B2 syntax 3 min de lecture

Hindi Superlatives: Using Sab

To make any Hindi adjective a superlative (the most/best), simply place `sab se` immediately before it.

The Rule in 30 Seconds

  • Place `sab se` before any adjective.
  • Literally means "than all" or "from all".
  • `sab se` never changes form.
  • Adjective must still agree with the noun.

Quick Reference

Type Hindi Structure English Equivalent Example
Positive Adjective only Good acchā
Comparative noun + `se` + adj Better than X us se acchā
Superlative `sab se` + adj The Best sab se acchā
Negative Superlative `sab se` + negative adj The Worst sab se kharāb
Quantity `sab se` + `zyādā` The Most (amount) sab se zyādā
Gendered Example `sab se` + adj (f) The Tallest (girl) sab se lambī

Exemples clés

3 sur 9
1

Yah shahar kā sab se acchā hotel hai.

This is the best hotel in the city.

2

Mount Everest duniya kī sab se ūñcī coṭī hai.

Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world.

3

Merī mā̃ sab se svādiṣṭ khānā banātī haiñ.

My mother cooks the most delicious food.

🎯

The 'First of All' Trick

Memorize the phrase `sab se pahle`. You can use it to start stories, give instructions, or order food. It means 'first of all' and makes you sound super organized.

⚠️

Don't Translate 'The'

In English we say 'THE best'. In Hindi, `sab se` handles the definiteness. You don't need to add a separate word for 'the' before `sab se`.

The Rule in 30 Seconds

  • Place `sab se` before any adjective.
  • Literally means "than all" or "from all".
  • `sab se` never changes form.
  • Adjective must still agree with the noun.

Overview

Superlatives are all about being #1. The best, the worst, the tallest, the most delicious. In English, you wrestle with endings like "-est" or adding words like "most". In Hindi? It's surprisingly chill. You don't change the word itself; you just use a magic phrase: sab se. It literally means "from all" or "than all". It's the ultimate trump card for descriptions. Think of it as the grammar equivalent of a mic drop.

How This Grammar Works

Hindi logic is very literal here. To say someone is the "smartest", you say they are "smart from all" (or "smart than all"). The word sab means "all" or "everyone/everything", and se is the postposition for "from" or "than". You put them together before any adjective to max out its intensity. It's like turning the volume knob all the way to 11. No irregular tables to memorize here—it works for almost every adjective!

Formation Pattern

  1. 1Identify the subject (the thing/person being described).
  2. 2Add sab se (the superlative marker).
  3. 3Add your adjective (remember to match the gender/number of the subject!).
  4. 4Finish with the verb.
  5. 5Structure: Subject + sab se + Adjective + Verb

When To Use It

Use this whenever you want to single something out as the absolute limit within a group. The best chai in Delhi? sab se acchī cāy. The most difficult exam? sab se mushkil parīkṣā. If it stands alone at the top (or bottom) of the heap, this is your tool. It works for both quality (acchā) and quantity (zyādā).

When Not To Use It

Don't use sab se if you are only comparing two specific things—that's just a regular comparative using se (e.g., "Ram is taller than Shyam"). Also, avoid it if the adjective doesn't logically have degrees (like "dead" or "married"), although people sometimes break this rule for dramatic effect!

Common Mistakes

  • The Missing Link: A classic slip-up is forgetting se. Saying vah sab acchā hai sounds like "He is all good" or "He is everything good", which is poetic but grammatically confusing. You need the se to make the comparison.
  • Gender Bender: Learners often try to change sab or se to match the noun. Nope! sab se is locked in. It never changes. Only the adjective changes (sab se acchā vs sab se acchī).
  • Word Order: Don't put sab se after the adjective. It must come before. It leads the way.

Contrast With Similar Patterns

  • bahut (Very): bahut acchā is just "very good". There could be others just as good. sab se acchā is "the best". No contest.
  • zyādā (More): Often used for quantity. sab se zyādā means "the most" (quantity-wise).

Quick FAQ

Q. Can I write it as sabse?

A. Yes! It's very commonly written as one word in informal text. Both are fine.

Q. Does this work for negative words too?

A. Absolutely. sab se burā (the worst) or sab se boring (the most boring).

Reference Table

Type Hindi Structure English Equivalent Example
Positive Adjective only Good acchā
Comparative noun + `se` + adj Better than X us se acchā
Superlative `sab se` + adj The Best sab se acchā
Negative Superlative `sab se` + negative adj The Worst sab se kharāb
Quantity `sab se` + `zyādā` The Most (amount) sab se zyādā
Gendered Example `sab se` + adj (f) The Tallest (girl) sab se lambī
🎯

The 'First of All' Trick

Memorize the phrase `sab se pahle`. You can use it to start stories, give instructions, or order food. It means 'first of all' and makes you sound super organized.

⚠️

Don't Translate 'The'

In English we say 'THE best'. In Hindi, `sab se` handles the definiteness. You don't need to add a separate word for 'the' before `sab se`.

💬

Polite Compliments

Indians love hospitality. If someone cooks for you, saying it is `sab se acchā` (the best) is a great way to show appreciation, even if you're exaggerating a tiny bit!

💡

Invariant Particle

Think of `sab se` as a sticker. You just peel it off and stick it on the adjective. You never cut or change the sticker itself.

Exemples

9
#1 यह शहर का सब से अच्छा होटल है।

Yah shahar kā sab se acchā hotel hai.

Focus: sab se acchā

This is the best hotel in the city.

Standard usage for quality.

