Comparisons

Vocabulary

In this lesson you will learn these new adjectives:

Short is translated as either:

• нисък, the opposite of tall: a short person, a low-rise building...
• къс, the opposite of long: short hair, short time, short distance...

(for abstract things, like a short time, a short life, you can also use кратък)

Comparative

The comparative is formed by adding the particle по- in front of the adjective, with a dash in between.

"Тази ябълка е по-малка" - This apple is smaller
"Това е по-добро" - This (one) is better

To compare to something else, use the preposition от:

"Къщата ти е по-голяма от моята" - Your house is bigger than mine

In Bulgarian, there is no natural way to translate something like "less expensive". You would use "cheaper" (по-евтино). "По-малко" can be used to mean "less" so in theory, you could say:

Тази кола е по-малко скъпа от тази - This car is less expensive than this one

It is grammatically correct, but does not sound natural. Instead you could use either one of these:

"Тази кола е по-евтина от тази" - This car is cheaper than this one
"Тази кола не е толкова скъпа, колкото тази" - This car is not as expensive as this one
"Тази кола струва по-малко от тази" - This car costs less than this one

Толкова can be translated as "this/that/so/as (much/many)"

"Този кон е толкова бърз!" - This horse is so fast!
"Тя не е толкова висока" - She's not that tall
"Той пие толкова много бира" - He drinks so much beer

Колкото can be translated as "as much/many as":

"Ям, колкото искам" - I eat as much as I want
"Ям, колкото ябълки искам" - I eat as many apples as I want

"Толкова" and "колкото" do not vary according to gender or plural.

Superlative

The superlative is formed by adding the particle най- in front of the adjective, also with a dash.

"Това куче е най-доброто" - This dog is the best
"Имаш най-голямата къща" - You have the biggest house

More demonstrative pronouns

In this lesson, we will also use some new demonstrative pronouns. You already know това, този, тази and тези which mean "this" and "these". Here are the words for "that" and "those":

"Онзи колан" - That belt (masculine)
"Онази рокля" - That dress (feminine)
"Онова яке" - That jacket (neuter)
"Онези обувки" - Those shoes (plural)

Examples:

"Това куче е по-голямо от онова" - This dog is bigger than that one
"Тази риза е твърде голяма, онази е твърде малка" - This shirt is too big, that one is too small