To compare two things in Polish, change the adjective's ending—similar to adding "-er" (faster, older) in English. Connect the compared items with niż (than).
Comparatives act like regular adjectives, agreeing in gender, number, and case. Regular adjectives take one of two sets of comparative endings:
- Masculine: -szy or -ejszy
- Feminine: -sza or -ejsza
- Neuter: -sze or -ejsze
The "-szy" Ending
For adjectives whose stem ends in a single consonant, drop the final vowel (-y or -i) and add -szy (or its feminine/neuter equivalents). For example, gruby (fat) becomes grubszy.
Here is the feminine form -sza:
If the adjective ends in -ki, -eki, or -oki, the -k- is usually dropped. For instance, szybki (fast) becomes szybszy.
Here is the neuter form -sze, where głupi (stupid) becomes głupsze.
The "-ejszy" Ending
When the adjective stem ends in a cluster of consonants, adding -szy is hard to pronounce. Instead, use the ending -ejszy. For example, brudny (dirty) becomes brudniejszy.
This ending follows the same gender rules. Notice how łagodny (mild) becomes łagodniejszy for a masculine noun (obiad), but łagodniejsza for a feminine noun (zupa).
Adding -ejszy often causes spelling changes in the final consonant, such as r changing to rz. For example, mądry (smart) becomes mądrzejszy, and ostry (sharp/spicy) becomes ostrzejszy (or ostrzejsza for feminine nouns).