Comparisons in Dutch: groter dan, even groot als, de grootste — A2 Dutch Grammar Course, Lesson 2 | My Dutch Journal

Comparisons in Dutch: groter dan, even groot als, de grootste | A2 Dutch, Lesson 2

July 4, 2026

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Welcome to lesson two of the A2 Dutch Grammar Course. In this lesson you are going to learn how to make comparisons in Dutch. Comparisons are part of everyday conversation — you use them when you say that one thing is bigger, faster, or better than another, or when you want to say something is the biggest, fastest, or best of all. In Dutch, comparisons are expressed through three degrees. The first is the stellende trap — the basic, uncompared form, like groot, big. The second is the vergrotende trap — the comparative, like groter, bigger. And the third is the overtreffende trap — the superlative, like het grootst, the biggest. In this lesson you will learn how to form all three degrees, how to use them in sentences, and how to handle the small group of irregular forms that every Dutch learner needs to know by heart.

De drie trappen van vergelijking

Let's look at the three degrees side by side. The stellende trap is simply the basic adjective — klein, small. The vergrotende trap is formed by adding -er to the adjective — kleiner, smaller. The overtreffende trap is formed by placing het before the adjective and adding -st at the end — het kleinst, the smallest. Now look at groot — big, groter — bigger, and het grootst — the biggest. Notice that groot has only one t in groter. That is because the vowel stays long when the syllable opens up: gro-ter. And snel becomes sneller with a double l, because the vowel needs to stay short. These are the standard Dutch spelling rules that you already know from adjective forms — they apply here in exactly the same way.

De vergrotende trap: hoe maak je hem?

Let's focus on how the comparative is formed. For most adjectives, you simply add -er. Oud becomes ouder. Goedkoop becomes goedkoper. Kort becomes korter. When the adjective has a short vowel followed by a single consonant, that consonant doubles before -er — dik becomes dikker, dun becomes dunner. This is the same rule you know from adjective inflection. Now, there is one important special case. If an adjective already ends in -r, Dutch usually adds -der instead of just -er. This prevents two -r sounds from following each other. So lekker becomes lekkerder, not lekkerer. Duur becomes duurder. Ver becomes verder. You will also sometimes see f changing to v — lief becomes liever — just as with adjective spelling.

Vergelijken met dan en even...als

When you use the comparative to say that A is more than B, you connect the two with the word dan — than. De trein is sneller dan de bus — the train is faster than the bus. Rotterdam is groter dan Den Haag — Rotterdam is bigger than The Hague. The structure is straightforward: subject, verb, comparative form, then dan, then the second element you are comparing with. Now, when two things are equal — when there is no difference — you use even before the positive form and als after it. Mijn broer is even oud als ik — my brother is as old as I am. Dit shirt is even duur als dat shirt — this shirt is as expensive as that one. So remember: dan for a difference, even...als for equality.

De overtreffende trap: het + -st

For the superlative, the rule is simple: place het in front of the adjective and add -st at the end. Lang — langer — het langst. Klein — kleiner — het kleinst. Groot — groter — het grootst. Notice that the vowel spelling remains the same as in the comparative. Groot stays with one t: het grootst, not het groost. Donker adds just -st: het donkerst. Moeilijk adds -st to become het moeilijkst — a bit of a mouthful, but correct. This form of the superlative — with het at the front — is used after the verb zijn and other linking verbs. For example: In december zijn de nachten het langst — in December the nights are the longest. Van alle seizoenen vind ik de zomer het mooist — of all seasons I find the summer the most beautiful.

Superlatieven voor een zelfstandig naamwoord

So far you have seen the superlative used after the verb zijn — het kleinst, het mooist. But superlatives can also come directly before a noun, just like regular adjectives. When they do, they always add an -e at the end — regardless of whether the noun is a de-word or a het-word. So het kleinst becomes de kleinste baby or het kleinste kind. Het mooist becomes het mooiste museum. Het duurste restaurant — the most expensive restaurant. Haar liefste jurk — her most beloved dress. The rule is consistent and easy to remember: superlatives before a noun always get an -e ending. Compare: De baby is het kleinst — after zijn, no extra -e. De kleinste baby — before the noun, the -e is added.

Onregelmatige vergelijkingen — leer ze uit je hoofd

There is a small group of very common adjectives and adverbs that form their comparative and superlative completely irregularly. You need to learn these by heart — they are used constantly. Goed — beter — het best. Good, better, best. Graag — liever — het liefst. Gladly, preferably, most of all. This is the form you use when saying what you like to do. Ik eet graag pizza, maar ik eet liever pasta — I like eating pizza, but I prefer pasta. And het liefst tells you what you like most. Veel — meer — het meest. Much or many, more, the most. Weinig — minder — het minst. Little or few, less or fewer, the least. Before a noun: het beste plan, het meeste geld, het minste lawaai. With graag, use liever and het liefst together with verbs: Ik drink liever thee — I prefer tea.

Wat heb je geleerd?

Let's review what you have learned. First: the comparative is formed by adding -er to the adjective. For short-vowel words, double the final consonant. For words ending in -r, add -der. Second: in sentences, use dan when there is a difference — groter dan — and even...als when two things are equal. Third: the superlative is het plus the adjective plus -st. When the superlative comes before a noun, always add -e — de grootste, het kleinste. Fourth: there are four important irregular forms. Goed becomes beter and het best. Graag becomes liever and het liefst. Veel becomes meer and het meest. Weinig becomes minder and het minst. These four are some of the most frequently used words in Dutch, so practise them until they feel natural.

Practice What You Learned

Reading about grammar is step one — using it is what makes it stick. In My Dutch Journal Academy you can watch the full video of this lesson, do interactive exercises that check your answers instantly, and practise all the vocabulary from the A2 course.