Irregular Comparative: BOM → MELHOR

Most adjectives in Portuguese follow a simple rule. You just put mais (more) in front of them. For example, mais alto means taller. But bom is a bit of a rebel. It belongs to a small club of irregular adjectives. These words change their entire shape when they compare things. When bom wants to compare, it transforms into melhor. It is like a linguistic superhero changing into its costume. This word acts as a bridge between two ideas. It tells your listener which item holds the higher quality. The best part? It is very stable. Unlike many Portuguese words, melhor does not care about gender. Whether you are talking about a carro (masculine) or a casa (feminine), the word remains melhor. It only changes if you are talking about multiple things. In that case, it becomes melhores. This simplicity makes it a favorite for new learners. It is a high-reward word with a low-effort rule.

1. 1Creating a comparison with melhor is like following a simple recipe. You only need a few ingredients to make a perfect sentence. Follow these steps:
2. 2Start with your first subject. This is the thing you like.
3. 3Add the verb ser (to be). Usually, this is é for one thing or são for many.
4. 4Insert our star word: melhor.
5. 5Add the connector do que. You can also just use que. Both are correct.
6. 6Finish with your second subject. This is the thing that is just "okay."
7. 7Example: Este café é melhor do que o chá. (This coffee is better than the tea). It is a straight line from point A to point B. If you are comparing plural items, just add an "es" to the end: Estas maçãs são melhores que aquelas. See? You are already a pro.

You will use melhor in almost every conversation. It is perfect for daily life scenarios. Imagine you are at a padaria (bakery). You want to tell your friend that the pão de queijo is better than the croissant. You say: O pão de queijo é melhor. Use it when you are shopping. Is the blue shirt better than the red one? Use melhor. It is also essential for giving opinions. If someone asks which movie to watch, you can point to the Oscar winner and say Este é melhor. It is also used for health. If you had a cold yesterday but feel great today, you say Estou melhor. It is a versatile tool for your linguistic Swiss Army knife. It works for abstract ideas too. You can say one idea is melhor than another. It is the ultimate word for expressing quality and preference.

Even though melhor is great, don't use it for everything. Do not use it when you are not comparing two things. If you just want to say something is good, stick with bom. Also, be careful with size. If a house is bigger, don't say it is melhor unless you mean the quality is higher. For size, use maior. Another trap is the superlative. If you want to say something is "the best," you need an article. You must say o melhor or a melhor. Without that little o or a, you are just saying "better." Finally, don't use it to describe how an action is done if you are a beginner. While melhor is also the comparative of bem (well), focus on using it for "good" first to avoid confusion.

The number one mistake is saying mais bom. This is the classic "gringo" error. It is like saying "more good" in English. It won't stop people from understanding you, but it will make them smile. Another common slip-up is forgetting the plural. If you are comparing two groups of things, you must use melhores. For example, Estes livros são melhores. Some learners also get confused with the connector. They might say melhor de instead of melhor do que. Think of do que as a single unit that means "than." One more thing: don't forget the accent on the verb é. Without the accent, e just means "and." Este é melhor (This is better) vs Este e melhor (This and better). One makes sense, the other is a mystery!

To really master melhor, look at its cousins. The word mau (bad) becomes pior (worse). The word grande (big) becomes maior (bigger). The word pequeno (small) becomes menor (smaller). These four are the "Fantastic Four" of irregular comparatives. They all follow the same logic. They replace the mais + adjective structure entirely. If you can learn melhor, you can learn the others easily. They are like a set of matching luggage. They all fit together in your brain. Notice how they all end in "or" (except menor which ends in "or" too!). This "or" ending is a great signal that you are making a comparison. It is like a little flag waving to tell the listener: "Hey, I'm comparing things here!"