The word “superlative” is often used as an adjective to describe incredibly brilliant things: a superlative student who excels in history, or a superlative performance on Broadway.
In both English and Spanish grammar, a superlative is an adjective or adverb that amplifies the highest or lowest degree of comparison. Ultimately, they help us express our thoughts with more precision. For example, to accurately describe the beauty of Playa del Carmen in Mexico, most would be tempted to call it not just “beautiful” but the “most beautiful” beach in Mexico.
Learning Spanish superlatives allows you to place emphasis on the things you love most—or the things you love least. In this post, we’ll dive into a wide range of superlatives that can be used to add flair to your sentences. Plus, we’ll also cover comparative adjectives, which are handy in describing certain elements as they relate to each other.
If you’re curious about how to say “the best dog,” “the worst friend,” or “the most beautiful beach” in Spanish, read on!
>> Need a primer before jumping in? Get started with basic Spanish words and phrases.
Are superlatives and comparative adjectives the same?
To understand superlatives, it’s helpful to also learn the function of comparative adjectives. They are similar in that they both rely on comparison, which applies to both English and Spanish grammar. Comparative adjectives in Spanish compare two things, while superlatives compare three or more nouns.
Comparative adjectives in Spanish
Here are two examples of comparative adjectives in Spanish:
La playa es más bonita que el bosque. = The beach is prettier than the forest.
La playa es menos bonita que la montaña. = The beach is less pretty than the mountain.
In these examples, we’re comparing two things. In the first, the phrase más bonita que compares la playa (the beach) and el bosque (the forest). In the second, menos bonita que compares la playa (the beach) and la montaña (the mountain).
Superlatives in Spanish
On the other hand, Spanish superlatives are all about extremes—you’re singling out something as being “the most” or “the least” in some way.
We can use a superlative to describe one thing in general or within a group. For example:
Esta playa es la más bella en el páis entero. = This beach is the most beautiful in the whole country.
Es la playa más corta. = It is the shortest beach.
In both examples, the beach is extreme in some way. The first sentence describes this beach as the most beautiful among a group (all the beaches in the country). In the second example, it’s described as the shortest. Notice that when using superlatives, the points of comparison can be implied, since the length of this beach doesn’t fall into any particular group. We’ll flesh this point out in the next section.
Superlatives and comparatives in Spanish both help us rank things according to their characteristics, but it’s important to remember how their functions differ!
>>Need a review? Brush up on 100+ common Spanish adjectives.
What is the difference between a relative and absolute superlative?
A relative superlative makes a judgment about a noun being the most or least compared to others in the same category or group. For example:
Mi tía es la persona más alta de mi familia. = My aunt is the tallest person in my family.
Lima es la ciudad más interesante de Perú. = Lima is the most interesting city in Peru.
On the other hand, an absolute superlative shows that a noun is the most or the least without making a direct comparison to anything else. You might recognize it once you see some examples. It’s the adjective formed by adding a suffix such as –ísimo or -ísima.
lindo → lindísimo
El caballo es lindísimo.
pretty → extremely pretty
The horse is extremely pretty.
corto → cortísimo
La película es cortísima.
short → extremely short
The film is extremely short.
Let’s look at two more examples to bring it all together.
To compare Carlos to everyone else in the class, we use a relative superlative:
Carlos es el estudiante más inteligente de la clase. = Carlos is the most intelligent student in the class.
Now, let’s say that Carlos is not only smart compared to other students, but extremely smart. Brilliant, even. We’d use an absolute superlative like:
Carlos es inteligentísimo. = Carlos is extremely intelligent.
In this case, we’re not comparing Carlos to anyone else. We’re giving a standalone judgment that he’s brilliant.
To summarize: You’ll use a relative superlative to describe one noun as “the most” or “the least” compared to others in a group. You’ll use an absolute superlative to describe one noun as “the most” or “the least” without making a direct comparison to anything else.
How do you form Spanish superlatives?
Spanish superlatives follow a simple pattern that’s easy to commit to memory. Most learners are relieved to hear that there aren’t many irregular forms to remember!
