- How are comparative adjectives formed in Persian?
- Does Persian have irregular comparatives?
- Where are comparative adjectives placed in a sentence?
Comparative adjectives are used to indicate a comparison between two nouns. The comparative form is constructed by suffixing “-tar” to adjectives. There are no irregular comparative adjectives as in English “bad, worse”. The comparative suffix is used for all adjectives regardless of their length. There is nothing like English “beautiful, more beautiful” in Persian.
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
The comparative form of adjectives is constructed by suffixing تر (-tar).
| Adjective | Comparative Form |
|---|---|
| بزرگ bozorg big |
بزرگتر bozorgtar bigger |
| زیبا zibâ beautiful |
زیباتر zibâtar more beautiful |
| بدتر bad bad |
بد badtar worse |
| آسان âsân easy |
آسانتر âsântar easier |
| ارزان arzân cheap |
ارزانتر arzântar cheaper |
| دوست‌داشتنی dustdâshtani lovable |
دوست‌داشتنی‌تر dustdâshtanitar more lovable |
Both beh and khub mean “good” but the common way of saying “good” is khub. In contrast, “better” is normally expressed with behtar.
| Adjective | Comparative Form |
|---|---|
| به beh good |
بهتر behtar better |
| خوب khub good |
خوبتر khubtar better |
Therefore, it is incorrect to say that خوب has the irregular comparative form بهتر.
Place of Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives come after the noun they modify and are related to it with the genitive marker -e. To resolve vowel hiatus, the genitive marker transforms to -ye after nouns that end in a vowel.
| اتاق ارزانتر otâgh-e arzântar cheaper room |
| خانه‌ی بزرگتر khâne-ye bozorgtar bigger house |
| راه‌های ساده‌تر râhhâ-ye sâdetar easier ways |
Comparaing A with B
To compare “A” with “B”, the following structure is used:
| A | Comparative | از (“az”, from) | B |
Examples:
| دشمن دانا بهتر از دوست نادان است Doshman-e dânâ behtar az dust-e nâdân ast A wise foe is better than a foolish friend |
| برادرم بزرگتر از من است Barâdar-am bozorgtar az man ast My brother is older than me |
Persian has free word order. The comparison can be alternatively expressed using the following structure:
| A | از | B | Comparative |
Examples:
| دشمن دانا از دوست نادان بهتر است Doshman-e dânâ az dust-e nâdân behtar ast (literally: A wise foe from a foolish friend better is) |
| برادرم از من بزرگتر است Barâdar-am az man bozorgtar ast My brother is older than me |
| از تو قویتر است Az to ghavitar ast He is stronger than you |