Norwegian A2 course

Special use of superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives

In Norwegian, we can use the superlative degree even when we compare just two things. For example:

  • Hvilken bil er dyrest, Jaguar eller Ferrari?

It may be confusing because in English we would use the comparative degree here: Which car is more expensive, Jaguar or Ferrari? In Norwegian, it is not the case.

  • Hvem er høyest, Anders eller Andreas? – Who is taller, Andres or Andreas?

However, if you use “enn” in a sentence, use the comparative degree:

  • Ferrari er dyrere enn Jaguar. – Ferrari is more expensive than Jaguar.

Definite form in the superlative degree.

Look at this sentence:

  • Geirangerfjorden er en av de vakreste fjordene.

In this sentence, the adjective in superlative (vakreste) has a definite form. As you notice, we have added an ending -e and we use this adjective with the definite article and noun:

  • de vakreste fjordene – the most beautiful fjords.

See more examples:

  • den peneste jenta – the prettiest girl
  • det nyeste huset – the newest house
  • den mest interessante boken – the most interesting book

Compare how we use both forms of superlative in these examples:

  • Maria er yngst av de to jentene. – Maria is the youngest of the two girls.
  • Maria er den yngste jenta av dem. – Maria is the youngest of them.

So remember to use det/den/de + adjective+e + definite noun

6 thoughts on “Special use of superlative adjectives”

  1. This is unrelated to the main topic, but in ‘de to jentene’ that is part of the 1st example, ‘to’ is technically an adjective (?) but not declined like other adjectives because of special status as a number ? Meaning, if it was ‘the red books’ instead, it would be ‘de røde bøger’ and not ‘de rød bøger’ ?

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