Like English, Indonesian also has comparative and superlative adjectives. If it is compared with English, Indonesian comparative and superlative is easier. Thing that makes it easier is that Indonesian does not recognize irregular comparatives and superlatives.
Indonesian Comparative Adjectives
Many English grammar books explain that comparative forms are classified by word syllables. If it is one syllable, we can simply add '-er' at the end of the adjective. If it ends with consonant and single vowel with consonant spelling, the final consonant should be doubled.
To form comparatives, simply add lebih before the adjective. No matter if the adjective is one, two, or three syllables, the rule is fixed.
| ENGLISH COMPARATIVES | INDONESIAN COMPARATIVES |
|---|---|
| He is taller than me | Dia lebih tinggi dari(pada) saya |
| My house is bigger than this | Rumahku lebih besar dari(pada) rumah ini |
If the adjective is two syllables, either er or more is acceptable. For adjective ending in y, the y should be replaced by i.
| ENGLISH COMPARATIVES | INDONESIAN COMPARATIVES |
|---|---|
| simpler | lebih sederhana |
| more tangled | lebih kusut |
If the adjective consists of three syllables, the adjective should be preceded by more.
| ENGLISH COMPARATIVES | INDONESIAN COMPARATIVES |
|---|---|
| more beautiful | lebih cantik/indah |
| more expensive | lebih mahal |
Comparatives in English has irregular form. In bahasa Indonesia, irregular form of comparative is not recognized.
| ENGLISH COMPARATIVES | INDONESIAN COMPARATIVES |
|---|---|
| good - better | baik - lebih baik |
| bad - worse | buruk - lebih buruk |
| little - less | sedikit - lebih sedikit |
Again, in forming comparative adjective in Indonesian, simply precedes the adjective with lebih
Indonesian Superlative Adjectives
In English, the superlative adjectives can be identified by the existence of adjective ending in -est or adjective preceded by most. In bahasa Indonesia, we can simply add paling before the adjective.
| ENGLISH SUPERLATIVES | INDONESIAN SUPERLATIVES [VER. 1] | INDONESIAN SUPERLATIVES [VER. 2] |
|---|---|---|
| the tallest | tertinggi | yang paling tinggi |
| the biggest | terbesar | yang paling besar |
| the most beautiful | tercantik / terindah | yang paling cantik/indah |
| the most expensive | termahal | yang paling mahal |
| the best | (yang) terbaik | yang paling baik |
Let's see how they are used in sentences.
| ENGLISH SUPERLATIVES | INDONESIAN SUPERLATIVES [VER. 1] | INDONESIAN SUPERLATIVES [VER. 2] |
|---|---|---|
| Josh is the tallest students in this school | Josh adalah siswa tertinggi di sekoah ini | Josh adalah siswa yang paling tinggi di sekoah ini |
| This school is the biggest in Makassar city | Sekolah ini yang terbesar di kota Makassar | Sekolah ini yang paling besar di kota Makassar |
| The most beautiful city in Indonesia is Makassar | Kota tercantik / terindah di Indonesia adalah Makassar | Kota yang paling cantik/indah di Indonesia adalah Makassar |
| I own the most expensive smart-phone in the world | Saya memiliki gawai termahal di dunia | Saya memiliki gawai yang paling mahal di dunia |
| Josh is the best student in his school | ^ Josh adalah siswa terbaik di sekolahnya | ^ |
^ Be careful!!! Some Indonesian adjectives could not be literally translated from English because they would result to different meaning. In the last example above, "siswa terbaik" has different contextual meaning with "siswa yang paling baik. Siswa terbaik means the best student in terms of cognitive and affective (academic behavior) while siswa yang paling baik means the most kind student in terms of common behavior and attitude.