Regular Spanish superlative adjectives
Follow these simple rules to form Spanish superlatives. In all cases, remember that the article and the adjective in the superlative phrase must agree with the gender and number (singular or plural) of the noun you’re describing.
To describe something as being “the most” compared to others, use article + más + adjective + de. For example:
- Su escuela es la más nueva del pueblo. = Their school is the newest in the town.
- Los maestros son los más talentosos de todos. = The teachers are the most talented of all.
To describe something as being “the least” compared to others, use article + menos + adjective + de. For example:
- Los niños pequeños son los menos independientes de la escuela. = The little children are the least independent in the school.
- Son los menos competitivos de todos, también. = They’re the least competitive of all, too.
You can drop the de if you’re speaking generally and not making a direct comparison within a group. For example:
- Los estudiantes son los más artísticos. = The students are the most artistic.
- Las salas son las más amplias. = The rooms are the most spacious.
- También son las menos oscuras por las ventanas grandes. = They’re also the least dark because of the big windows.
To form an absolute superlative that doesn’t need a point of comparison, check out the rules below.
If the adjective or adverb ends with a vowel, drop the vowel and add -ísimo:
- bello → bell
o→ bell- + ísimo → bellísimo - delgado → delgad
o→ delgad- + ísimo → delgadísimo - grande → grand
e→ grand- + ísimo → grandísimo - inteligente → inteligent
e→ inteligent- + ísimo → inteligentísimo
If the adjective or adverb ends with a consonant, just add -ísimo:
- popular → popular + ísimo → popularísimo
- superficial → superficial + ísimo → superficialísimo
Irregular Spanish superlative adjectives
There are a few irregular Spanish superlatives that you’ll need to learn. While irregular superlatives aren’t plentiful in Spanish, you will use several of them—like bueno and malo— frequently in conversation.
- bueno → mejor good → best
- malo → peor bad → worst
- viejo → mayor old → oldest (when referring to people)
- joven → menor young → youngest (when referring to people)
- grande → mayor big → biggest
- pequeño → menor small → smallest
| Spanish | English |
| el mejor, la mejor, los mejores, las mejores | the best |
| el peor, la peor, los peores, las mejores | the worst |
| el mayor, la mayor, los mayores, las mayores | the oldest (referring to people) or the biggest |
| el menor, la menor, los menores, las menores | the youngest (referring to people) or the smallest |
You’ll notice that some absolute superlatives undergo spelling changes to maintain the pronunciations of the root words they’re based on.
- poco → po
co→ poqu- + ísimo → poquísimo - fresco → fres
co→ fresqu- + ísimo → fresquísimo - cerca → cer
ca→ cerqu- + ísima → cerquísima
In the examples above, the pronunciation of the c would be soft, like an s sound, if we just dropped the last vowel and added -ísimo. The c changes to qu to maintain the hard k sound of the original word.
Below are some other examples of irregular absolute Spanish superlative adjectives.
- joven → jovencísimo young → extremely young
- antiguo → antiquísimo antique → ancient
- nuevo → novísimo new → extremely new
- fuerte → fortísimo strong → extremely strong
Easy enough, right? You’ll be able to beef up your descriptions in no time.
Do Spanish superlative adjectives have to agree with the nouns they describe?
Yes! Every Spanish adjective, including a superlative adjective, has to agree in gender and number with the noun it’s describing.
For example, consider las actrices (the actresses). It’s a feminine and plural noun. So the superlative adjective that describes las actrices will be feminine and plural, too.
Estas actrices chilenas son talentosísimas. = These Chilean actresses are extremely talented.
In the example below, los actores (the actors) is masculine and plural, so the superlative adjective phrase los más jovenes (the youngest) is masculine and plural, too.
Los actores peruanos son los más jóvenes del festival. = The Peruvian actors are the youngest in the festival.
Master Spanish superlatives and beyond
Spanish superlatives are a vital part of Spanish grammar rules, and they add an element of sophistication to your language skills. With Spanish superlatives, you can elevate your conversations and effectively describe “the most” and “the least” in a group or in general.
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Written by Laura Skidmore
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