#2 माउंट एवरेस्ट दुनिया की सब से ऊँची चोटी है।

Mount Everest duniya kī sab se ūñcī coṭī hai.

Focus: sab se ūñcī

Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world.

Adjective `ūñcī` (high) agrees with `coṭī` (peak/f).

#3 मेरी माँ सब से स्वादिष्ट खाना बनाती हैं।

Merī mā̃ sab se svādiṣṭ khānā banātī haiñ.

Focus: sab se svādiṣṭ

My mother cooks the most delicious food.

Using a more formal adjective `svādiṣṭ`.

#4 वह कक्षा में सब से शांत रहता है।

Vah kakṣā meṃ sab se shānt rahtā hai.

Focus: sab se shānt

He stays the quietest in class.

Using it with an adverbial sense.

#5 यह रास्ता सब से छोटा है, चलो इसे लेते हैं।

Yah rāstā sab se choṭā hai, calo ise lete haiñ.

Focus: sab se choṭā

This route is the shortest, let's take it.

Common practical usage.

#6 ✗ वह सब सुंदर लड़की है। → ✓ वह सब से सुंदर लड़की है।

✗ Vah sab sundar laṛkī hai. → ✓ Vah sab se sundar laṛkī hai.

Focus: sab se sundar

She is the most beautiful girl.

MISTAKE: Missing `se` breaks the comparison.

#7 ✗ यह सब से महंगी गाड़ी है। → ✓ यह सब से महँगी गाड़ी है।

✗ Yah sab se mehngi gāṛī hai. → ✓ Yah sab se mahangī gāṛī hai.

Focus: sab se mahangī

This is the most expensive car.

Spelling/Pronunciation correction (nasalization).

#8 आप सब से पहले क्या करेंगे?

Āp sab se pahle kyā karenge?

Focus: sab se pahle

What will you do first of all?

Idiomatic usage: `sab se pahle` (first of all).

#9 आज साल का सब से गर्म दिन है।

Āj sāl kā sab se garm din hai.

Focus: sab se garm

Today is the hottest day of the year.

Describing weather extremes.

Teste-toi

Complete the sentence to mean 'He is the smartest student.'

Vah kakṣā kā ___ buddhimān chātra hai.

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : sab se

To show he is smarter than everyone else (superlative), you must use 'sab se'.

Choose the correct form to say 'the biggest problem'.

Yah ___ samasyā hai.

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : sab se baṛī

Problem (`samasyā`) is feminine, so the adjective must be `baṛī`. We need `sab se` for 'biggest'.

Identify the error in this sentence: 'Yah sab sasti dukān hai.'

What is missing?

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : se

Without `se`, it just means 'This all cheap shop', which is incorrect. It needs `sab se` to mean 'cheapest'.

🎉 Score : /3

Aides visuelles

Degrees of Comparison

Basic
tez fast
Comparative
us se tez faster
Superlative
sab se tez fastest

Choosing the Right Description

1

Are you comparing something?

YES ↓
NO
Use Basic Adjective
2

Is it against ONE other thing?

YES
Use 'se' + Adj (Comparative)
NO
Use 'sab se' + Adj (Superlative)

Common 'Sab Se' Partners

👍

Opinion

  • • acchā (best)
  • • mahāngā (most expensive)
📏

Physical

  • • lambā (tallest)
  • • bhārī (heaviest)
⏰

Time

  • • pahle (first/earliest)
  • • nayā (newest)

Questions fréquentes

21 questions

No! sab se stays exactly the same. Only the adjective changes. So it's sab se acchī laṛkī (best girl).

Technically no, because best is already superlative. But in Hinglish (mixed Hindi-English), you will hear people say things like 'Yeh sabse best hai!' It's grammatically redundant but socially common.

bahut means 'very' (high intensity). sab se means 'most/est' (highest intensity compared to others).

Not necessarily. You can say yah sab se acchā hai (This is the best) without repeating the noun if the context is clear.

Yes. sab se burā (worst), sab se kathin (most difficult). It works for both ends of the spectrum.

Good question! You use sab se + acche (plural oblique adjective) + meṃ se ek. E.g., sab se acche doston meṃ se ek (one of the best friends). It's a bit advanced!

You usually use it with zyādā (more/most) when modifying verbs. Vah sab se zyādā boltā hai (He talks the most).

Yes, sabhī is just an emphatic form of sab. You might hear sabhī se acchā, but sab se is the standard everyday form.

If an adjective doesn't end in -ā, it usually doesn't change gender/number (like sāf - clean). So sab se sāf works for everything.

Usually no. It likes to hug the adjective. Keep them together.

You can say sab se kam (literally 'than all less'). sab se kam mahangā (least expensive).

No short form, but people speak it fast so it sounds like 'sup-say'.

Yes! Once you hit 3 or more items, you generally switch to sab se logic rather than just se.

It means 'all', 'whole', or 'everyone'.

It's a postposition meaning 'from', 'than', 'by', or 'with'. Here it means 'than'.

Yes, 'Best in the world'. meṃ (in) sets the scope, sab se makes the comparison.

It is neutral. It is correct in both formal speeches and street slang.

Very few, mostly borrowed from Sanskrit like shreṣṭh (excellent/best), but in modern Hindi, sab se + adj is the universal key.

You can emphasize the word sab by holding it longer: sab... se acchā!

Yes. sab se baṛā (oldest/biggest) or sab se choṭā (youngest/smallest).

Yes. sab is 'all'. sabse is the comparative tool. Don't confuse sab log (all people) with sab se log (incorrect).

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