How to Make Comparisons in Spanish: Más, Menos, Mejor & Peor!

To compare in Spanish, use más… que (more than) and menos… que (less than): mi casa es más grande que la tuya. For equality, use tan… como: es tan alto como yo. Four forms are irregular: mejor (better), peor (worse), mayor (older) and menor (younger). Never say más mejor.

Let’s dive into the fun world of comparing things in Spanish!

Frequently Asked Questions

Basic Comparisons in Spanish: Más & Menos

When we compare two things in Spanish, we often use más… que (more… than) or menos… que (less… than). These phrases are followed by an adjective to describe the quality being compared.

Structure:

• Más + adjective + que = More ___ than
• Menos + adjective + que = Less ___ than

Examples:

• Mi casa es más grande que la tuya.
  (My house is bigger than yours.)
• Este libro es menos interesante que aquel.
  (This book is less interesting than that one.)
• Tu jefe es más estricto que el mío.
  (Your boss is stricter than mine.)
• Esta película es menos divertida que la anterior.
  (This movie is less fun than the last one.)

Common Mistake: Don’t Forget “Que!”

Many learners make the mistake of saying things like:

❌ Mi coche es más rápido.
✅ Mi coche es más rápido que el tuyo.

You always need que (than) to complete the comparison!

Pronunciation Tip:

• In “más,” the accent on the a makes the word stress clear: [mahs].
• Don’t blend “que” into the previous word. Keep it crisp: [keh].

Challenge: Say this in Spanish

“My dog is bigger than my cat.”
Try it yourself, then check below:

Mi perro es más grande que mi gato.

Irregular Comparisons: Mejor, Peor, Mayor, Menor

Just like in English, some comparisons in Spanish don’t follow the “more/less” rule. These are irregular comparatives. Luckily, there are only a few—and they’re very common.

Better / Worse

• Mejor que = Better than
• Peor que = Worse than

Examples:

• Este café es mejor que el otro.
  (This coffee is better than the other one.)
• La película fue peor que el libro.
  (The movie was worse than the book.)

Older / Younger

• Mayor que = Older than
• Menor que = Younger than

Examples:

• Mi hermano es mayor que yo.
  (My brother is older than me.)
• Tu sobrina es menor que mi hija.
  (Your niece is younger than my daughter.)

Cultural Insight: “Más mayor”?

In Spain, you might hear:

Es más mayor que yo.

Technically, “mayor” already means “older,” so saying “más mayor” is redundant. Still, native speakers use it for emphasis—just like English speakers sometimes say “more better” (oops!).

Challenge: Translate this

“This hotel is better than the other one.”
Your turn!

Este hotel es mejor que el otro.

Comparisons in Context: Real-Life Examples

Travel

• La playa de Tulum es más bonita que la de Cancún.
  (Tulum’s beach is prettier than Cancun’s.)
• Este hotel es peor que el que reservamos en Madrid.
  (This hotel is worse than the one we booked in Madrid.)

Work

• Este proyecto es menos complicado que el anterior.
  (This project is less complicated than the last one.)
• Mi nueva jefa es mejor que la anterior.
  (My new boss is better than the previous one.)

Daily Life

• Hoy hace más calor que ayer.
  (It’s hotter today than yesterday.)
• Mis zapatos son más cómodos que los tuyos.
  (My shoes are more comfortable than yours.)

Relationships

• Mi novio es menor que yo.
  (My boyfriend is younger than me.)
• Este regalo es más especial que el anterior.
  (This gift is more special than the last one.)

Grammar Focus: When to Use Adjectives, Adverbs & Nouns

Comparing Adjectives:

• Mi casa es más grande que la tuya.

Comparing Adverbs:

• Ella corre más rápido que yo.
  (She runs faster than I do.)

Comparing Nouns:

• Use “más/menos + noun + que”

Tengo más libros que tú.
(I have more books than you.) Hay menos estudiantes que antes.
(There are fewer students than before.)

