er besti kokkurinn í bænum. |
Price and Quality
These forms are especially useful when evaluating the price (verðið) and the quality (gæðin).
| The price is good but the quality is bad. | Verðið er gott en gæðin eru slæm. |
| Where is the price better? | Hvar er verðið betra? |
| The quality here is the best. | Gæðin hérna eru best. |
Bad, Worse, Worst
The adjective for "bad" (slæmur) changes entirely to verri (worse) and verstur (worst).
| Is the quality worse now? | Eru gæðin verri núna? |
| The weather is the worst today. | Veðrið er verst í dag. |
Big and Small
Adjectives describing size undergo vowel shifts or full stem changes:
- stór (big) becomes stærri (bigger) and stærstur (biggest).
- lítill (small) becomes minni (smaller) and minnstur (smallest).
| Their garden is bigger. | Garðurinn þeirra er stærri. |
| Where is the biggest house? | Hvar er stærsta húsið? |
| Her car is smaller. | Bíllinn hennar er minni. |
| Who gets the smallest cake? | Hver fær minnstu kökuna? |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
