When learning a foreign language, one of the first goals is being able to describe and compare things. In Spanish, once you’ve mastered comparatives (más… que, menos… que, mejor, peor), the next step is learning how to use superlatives.

Saying something is good is useful. Saying it’s the best, amazing, or extremely good is much more expressive. That’s exactly what superlatives are for: expressing the highest degree of a quality—either by comparing something to others or by intensifying it without comparison.

In this guide, you’ll learn how Spanish superlatives work, how to form them, the most common structures, and the colloquial expressions that make your Spanish sound natural and authentic.

1. What is a superlative?

A superlative expresses the highest degree of an adjective or quality.

It’s used to say that something or someone is the best, the worst, the biggest, the most interesting, or simply extremely something.

In Spanish, there are two main types of superlatives:

• Relative superlative → compares one thing with others
• Absolute superlative → intensifies a quality without comparison

Understanding this distinction is the key to using superlatives correctly and confidently.

2. The Relative Superlative: “The Most / The Least”

The relative superlative is used when you compare a person or thing with others in the same group.

The basic structure is very regular:

el / la / los / las + más / menos + adjective + de + group

– Esta es la foto más bonita de todas las que has hecho.
– Son los estudiantes menos motivados del curso.

2.1 Relative superlative with mejor and peor

Some adjectives have irregular forms:

• bueno → mejor
• malo → peor

el / la / los / las + mejor(es) / peor(es) + noun + que / de

– Esta es la mejor fiesta que he ido nunca.
– Son las peores vacaciones que hemos tenido en años.

Remember: mejor and peor don’t change for gender, but they do have plural forms (mejores, peores).

3. The Absolute Superlative: maximum intensity without comparison

The absolute superlative doesn’t compare things. It simply expresses a very high degree of a quality.

Spanish has many ways to express absolute superlatives.

3.1 Using adverbs: muy, sumamente, tan

The simplest and most straightforward way to form a superlative in Spanish is to place an intensifying adverb before the adjective. This is a very common strategy, especially at beginner levels, and it allows you to emphasize a quality without dealing with complicated grammar.

The most commonly used adverb is muy, which is neutral and works in any context, whether written or spoken. It’s the safest choice when you want to say “very” in Spanish.

Sumamente has a similar meaning to muy, but it’s more formal and refined. You’ll mostly encounter it in written texts, official speeches, or more elegant registers.

Tan, on the other hand, means “so” and often introduces a consequence, as in the structure tan… que (“so… that”). For this reason, it’s not just used to intensify, but also to construct more complex and nuanced sentences.

muy / sumamente / tan + adjective

– Teresa es muy trabajadora.
– Mario es sumamente inteligente.
– La película es tan emocionante.

3.2 Colloquial superlative expressions

Spoken Spanish uses many colorful expressions to intensify adjectives. They’re typical of everyday language and make your Spanish sound very natural.

Common structures include:

la mar de + adjective
la leche de + adjective
una pasada de + adjective

– Javier es la mar de divertido.
– Este restaurante es la leche de bueno.
– No lo compres, es una pasada de caro.

These expressions are informal and typical of spoken Spanish.

3.3 The suffix -ísimo

One of the most iconic Spanish superlative forms is the suffix:  -ísimo / -ísima / -ísimos / -ísimas

It’s added to adjectives to express the highest degree.

adjective + -ísimo / -ísima / -ísimos / -ísimas

– El bebé es tranquilísimo.

Some spelling changes occur:

• bueno → buenísimo
• fácil → facilísimo
• feliz → felicísimo

3.4 Colloquial intensifying prefixes

In spoken Spanish, you’ll also hear intensifying prefixes such as: re- / requete- / archi- / super-

– Gustavo es superalto.
– Los macarrones están requetebuenos.
– Es archifamoso en su país.

3.5 The suffix -érrimo

Spanish also preserves some learned superlatives from Latin, mostly used in literary, journalistic, or very formal registers.

They are formed with -érrimo, which expresses an extremely high degree with a refined tone.

Typical examples include:

• célebre → celebérrimo (extremely famous)
• pobre → paupérrimo (extremely poor, very emphatic)
• libre → libérrimo (very free, highly independent)
• mísero → misérrimo (extremely miserable, often literary)

– Estuve con un personaje celebérrimo.
– Salvador Dalí fue una persona libérrima.

In everyday speech, a Spanish speaker would more likely say muy famoso or famosísimo, but you’ll often encounter forms like celebérrimo in writing—so it’s useful to recognize them.

4. Relative vs Absolute Superlatives: the key difference

It’s important not to confuse the two types.

• Es el estudiante más inteligente de la clase. (relative superlative)
• Es inteligentísimo. (absolute superlative)

In the first case, you compare someone to others.

In the second, you simply intensify the quality.

6. Why are superlatives so important?

Superlatives are a powerful tool to make your Spanish more expressive and authentic. They help you go beyond neutral, textbook sentences and truly express emotions, opinions, and impressions. With superlatives, you can show enthusiasm, surprise, criticism, or admiration—and make your Spanish sound much closer to that of native speakers.

Saying muy bueno is perfectly correct, but it’s neutral and slightly textbook-like. Saying buenísimo or una pasada de bueno is what you hear in real conversations, movies, and TV series.

That’s the difference between speaking Spanish correctly and sounding Spanish.

7. Quick Reference Summary

Relative superlative

• el/la/los/las + más/menos + adjective
• el/la/los/las + mejor(es) / peor(es)

Absolute superlative

• muy / sumamente / tan + adjective
• -ísimo / -ísima / -ísimos / -ísimas
• re-, requete-, archi-, super-
• la mar de, la leche de, una pasada de
• -érrimo (formal register)

8. Want to go further?

Check out the full grammar sheet on Spanish superlatives in the Sillabi grammar resources.

And if you liked this article, read our previous guide on Spanish comparatives.

Comparatives and superlatives are two sides of the same coin: together, they let you compare, describe, and evaluate people, objects, and situations naturally and precisely

9. Keep learning Spanish in a structured way

If you want to consolidate your foundations, speak with more confidence, and use structures like comparatives and superlatives naturally, discover the ¡Ojalá! course.

It’s a progressive, practical, and motivating program designed to help you understand real Spanish, use it in everyday contexts, and gain fluency without stress.

And if you’re not sure where to start, take the level test: in just a few minutes, you’ll find the perfect entry point for your learning journey.