The short answer
Most Swedish adjectives compare with -are and -ast: snäll → snällare → snällast. A group of very common ones change their vowel instead: stor → större → störst. A few are suppletive: bra → bättre → bäst. Long adjectives, especially participles and words in -isk, use mer and mest. After den, det or de the superlative adds an ending: den snällaste, den största.
Regular comparison: add -are (comparative) and -ast (superlative). Long adjectives: use 'mer/mest'.
Some common adjectives are irregular and must be memorized.
Regular comparison
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | Definite superlative |
|---|---|---|---|
| snäll (kind) | snällare | snällast | den snällaste |
| billig (cheap) | billigare | billigast | den billigaste |
| vacker (beautiful) | vackrare | vackrast | den vackraste |
Irregular comparison
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| stor | större | störst | big |
| liten | mindre | minst | small |
| gammal | äldre | äldst | old |
| ung | yngre | yngst | young |
| lång | längre | längst | long / tall |
| hög | högre | högst | high |
| låg | lägre | lägst | low |
| tung | tyngre | tyngst | heavy |
| bra / god | bättre | bäst | good |
| dålig | sämre / värre | sämst / värst | bad |
| många | fler | flest | many |
| mycket | mer | mest | much |
In a sentence
snäll → snällare → snällast
kind → kinder → kindest (regular)
stor → större → störst
big → bigger → biggest
liten → mindre → minst
small → smaller → smallest
bra → bättre → bäst
good → better → best
intressant → mer intressant → mest intressant
interesting (long adj.)
What learners get wrong
Han är större än mig.
Say instead: Han är större än jag.
Än is followed by the subject form when the pronoun is the subject of an implied verb — än jag (är). Colloquial Swedish does say än mig, but written Swedish keeps jag.
mer stor
Say instead: större
Mer is only for adjectives that cannot take -are, typically long ones and participles. A short native adjective always uses the ending.
Questions people ask
- When do I use mer and mest instead of -are and -ast?
- With adjectives that are long or foreign in shape, and with participles used as adjectives: mer intressant, mest komplicerad, mer intresserad. Short native adjectives always take the endings. If you can say -are without it sounding strained, use it.
- Why does the superlative sometimes end in -e and sometimes -a?
- It depends on the type. Superlatives in -ast add -e in the definite: den snällaste. Superlatives formed by vowel change add -a: den största, den äldsta. Both follow the definite article den, det or de.
- What is the difference between sämre and värre?
- Both mean worse. Sämre is the comparative of quality — worse in standard or ability. Värre is worse in degree or severity, often about something already bad: det blev värre. They are not always interchangeable, and native speakers keep them apart.
Sources
Usage checked against Isof, the Swedish government's language institute, and Svenska Akademien. Where usage is genuinely divided, this page says so rather than inventing a rule.