Comparative and Superlative

This unit introduces comparative and superlative constructions in Amharic. You will learn how to compare two items using /ke-…yibellTal/ and /ke-…yibelliT/, and how to express the superlative (“most,” “best”) using /kehullu/. These patterns are essential for describing preferences, rankings, and distinctions.

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic	English
addis abeba kedire dawa tibellTalečč	Addis Ababa is bigger than Dire Dawa
issu kene yibelliT reddj new	He is taller than me
yih bet keyahu bet yibelliT tilliq new	This house is bigger than that house
šay kebunna yibelliT moq new	Tea is hotter than coffee
ityoPiya kesweden tibelliT moq nat	Ethiopia is hotter than Sweden
addis abeba kehullu tibellTalečč	Addis Ababa is the biggest of all
issu kehullu yibelliT reddj new	He is the tallest of all
yih bet kehullu yibelliT Tiru new	This house is the best of all
ine kebunna šay-in iyibelliT iweddalehu	I like tea more than coffee
yetinnaw yibelliT yasfelligal?	Which one is needed more?

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English
ke-	than (comparative preposition)
yibelliT	more (comparative marker)
yibellTal	it surpasses, is more
kehullu	most, of all (superlative)
tilliq	big
tinniš	small
reddj	tall, long
aTTir	short
moq	hot
berd	cold
Tiru	good
meTfo	bad
feTan	fast
zegga	slow
qellal	light
kebad	heavy

Grammar Notes

Comparative with /ke-…yibellTal/

The basic comparative pattern places the standard of comparison after ke- and uses the verb yibellTal (“surpasses”):

Amharic	English
addis abeba kedire dawa tibellTalečč	Addis Ababa surpasses Dire Dawa (is bigger)
issu kene yibellTal	He surpasses me (is taller)

The quality compared is often stated separately or understood from context.

Comparative with /ke-…yibelliT/

For explicit comparisons with an adjective, use ke- + standard + yibelliT + adjective:

Amharic	English
issu kene yibelliT reddj new	He is taller than me
yih kebunna yibelliT moq new	This is hotter than coffee
yih bet keyahu yibelliT tilliq new	This house is bigger than that one
ityoPiya kesweden tibelliT moq nat	Ethiopia is hotter than Sweden
ine kante yibelliT aTTir neñ	I am shorter than you

Superlative with /kehullu/

Replace the standard of comparison with kehullu (“of all”) to form the superlative:

Amharic	English
issu kehullu yibelliT reddj new	He is the tallest of all
addis abeba kehullu tibellTalečč	Addis Ababa is the biggest of all
yih bet kehullu yibelliT Tiru new	This house is the best of all
buna kehullu yibelliT yiwededal	Coffee is the most liked of all

Comparative of Preference

To say “I prefer X over Y” or “I like X more than Y”:

Amharic	English
kebunna šay-in iyibelliT iweddalehu	I like tea more than coffee
kemisa injera-n yibelliT yiweddal	He likes injera more than lunch

Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Form Comparatives

Prompt	Response
Addis Ababa / Dire Dawa / big	addis abeba kedire dawa yibelliT tilliq nat
tea / coffee / hot	šay kebunna yibelliT moq new
he / I / tall	issu kene yibelliT reddj new
this car / that car / fast	yih mekina keyahu mekina yibelliT feTan new
Ethiopia / Sweden / hot	ityoPiya kesweden tibelliT moq nat

Drill 2 — Form Superlatives

Prompt	Response
He is the tallest of all	issu kehullu yibelliT reddj new
This house is the biggest	yih bet kehullu yibelliT tilliq new
Addis Ababa is the biggest	addis abeba kehullu tibellTalečč
Coffee is the best of all	bunna kehullu yibelliT Tiru new

Drill 3 — Translation Practice

English	Amharic
He is taller than she	issu keisswa yibelliT reddj new
This book is better than that one	yih meTahif keyahu yibelliT Tiru new
Amharic is harder than English	amarigNa ke-inglizigNa yibelliT kabad new
I like tea more than coffee	kebunna šay-in iyibelliT iweddalehu

Drill 4 — Answer Questions

Question	Answer
yetinnaw yibelliT tilliq new?	yih kehullu yibelliT tilliq new
man kehullu yibelliT reddj new?	issu kehullu yibelliT reddj new
min kehullu yibelliT tiweddalleh?	bunna kehullu yibelliT iweddalehu

Narrative

ato kebbede inna ato tadesse guaddeñočč naččew. ato kebbede keato tadesse yibelliT reddj new, gin ato tadesse keato kebbede yibelliT feTan new. hullet-u bunna yiweddalu, gin ato kebbede kebunna šay-in iyibelliT yiweddal. beketema-ččew addis abeba kehullu tibelliT tilliq ketema nat. keityoPiya ketema-wočč hullu addis abeba kehullu tibellTalečč. yah-in biluv-im, dire dawa-m Tiru ketema nat — keberd addis abeba kehullu yibelliT moq nat.

Mr. Kebbede and Mr. Tadesse are friends. Mr. Kebbede is taller than Mr. Tadesse, but Mr. Tadesse is faster than Mr. Kebbede. They both like coffee, but Mr. Kebbede likes tea more than coffee. In their city, Addis Ababa is the biggest city of all. Of all the cities of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa surpasses them. Having said that, Dire Dawa is also a good city — regarding heat it is hotter than Addis Ababa.