LingoflyCheaper, dearer, better: comparison without a helper word
English compares two ways: cheaper, and more expensive. Serbian almost always grows the ending, with no helper word in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji. For example: “Ово (ovo) је (je) скупље (skuplje) него (nego) на (na) пијаци” (pijaci) — This is more expensive than at the market. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English compares two ways: cheaper, and more expensive. Serbian almost always grows the ending, with no helper word in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji.
There are three endings, and your ear picks between them. Long -iji for most words. Short -ji where it melts into the last consonant: težak → teži. Rare -ši in lep → lepši.
A handful of everyday words go their own way: dobar → bolji, loš → gori, velik → veći, mali → manji.
"Than" is nego or od: skuplje nego na pijaci, veći od mog. At the market it all comes down to one line: može li jeftinije?
Table
| plain | comparative | in English |
|---|---|---|
| jeftin | jeftiniji | cheaper |
| skup | skuplji | more expensive |
| hladan | hladniji | colder |
| težak | teži | heavier |
| dobar | bolji | better |
| loš | gori | worse |
| velik | veći | bigger |
| mali | manji | smaller |
By example
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
Cheaper, dearer, better: how does it work in Serbian?
English compares two ways: cheaper, and more expensive. Serbian almost always grows the ending, with no helper word in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji.
What does it look like in a Serbian example sentence?
“Ово (ovo) је (je) скупље (skuplje) него (nego) на (na) пијаци” (pijaci) (Ovo je skuplje nego na pijaci) — This is more expensive than at the market. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.