Grammar
Bigger, biggest: Danish comparatives and superlatives
Published 26 September 2026
Danish compares adjectives almost exactly the way English does: add -ere for "-er" and -est for "-est", so ny [nyː] "new" becomes nyere and nyest. There are two catches: a short list of irregular adjectives that you use every day, and one ending rule that is easy to get wrong. Both are below.
The regular pattern
Add -ere and -est
Most adjectives just take the endings: varm, varmere, varmest "warm", kold, koldere, koldest "cold". Three spelling adjustments cover nearly all the rest.
- -ig and -lig take -st, not -est, in the superlative: vigtig, vigtigere, vigtigst "important", billig, billigere, billigst "cheap".
- A short vowel doubles the consonant: smuk, smukkere, smukkest "beautiful", tyk, tykkere, tykkest "thick".
- An unstressed e before l, n or r drops out: enkel, enklere, enklest "simple", sikker, sikrere, sikrest "sure".
The basic adjective forms, and the -t and -e endings that make them agree with a noun, are on the list of common Danish adjectives. This page is only about comparing.
Learn these first
The irregular ones are the ones you need most
As with verbs, the most common adjectives are the irregular ones. You will say bedre "better" long before you ever say billigere "cheaper".
| Adjective | Comparative | Superlative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| god [ˈɡ̊oˀð] | bedre | bedst | good, better, best |
| stor [stoːˀr] | større | størst | big, bigger, biggest |
| lille [lilə] | mindre | mindst | small, smaller, smallest |
| mange | flere | flest | many, more, most |
| meget | mere | mest | much, more, most |
| gammel | ældre | ældst | old, older, oldest |
| ung | yngre | yngst | young, younger, youngest |
| lang | længere | længst | long, longer, longest |
| få | færre | færrest | few, fewer, fewest |
| dårlig | værre | værst | bad, worse, worst |
Notice the vowel change in gammel, ung, lang: the comparative swaps in æ or y, just as English once did with old, elder. And mange/flere versus meget/mere splits "more" the way English splits "fewer" and "less": flere for things you count, mere for things you don't.
The catch
Comparatives never change, superlatives sometimes do
Ordinary adjectives change their ending to agree with the noun. The comparative does not, ever: en større bil, et større hus, de større huse. større stays større. That's one rule you can forget about.
The superlative takes an -e after "the": den største by "the biggest town", det bedste råd "the best advice". Standing alone after the verb, it keeps its plain form: Hvem er størst? "Who is biggest?"
Long words
When to say mere and mest instead
Like English "more beautiful", some adjectives are compared with mere and mest instead of an ending. Use them with:
- adjectives ending in -isk: mere praktisk "more practical";
- participles used as adjectives: mere interesseret "more interested";
- long or borrowed words where an ending sounds clumsy: mere moderne "more modern".
If you are unsure, mere is the safer bet. It can sound a little formal, but it is never wrong in the way a made-up ending can be.
Try it
Fill in three gaps
- København er ___ end Aarhus. (stor)
- Min bror er ___ end mig. (ung)
- Det er den ___ kage, jeg har smagt. (god)
Answers: større, yngre, bedste. The third needed the -e because of den. The second used end, Danish for "than". Bonus: "the sooner the better" is jo før, jo bedre, and you already know the half that matters.
The app teaches the commonest adjectives early, each with its forms. Learn the adjectives you will use first
Start with the words that come up most
Adjectives, nouns and verbs together, in the order Danish actually uses them.