Comparing Things in French: Plus, Moins, Aussi, Meilleur and Mieux

How to make comparisons and superlatives in French, with irregular forms like meilleur and mieux, and useful expressions like 'de plus en plus'.

Comparisons are everywhere: bigger, cheaper, better, the best. French makes them with a few simple words, plus two irregular forms worth learning.

Comparing adjectives

The pattern is plus / moins / aussi + adjective + que:

Paris est plus grand que Lyon. — Paris is bigger than Lyon.
Ce livre est moins intéressant que l'autre. — This book is less interesting than the other.
Elle est aussi grande que son frère. — She's as tall as her brother.

Adjectives still agree with the noun they describe: plus grande, moins petits.

Comparing adverbs

The same pattern applies:

Il parle plus vite que moi. — He speaks faster than me.
Elle court moins vite que lui.
Je travaille aussi bien que toi.

Comparing nouns and quantities

Use de after the comparison word:

Il a plus de livres que moi. — He has more books than me.
J'ai moins de temps. — I have less time.
Elle a autant d'amis que lui. — She has as many friends as him.

Autant de replaces aussi with nouns; use autant que with verbs: Il mange autant que moi.

Comparing verbs

Je travaille plus que toi.
Il dort moins que moi.

Irregular forms: bon and bien

Bon (good, adjective) → meilleur (better)

Ce gâteau est meilleur que l'autre. — This cake is better than the other.
C'est la meilleure idée. — It's the best idea.

Bien (well, adverb) → mieux (better)

Elle chante mieux que moi. — She sings better than me.
C'est mieux comme ça. — It's better like that.

Don't say plus bon or plus bien. (Plus mauvais is fine, and pire is also used for "worse".)

Superlatives

le / la / les plus (or moins) + adjective:

C'est le plus grand. — It's the biggest.
C'est la plus belle ville de France.
Ce sont les moins chers.
le meilleur*, la meilleure, *les meilleurs — the best (adjective)
le mieux — the best (adverb): C'est elle qui chante le mieux.

Add de for "in" or "of": le plus grand de la classe.

Position of adjectives

If the adjective normally comes after the noun, the superlative article is repeated: la maison la plus grande (the biggest house). If it comes before, don't repeat: le plus grand garçon.

Useful expressions

de plus en plus — more and more: Il fait de plus en plus froid.
de moins en moins — less and less
plus… plus… — the more… the more…: Plus je mange, plus j'ai faim.
le plus possible — as much as possible
au moins — at least
au plus — at most
même — even; pareil — the same
différent de — different from

Equality and difference

C'est pareil. — It's the same.
Je suis comme lui. — I'm like him.
Il est plus âgé que moi. — He's older than me.
Elle a mon âge. — She's my age.

Common mistakes

Using plus bon instead of meilleur.
Confusing meilleur and mieux.
Forgetting de with quantities.
Forgetting agreement.
Using que wrongly: after a superlative, use de.

Dictionary tip

A dictionary lists meilleur and mieux as separate entries, with a note on their relationship to bon and bien.

Practice

Compare three cities, three foods and three people, and name the best of each.

Look up comparison words with English French Dictionary →