In Brazilian Portuguese, you can use comparatives to compare two elements of a sentence, expressing that they have the same amount of a quality, or that one has more or less of a quality. For example:
Hoje o tempo está melhor que ontem.
The weather today is better than yesterday.
In this post, we’ll cover the two main types of comparatives in Brazilian Portuguese: comparatives of inequality (e.g. “more / less X”) and comparatives of equality (e.g. “as X as…”). We’ll go over how to use each type in sentences, and we’ll discuss some irregularNo definition set for irregularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. comparative words.
The good news is that you can use the same structures to make comparative adjectives, comparative adverbs, and even to compare two nouns! Curious to know more? Keep reading!
In Brazilian Portuguese, we most often make comparisons using “more” or “less” by using the expressions mais…(do) que(more…than) and menos…(do) que(less…than).
Hoje está mais quente do que ontem.
Today is warmer than yesterday.
O inverno do Brasil é menos frio do que o inverno da Inglaterra.
The winter in Brazil is less cold than the winter in England.
We call expressions that use these phrases comparatives of inequality because they mark two elements of a sentence as “unequal.”
You can use the same structure to compare qualities, quantities, frequencies, intensities, and more. It just depends on what word you put between mais/menos and (do) que.
adjectiveNo definition set for adjectiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. / adverbNo definition set for adverbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. / nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
mais alta (do) que...
taller than…
menos irmãos (do) que...
fewer siblings than…
menos atrasado (do) que...
less late than…
A few notes about the structure above:
The use of the word do is optional in both writing and speaking. There is no real difference in meaning or formality, it’s just a matter of preference.
If you are comparing the frequency or intensity of two actions, you don’t always need to include any word between mais/menos and (do) que:
Você limpa mais (do) que eu.
You clean more than me.
Rafa come menos (do) que seu pai.
Rafa eats less than his father.
When the element that follows the comparative begins with a number, we must replace (do) que with de(of, from). As below:
Essa casa tem mais de 70 anos.
This house is more than 70 years old.
Eles moram aqui há menos de um ano.
They have lived here for less than one year.
Read our post about Brazilian Portuguese numbers to learn more about this topic!
Now let’s talk about how to use comparatives in sentences!
Here is the most basic way to use comparatives of inequality in a sentence:
element 1
verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
comparative
element 2
Ana é mais alta (do) que Sabrina.
Ana is taller than Sabrina.
Eu tenho menos irmãos (do) que você.
I have fewer siblings than you.
A sala está mais organizada (do) que o quarto.
The room is more organized than the bedroom.
Ele chegou menos atrasado (do) que você.
He arrived less late than me.
How do you use definite articles in comparative sentences? Usually, if you use an article in the first element, you'll also use it before the second element:
Ana é mais alta do que Sabrina.
OR
A Ana é mais alta do que a Sabrina.
If you use a possessive pronoun, such as meu, sua, dele…(mine, yours, his…), to describe the second element, you must add the definite article before it.
Minha casa é mais velha do que a sua.
My house is older than yours.
You can leave out the second element, with enough context:
Sabrina tem 1,70 m e Ana tem 1,73 m. Ana é mais alta.
Sabrina is 1.70 m and Ana is 1.73 m. Ana is taller.
In the examples above, the second element was a noun, but, in less basic comparisons, the second element may also be a clause or a verb. For example:
A viagem foi mais curta (do) que (eu) pensei.
The trip was shorter than I thought.
Ele fala mais (do) que escuta.
He talks more than he listens.
Usually, you can omit the subject pronoun in the clause after the comparative:
A viagem foi mais curta do que (eu) pensei.
The trip was shorter than I thought.
However, when the pronoun represented in the clause is a different person than the one represented in element 1, the subject pronoun will be required:
O bebê comeu menos do que eu esperava.
The baby ate less than I expected.
In Brazilian Portuguese, the words grande(big), pequeno(small), bom/bem(good), and mau/mal/ruim(bad) have irregular comparative forms. This means that they do not use the basic mais/menos(more/less) + adjective/adverb structure, but instead have a comparative form that must be memorized. Let’s take a look:
Adjective / adverb | Comparative form | |
|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |
grande big | maior bigger | maiores bigger |
pequeno small | menor smaller | menores smaller |
bom / bem good | melhor better | melhores better |
mau / mal / ruim bad | pior worse | piores worse |
Notice that each of the irregular comparatives has a singularNo definition set for singularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and a pluralNo definition set for pluralLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form, which must match the numberNo definition set for numberLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the noun being described.
These comparatives are still used before (do) que. Let’s see a few examples in a sentence!
element 1
verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
irregular comparative
element 2
O meu cachorro é maior (do) que o seu.
