Learn Portuguese (Portugal): Este modelo é melhor do que aquele.

Este modelo é melhor do que aquele.

This model is better than that one.

Breakdown of Este modelo é melhor do que aquele.

ser

to be

este

this (este, esta, estes, estas)

aquele

that over there (aquele, aquela, aqueles, aquelas)

do que

than

Questions & Answers about Este modelo é melhor do que aquele.

Why do we use melhor here instead of saying mais bom for "better"?

Just like in English where we say "better" instead of "more good", Portuguese has irregular comparative words. melhor is the irregular comparative of bom (good). You should avoid saying mais bom.

For "than", the sentence uses do que. Can I just say que?

Yes! In Portuguese, when comparing two things, you can use either que or do que to mean "than". So, Este modelo é melhor que aquele is also perfectly correct and means the exact same thing.

Does the word melhor change if the noun is feminine?

No, melhor is gender-neutral, so it stays the same for both masculine and feminine nouns. However, it does change for plurals! If we were comparing multiple models, it would become melhores (Estes modelos são melhores...).

Why do we use este at the beginning of the sentence but aquele at the end?

These words show different distances. este means "this" (close to the speaker). aquele means "that" (further away). Because modelo is a masculine word, both este and aquele are in their masculine singular forms.