Comparison Conjugation Charts

While making comparisons usually involves adjectives, you might use verbs like ser, estar, or tener in different tenses. Here’s a quick reference:

SER (to be) – Present

Subject	Verb
Yo	soy
Tú	eres
Él/Ella	es
Nosotros	somos
Ustedes	son

SER – Preterite

| Yo | fui | | Tú | fuiste | | Él/Ella | fue | | Nosotros| fuimos | | Ustedes | fueron |

TENER – Present

| Yo | tengo | | Tú | tienes | | Él/Ella | tiene | | Nosotros| tenemos | | Ustedes | tienen |

Use these when saying things like:

• Fue mejor que ayer. (It was better than yesterday.)
• Tengo más amigos que antes. (I have more friends than before.)

Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Forgetting “que”: Always use it after “más,” “menos,” “mejor,” etc.
• Mixing up “mejor” and “más bueno”: Never say más bueno—use mejor.
• Using “mayor” for size: “Mayor” means older, not bigger. Use más grande for size.
• Literal translations: Don’t say “more better” or “less worse”—Spanish doesn’t work that way either.

Practice Exercises

Fill in the Blank:

1. Este restaurante es ______ que aquel. (better)
2. Mis hijos son ______ que los tuyos. (younger)
3. Esta calle es ______ tranquila ______ la otra. (less, than)

Translation Practice:

1. This book is more interesting than the other one.
2. My phone is worse than yours.
3. The coffee today is better than yesterday.

Sentence Creation:

• Write 3 comparison sentences about your city, your job, or your hobbies.

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to make comparisons in Spanish using más, menos, mejor, and peor! You’ve seen how they work in real life, how to avoid common mistakes, and even how to practice on your own.

Like this lesson? Bookmark it and share it with a friend! Want more? Subscribe to our free newsletter to receive more free mini-courses and downloadable resources, and don´t miss the previous blog about: Master Spanish Pronouns! Direct vs. Indirect Object Pronouns.

Video transcript

Hola amigos, Hannah from Speak Better Spanish here. Today, we're going to be talking about making comparisons in Spanish. So, if you want to talk about something being bigger, smaller, better, or worse in Spanish, we're going to use comparisons. So, let's start with some basic comparisons. If we want to say something is more than something else, we're going to use the formula más plus an adjective plus "que". Mi casa es más grande que la tuya. My house is bigger than más grande que la tuya, your house.

If we want to say less than, we're going to say menos plus adjective plus "que". Este libro es menos interesante que aquel. This book is less interesting than that one. Common mistake. Don't forget to include "que" in comparisons. So, the sentence, "Mi coche es más rápido" is technically missing the second part of the sentence. So, it would be most correct to say, "Mi coche es más rápido que el tuyo". My car is faster than yours. Challenge. Say in Spanish, "My dog is bigger than my cat". You can put it in the comments section below.

Now, irregular comparisons. "Better than" is "mejor que". Example. Este café es mejor que el otro. This coffee is better than the other one. Worse than is "peor que". Example. La película fue peor que el libro. The movie was worse than the book. Older than or younger than. Older than is "mayor que". Younger than is "menor que". Example. Mi hermano es mayor que yo. My brother is older than me. Cultural insight. In Spain, people sometimes say "más mayor" for emphasis, even though it's grammatically redundant.

Now, as a challenge, I want you to translate, "This hotel is better than the other one". You can drop it in the comments section below and I'll give you feedback. So now, you have an overview on how to make comparisons in Spanish like a pro. If you want a more in-depth explanation, you can go into the blog post in the description below. And like and subscribe for more brief Spanish lessons on your most common questions. See you in the next one.

Practice comparisons in a real conversation

Más que, menos que, mejor que: the structures are simple, but using them smoothly takes practice. Book a free Spanish Roadmap Session and we’ll work them into a conversation about your own life, which is where they finally stick. Or see conversational Spanish coaching.