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Lesson 155 of 238

New here? This is lesson 155 of a free 238-lesson Spanish course.

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Better than in Spanish

Justin has been looking at two apartments, and tonight Amanda calls to compare notes.

You'll learn to say one thing is better than, more than, less than, or as good as another. These six patterns work for kitchens, rent, noise, almost anything.

By the end, you'll be comparing in Spanish without stopping to think.

By the end of this lesson

Compare two things with better than, more than, less than, and as… as.

  • ___ es mejor que ______ is better than ___
  • ___ es más ___ que ______ is more ___ than ___
  • ___ es menos ___ que ______ is less ___ than ___
  • ___ es tan ___ como ______ is as ___ as ___
  • ___ tiene más ___ que ______ has more ___ than ___
  • ___ tiene menos ___ que ______ has less ___ than ___

Scene — two apartments, one call

Evening in colonia El Laurel. Justin is on his couch with his phone and two apartment listings on the screen.

Amanda is calling from upstairs, coffee in hand, ready to compare the two places before anyone calls Peter, the landlord.

Justin on his couch with his phone showing two apartment listings while Amanda calls from upstairs with coffee in hand, comparing places.

Learn — better, more, less, as… as

Each pattern here has slots you fill with real words: two things and the quality you're comparing.

Notice that most of them use que, but the "as… as" pattern uses como instead.

You'll hear every line filled in with real apartment words in the story.

  1. Justin points at the left apartment picture on his phone, saying one is better than the other.

    ___ es mejor que ___

    ___ is better than ___

    When to use it: Say this when one thing beats another in general.

    Mejor is the irregular comparative of bueno, so there's no más in this pattern.

    Say it: Que at the end sounds like keh.

  2. Amanda upstairs gestures with her coffee mug, saying one place is more spacious than the other.

    ___ es más ___ que ___

    ___ is more ___ than ___

    When to use it: Say this when one thing has more of a quality than another.

    Most adjectives compare with más, not by changing the word like English -er.

  3. Justin scrunches his nose at one apartment picture, saying it is less bright than the other.

    ___ es menos ___ que ___

    ___ is less ___ than ___

    When to use it: Say this when one thing has less of a quality than another.

    Menos is the mirror of más: same pattern, opposite direction.

  4. Amanda balances two hands like scales, saying one place is as quiet as the other.

    ___ es tan ___ como ___

    ___ is as ___ as ___

    When to use it: Say this when two things are equal in some way.

    Equality uses tan and como; que belongs to the más and menos patterns.

  5. Justin spreads his arms wide, saying one apartment has more windows than the other.

    ___ tiene más ___ que ___

    ___ has more ___ than ___

    When to use it: Say this when one thing has more of something you can count.

    With things you count, like rooms or windows, use tiene instead of es.

  6. Amanda pinches her fingers close together, saying one apartment has less space than the other.

    ___ tiene menos ___ que ___

    ___ has less ___ than ___

    When to use it: Say this when one thing has less of something you can count.

    For less of a countable thing, tiene menos works the same way as tiene más.

Story — Justin picks a favorite

Amanda calls Justin to compare the two apartments he visited today. The highlighted lines are the comparison patterns you just learned.

Watch how Justin fills each one with real words. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Justin's phone rings. It's Amanda, calling from upstairs.
  2. Amanda¿Ya viste los dos departamentos?Did you already see the two apartments?
  3. JustinSí. El de la calle Moreno es mejor que el de la avenida.Yes. The one on Moreno Street is better than the one on the avenue.
  4. Amanda¿Por qué? ¿Qué tiene?Why? What does it have?
  5. JustinLa cocina es más grande que la del otro.The kitchen is bigger than the other one's.
  6. Amanda¿Y el ruido? La avenida es horrible.And the noise? The avenue is horrible.
  7. JustinPor eso. La calle Moreno es menos ruidosa que la avenida.That's why. Moreno Street is less noisy than the avenue.
  8. Amanda hears a door slam on her end of the line.
  9. AmandaPerdón, no te escucho bien. ¿Y el baño?Sorry, I can't hear you well. And the bathroom?
  10. JustinQue el baño es tan grande como el de la avenida.That the bathroom is as big as the one on the avenue.
  11. Amanda¿Y las ventanas? A mí me importa la luz.And the windows? Light matters to me.
  12. JustinEl de Moreno tiene más ventanas que el otro.The Moreno one has more windows than the other.
  13. Amanda¿Y cuartos? ¿Cuántos tiene?And rooms? How many does it have?
  14. JustinAy. Tiene menos cuartos que el de la avenida.Oh. It has fewer rooms than the one on the avenue.
  15. Amanda¿Y cuál vas a elegir?So which one are you going to pick?
  16. JustinEl de Moreno. Mañana llamo a Peter.The Moreno one. Tomorrow I'll call Peter.
  17. AmandaHasta luego. ¡Suerte!Bye for now. Good luck!

Practice — compare everything

Nine quick exercises are waiting for you here. You'll listen, match, fill gaps, and put a phone chat back in order.

Take your time with the que and como pairs; they're the heart of this lesson.

0 of 9 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Spanish

    ___ es más ___ que ___Drop the English here
    ___ es menos ___ que ___Drop the English here
    ___ es tan ___ como ___Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Spanish, or tap one and then the other.

  3. Fill the gap

    ___ is better than ___

    ___ es mejor ____ ___

  4. What does it mean?

    No te escucho

  5. What do you say?

    The Moreno apartment has three windows. The one on the avenue has only one.

  6. Put the chat in order

    1. AmandaWhat comes first?
    2. Justin…
    3. Amanda…
    4. Justin…

    Tap the line that comes next, or drag it into the chat.

  7. True or false?

    In this line, que links the two things being compared.

  8. Fill the gap

    ___ is as ___ as ___

    ___ es tan ___ ____ ___

  9. Pick the reply

    Amanda says:

    Me tengo que ir. Mi serie empieza en diez minutos.

    I've got to go. My show starts in ten minutes.

    And you reply with:

Say it — you're on the phone

Now you're Justin on the phone, and Amanda asks the questions. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and say the comparison.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. Amanda¿Ya viste los departamentos?Did you see the apartments?
  2. Justin (you)Say the Moreno one is better than the one on the avenue.

    ___ es mejor que ___

    ___ is better than ___

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

SpanishEnglish
___ es mejor que ______ is better than ___
___ es más ___ que ______ is more ___ than ___
___ es menos ___ que ______ is less ___ than ___
___ es tan ___ como ______ is as ___ as ___
___ tiene más ___ que ______ has more ___ than ___
___ tiene menos ___ que ______ has less ___ than ___
Next: lesson 156Not as good as

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these comparison patterns handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps your más, menos and tan como straight.

Open Yak Cards