Cheaper, dearer, better: comparison without a helper word
English compares two ways: cheap → cheaper, and expensive → more expensive. Serbian almost always uses only the first — the adjective grows a suffix, and no helper word goes in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji, hladan → hladniji. For example: “Ово је скупље него на пијаци” — 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: cheap → cheaper, and expensive → more expensive. Serbian almost always uses only the first — the adjective grows a suffix, and no helper word goes in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji, hladan → hladniji.
There are three suffixes, and you pick between them by ear: the long -iji for most words, the short -ji where it melts into the last consonant (skup → skuplji, težak → teži), and the rare -ši (lep → lepši). No table to memorize: in real speech you will use a dozen forms, and nearly all of them come from this unit.
Five words misbehave — the same five you need daily: dobar → bolji (better), loš → gori (worse), velik → veći (bigger), mali → manji (smaller), mnogo → više (more), malo → manje (less).
"Than" after a comparison is nego or od: skuplje nego na pijaci, veći od mog. And at the market it all collapses into one phrase worth learning whole: 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
- Ово је скупље него на пијациOvo je skuplje nego na pijaciThis is more expensive than at the market
- Имате ли већу кесу?Imate li veću kesu?Do you have a bigger bag?
- Данас је хладније него јучеDanas je hladnije nego jučeToday it is colder than yesterday
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: cheap → cheaper, and expensive → more expensive. Serbian almost always uses only the first — the adjective grows a suffix, and no helper word goes in front: jeftin → jeftiniji, skup → skuplji, hladan → hladniji.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Ово је скупље него на пијаци” (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.