Superlative of adjectives
In short
Superlative = naj- + comparative. Agrees like any adjective.
| masc | fem | neut | |
|---|---|---|---|
| velik → veći | najveći | najveća | najveće |
| lep → lepši | najlepši | najlepša | najlepše |
| dobar → bolji | najbolji | najbolja | najbolje |
| star → stariji | najstariji | najstarija | najstarije |
| topao → topliji | najtopliji | najtoplija | najtoplije |
| dubok → dublji | najdublji | najdublja | najdublje |
| bogat → bogatiji | najbogatiji | najbogatija | najbogatije |
| mali → manji | najmanji | najmanja | najmanje |
| jak → jači | najjači | najjača | najjače |
Double j is kept: najjači, najjeftiniji. Declines like the comparative: u najmanjem selu. Frame: najveći grad u Srbiji, najviša planina na svetu.
A2 · Lesson 15 · Superlative of adjectives
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In the last lesson you learnt to say that one thing is bigger or better than another: veći, bolji, lepši. Now you want the top of the whole group — the biggest, the best, the most beautiful. English needs a new ending (-est) or a new word (most). Serbian needs neither: it takes the comparative you already have and glues naj- on the front.
naj- + comparative
- veći (bigger) → najveći (the biggest)
- lepši (more beautiful) → najlepši (the most beautiful)
- bolji (better) → najbolji (the best)
- stariji (older) → najstariji (the oldest)
- topliji (warmer) → najtopliji (the warmest)
- dublji (deeper) → najdublji (the deepest)
That is the whole rule. Whatever the comparative looks like — regular -iji, a softened stem like veći, or an irregular one like bolji — the superlative is that same word with naj- in front. There are no exceptions, and nothing to memorise beyond the comparatives you already know. If you can say bolji, you can say najbolji.
It agrees like any adjective
A superlative is still an adjective, so it takes the same endings as the comparative: -i with a masculine noun, -a with a feminine, -e with a neuter. The comparative veći is a soft-stem adjective, so its neuter ends in -e, not -o — and the superlative keeps that.
| gender | comparative | superlative | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | veći | najveći | najveći grad — the biggest city |
| feminine | veća | najveća | najveća reka — the biggest river |
| neuter | veće | najveće | najveće jezero — the biggest lake |
| gender | lep → lepši | dobar → bolji | star → stariji | topao → topliji | dubok → dublji | bogat → bogatiji |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | najlepši | najbolji | najstariji | najtopliji | najdublji | najbogatiji |
| feminine | najlepša | najbolja | najstarija | najtoplija | najdublja | najbogatija |
| neuter | najlepše | najbolje | najstarije | najtoplije | najdublje | najbogatije |
Outside the nominative the superlative declines exactly as the comparative did: u najvećem gradu (in the biggest city), u najmanjem selu (in the smallest village), na najvišoj planini (on the highest mountain). Nothing new to learn there either.
The biggest in the world
To say the biggest in the world, the longest in Europe, the oldest in the country, use the superlative and then u with the locative — the same u + locative you use for any location. Najveći grad u Srbiji is the biggest city in Serbia; najduža reka u Evropi is the longest river in Europe; najviša planina na svetu is the highest mountain in the world (the world takes na: na svetu).
You will also meet najbolji od svih (the best of all) — the superlative followed by od. Recognise it for now; how od builds comparisons is the subject of the next lesson.
naj- is glued straight on, with nothing dropped. When the comparative itself begins with j, you get two j's in a row, and both are written: jači → najjači (the strongest), jeftiniji → najjeftiniji (the cheapest), jasniji → najjasniji (the clearest). Beginners drop one j — do not. Say it as a long j and write both.
naj- goes on the comparative, never on the plain adjective. najveliki and najdobar do not exist. Start from veći and bolji, and only then add naj-.
Check what you read
6 of the 14 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Beograd je ___ grad u Srbiji.
Dunav je(velik) reka u Srbiji.
To je(dubok) jezero na svetu.
Moj otac je ___ čovek na svetu.
Ovo je(lep) plaža u Grčkoj.
How is the superlative (the biggest, the best) formed in Serbian?
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Azija je najveći kontinent na svetu.
Asia is the biggest continent in the world.
Beograd je najveći grad u Srbiji.
Belgrade is the biggest city in Serbia.
Dunav je najveća reka u Srbiji.
The Danube is the biggest river in Serbia.
Rusija je najveća država na svetu.
Russia is the biggest country in the world.
To je najveće jezero u zemlji.
That is the biggest lake in the country.
Najduža granica Srbije je sa Rumunijom.
Serbia's longest border is with Romania.
Koje je najtoplije more u Evropi?
Which is the warmest sea in Europe?
Najveće poluostrvo u Evropi je Skandinavija.
The biggest peninsula in Europe is Scandinavia.
Nemačka je najbogatija zemlja u Evropi.
Germany is the richest country in Europe.
Ovo je najlepša plaža na svetu.
This is the most beautiful beach in the world.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 37
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
Asia is the biggest continent in the world.