To form the comparative and superlative in Indonesian, you add ”lebih” for comparative and ”paling” or ”ter-” for superlative.
- big – besar
- bigger – lebih besar
- biggest – paling besar / terbesar
Making Comparisons and Judgements
1. Lebih (more, -er)
- Saya kira Pak Wayan lebih ahli.
- I think Mr. Wayan is more expert.
- Ibu Maria lebih tua daripada Saudara Nur.
- Mrs. Maria is older than Miss Nur.
- Ada lebih banyak orang di desa Simpang daripada di desa Baun.
- There are more people in the village of Simpang than in the village of Baun.
- Pak Wayan sudah tua tetapi Pak Dendy lebih tua lagi.
- Mr. Wayan is old, but Mr. Dendy is even older.
2. Terlalu (too)
- Saya kira Saudara Nur terlalu muda.
- I think Miss Nur is too young.
- Dia berbicara terlalu banyak!
- He talks too much!
3. Kalah (to lose, to be defeated, to lose out in comparison with…)
- Menurut pendapat saya Ibu Maria kalah dengan Pak Dendy.
- In my opinion, Mrs. Maria is not as good as Mr. Dendy.
- Sebagai pegawai kantor, Pak Wayan sama sekali tidak kalah dengan Bu Maria.
- As an office worker, Mr. Wayan is in no way inferior to Mrs. Maria.
- Ibu Maria kalah cepatnya dengan Pak Wayan.
- Mrs. Maria is not as quick as Mr. Wayan.
- Yusuf tidak kalah pintar dengan Agus.
- Yusuf is by no means less smart than Agus.
4. Kurang (not _____ enough, not really ______)
- Ibu Maria kurang berpengalaman kalau dibandingkan dengan Pak Dendy.
- Mrs. Maria is not experienced enough compared with Mr. Dendy.
- Menurut saya, Pak Dendy kurang pandai mengurus keuangan.
- In my opinion, Mr. Dendy is not really good at handling finances.
5. Cukup (quite, fairly)
- Dia menulis buku informasi tentang kesehatan masyarakat yang cukup berguna.
- He/She has written a book of information on public health that is quite useful.
- Tugas ini cukup sulit.
- This task is fairly difficult.
6. Sama (the same, just as _____ as)
- Saya kira bekerja di desa dan bekerja di kota hampir sama.
- I think working in the country and working in the city are almost the same.
- Pak Wayan sama ahlinya dengan Bu Maria.
- Mr. Wayan is just as expert as Mrs. Maria.
7. Paling (the most ______, more than anything else)
- Siapa yang paling rajin, Pak Wayan atau Bu Maria?
- Who is the most conscientious, Mr. Wayan or Mrs. Maria?
- Sdr Nur paling suka bekerja dengan anak kecil.
- Miss Nur likes working with children more than anything else.
- Saya memilih Saudara Nur. Dia yang paling ramah!
- I am choosing Miss Nur. She is the most friendly!
- Paling sedikit harus ada dua orang yang melakukan tugas ini.
- There need to be at least two people who do this job.