My dog is bigger than yours.
Gatos são menores (do) que leões.
Cats are smaller than lions.
O meu irmão cozinha melhor (do) que eu.
My brother cooks better than me.
Hoje o tempo está pior (do) que ontem.
The weather today is worse than yesterday.
When we compare two elements using the verb ter(to have), the comparative structure is slightly different, as we must add a noun after ter. For example:
Eles têm um cachorro maior do que o meu.
They have a bigger dog than mine.
Você tem uma bolsa menor do que a dela.
You have a smaller bag than hers.
As we saw for the regular comparatives above, these irregular comparatives can also be used with a second element that is a clause.
O quarto é menor (do) que (eu) imaginei.
The bedroom is smaller than I imagined.
O bebê comeu menos (do) que eu esperava.
The baby ate less than I expected.
Just like how, in English, you almost always use “better” instead of “more good,” In Brazilian Portuguese, you will almost always use the irregular comparative forms of the words above. The forms with mais / menos are generally considered wrong.
There is only one context in which you can use the “regular” form, with mais / menos when you compare two qualities instead of two elements.
This exception applies to all the “regular” forms of the irregular comparatives: mais mau(more bad), mais grande(more big), and mais pequeno(more small).
For example:
Bruno é mais bom do que esforçado.
Bruno is more kind than hardworking.
O cachorro é mais pequeno do que bravo.
The dog is more small than angry.
Now that you understand how to form comparisons with “more” and “less” in Brazilian Portuguese, let’s move on to forming comparisons of equality (as…as comparisons).
To form comparisons of equality in Brazilian Portuguese, you can use the expressions tão…quanto/como(as…as…), for adjectives and adverbs, or tanto…quanto/como(as much…as…), with verbs and nouns.
Comparatives of equality use the same general sentence structures that we saw for comparatives of inequality above:
element 1
verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
comparative of equality
element 2 / clause
Ele é tão alto quanto o pai.
He is as tall as his father.
Eles dormem tanto quanto eu.
They sleep as much as I do.
What makes these tricky is choosing between the two expressions: tão…quanto/como and tanto…quanto/como. Let’s look at when to use each one!
Tão…quanto/como(as…as…) is used to compare the qualities of two elements when you are using an adjective or an adverb. Use the structure below:
adjective / adverb
Ele é tão alto quanto o pai.
He is as tall as his father.
O campo não é tão estressante como a cidade.
The countryside is not as stressful as the city.
Ela anda tão alto depressa a sua amiga.
She walks as fast as her friend.
O restaurante não é tão bom como costumava ser.
The restaurant is not as good as it used to be.
Though the adjective will agree with the noun it describes, tão … quanto/como is invariable, meaning that its form never changes.
Ele é tão alto quanto o pai.
He is as tall as his father.
Elas são tão altas quanto a mãe.
They are as tall as their mother.
Tanto…quanto/como(as much/many…as…) is used to compare elements in terms of quantity, intensity, or frequency. There are two main ways to use this expression:
When comparing the intensity or frequency of two actions, use tanto…quanto/como as one unit:
Julia viaja tanto como Carla.
Julia travels as much as Carla.
Eles dormem tanto quanto eu.
They sleep as much as I do.
In this use, tanto quanto is invariable (does not change forms).
When comparing the quantity of two nouns, use the structure below:
noun
Eu bebo tanto café quanto meu irmão.
I drink as much coffee as my brother.
Esta rua tem tantas lojas como a outra.
This street has as many stores as the other.
Notice that in this use, tanto changes forms to agree with the noun that follows it: tanto café vs. tantas lojas.
If you want to know more about noun gender in Brazilian Portuguese, check out our post about this subject!
In the expressions tão/tanto…quanto/como, the words quanto and como are both correct and commonly used to make comparisons.
✅ Ele é tão alto quanto o pai.
✅ Ele é tão alto como o pai.
He is as tall as his father.
✅ Ela cozinha tanto quanto você.
✅ Ela cozinha tanto como você.
She cooks as much as you do.
In this post, we reviewed how to use comparisons or inequality and of equality in Brazilian Portuguese.
We saw that there are two types of comparatives of inequality:
Regular comparatives use the structure mais/menos… (do) que most of the time.
Irregular comparatives exist in Brazilian Portuguese just as they do in English, but there are only four: maior, menor(bigger, smaller) and melhor, pior(better, worse).
When making comparisons of equality:
We use the structure tão… como/quanto with adjectives and adverbs.
We use the structure tanto… como/quanto with verbs or nouns.
Are you ready to put your skills to the test? Check out these activities to practice forming and using comparatives in Brazilian Portuguese?
