The most: afdal and the article
You have already built the comparative: "akbar" — bigger, "arkhas" — cheaper. The superlative is not built by a separate word "most". It is the same shape with another job: al-akbar — the biggest, al-arkhas — the cheapest. For example: “هذا أفضل مطعم في المدينة” — This is the best restaurant in the city. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
You have already built the comparative: "akbar" — bigger, "arkhas" — cheaper. The superlative is not built by a separate word "most". It is the same shape with another job: al-akbar — the biggest, al-arkhas — the cheapest.
What tells them apart is the surroundings. With min — a comparison: "akbar min al-bayt" — bigger than the house. With fii — a superiority on a territory: "afdal matʿam fii al-madiina" — the best restaurant in the city. The word itself does not change — the preposition does.
With the article the shape glues to the noun and becomes a name: al-akhii al-akbar — the older brother, "as-suuq al-arkhas" — the cheapest market. The adjective stands after the word, and the article repeats on both.
The irregular shapes are few but frequent: "jayyid" → afdal — better, "kathiir" → akthar — more, "hasan" → ahsan — more beautiful. Learn them whole, like the English "better" and "worse".
Table
| plain | comparative | superlative |
|---|---|---|
| كبير — kabiir | أكبر — akbar | الأكبر — al-akbar |
| صغير — saghiir | أصغر — asghar | الأصغر — al-asghar |
| جيد — jayyid | أفضل — afdal | الأفضل — al-afdal |
| رخيص — rakhiis | أرخص — arkhas | الأرخص — al-arkhas |
| جميل — jamiil | أجمل — ajmal | الأجمل — al-ajmal |
| بعيد — baʿiid | أبعد — abʿad | الأبعد — al-abʿad |
By example
- هذا أفضل مطعم في المدينةхаза афдаль матʿам фи аль-мадинаThis is the best restaurant in the city
- أخي الأكبر يعمل في المصرفахи аль-акбар йаʿмаль фи аль-масрифMy older brother works at the bank
- السوق الأرخص في المدينة قديمас-суук аль-архас фи аль-мадина кадиимThe cheapest market in the city is old
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The superlative in Arabic?
What tells them apart is the surroundings. With min — a comparison: "akbar min al-bayt" — bigger than the house. With fii — a superiority on a territory: "afdal matʿam fii al-madiina" — the best restaurant in the city. The word itself does not change — the preposition does.
Comparative vs superlative in Arabic?
What tells them apart is the surroundings. With min — a comparison: "akbar min al-bayt" — bigger than the house. With fii — a superiority on a territory: "afdal matʿam fii al-madiina" — the best restaurant in the city. The word itself does not change — the preposition does.
How to say the best in the city in Arabic?
What tells them apart is the surroundings. With min — a comparison: "akbar min al-bayt" — bigger than the house. With fii — a superiority on a territory: "afdal matʿam fii al-madiina" — the best restaurant in the city. The word itself does not change — the preposition does.
How to say older brother in Arabic?
With the article the shape glues to the noun and becomes a name: al-akhii al-akbar — the older brother, "as-suuq al-arkhas" — the cheapest market. The adjective stands after the word, and the article repeats on both.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“هذا أفضل مطعم في المدينة” (хаза афдаль матʿам фи аль-мадина) — This is the best restaurant in the city. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.