In Spanish we use the superlative adjective form when comparing three or more objects, persons, or ideas.
There are two main groups of superlatives in Spanish, the relative superlative and the absolute superlative.
The relative superlative in Spanish:
The English forms the most and the least are usually called the relative superlative because the information they refer to is amongst an specific group. For Instance in Spanish we can say:
El niño más alto de la clase (The tallest boy in class)
El coche más rápido del mundo (The fastest car in the world)
El peor estudiante de la clase (the worst student of the class)
La casa menos ordenada que he visto (the house less tided up I’ve ever seen)
On the other hand the absolute superlative in Spanish is used to intensify the quality of the adjective.
It is formed by muy (very) + adjective or by adding -simo, -sima, -simos, or -simas to the adjective or adverb. If the adjective ends in a vowel, you have to remove the vowel before attaching the endings.
The absolute superlative does not strictly compare one thing to another, but states “a greater amount of”. This can be translated into English by placing “very” before the adjective or adverb.
Es una persona muy simpática (He/She is a very nice person)
Es una persona simpatiquísima (He/She is a very nice person)
Julia es una chica muy guapa (Julia is a very pretty girl)
Julia es una chica guapísima (Julia is a very pretty girl)
The irregular absolute superlatives in Spanish
Bueno-Mejor-óptimo (El resultado es óptimo / The result is optimal)
Malo-Peor-Pésimo (El hizo un examen pésimo / He did a dreadful exam)
Alto-Superior-Supremo (Patatas de calidad suprema / Supreme quality potates)
Bajo-Inferior-mínimo (La diferencia es mínima / The difference is very tiny)
Pequeño-Menor-Mínimo (No tiene un mínimo respeto / He does not have a minimum respect)
Grande-Mayor-Máximo (Es el máximo goleador / He is the best scorer)
Informal absolute superlatives in Spanish
There are some prefixes that are used in colloquial language to express the absolute superlative.
Super: María es una chica supersincera (María is a really sincere girl)
Extra: Una pizza extragrande (An extra sized pizza)
Archi: Ricardo es mi archienemigo (Ricardo is my archenemy)
Requete: El helado está¡ requetebueno (The ice cream is really tasty)
How to say more and more and less and less in Spanish
Cada vez más (more and more):
Hace cada vez más frío (It is more and more cold)
Cada vez menos (every time less and less):
Es cada vez menos interesante (It is less and less interesting)
We hope we helped with the Spanish adjectives. (Spanish info)