How to form different types of comparisons in Russian?

In Russian, there are a few different ways to make comparisons. The most common types of comparisons are…

• Comparisons that use comparative adjectives or comparative adverbs

• Comparisons that use words like как (transcribed kak) or будто (transcribed BOOta), to mean “like” or “as if”

• Comparisons that use words like вроде (transcribed VROdi, meaning “kind of like”) or в отличие от (transcribed v atLEEchii at, meaning “unlike”) + genitive

In this post, we’ll take you through the sentence structures associated with each type of comparison and teach you the words you’ll need to know to form them. Let’s see how we can use such words while making comparisons in Russian!

Perhaps the most popular way of comparison, both in English and in Russian, is to use comparative forms of adjectives or adverbs. These are words like больше (transcribed BOLshe, meaning “bigger”) or более медленно (transcribed BOliye MYEDlina, meaning “more slowly”). There are two main structures used in these types of comparisons: those that use чем (transcribed chem, meaning “than”), and those that use just the genitive case.

In Russian, can say that something “like” or is behaving “as if” it were a certain way by using words like:

• как (transcribed kak)

• как будто (transcribed kak BOOta)

• будто (transcribed BOOta)

• словно (transcribed SLOVna)

• точно (transcribed TOCHna)

The words как and как будто are most common in speech while the others are a bit more formal.

There are two main ways to use these words to make comparisons: before a noun or before a complete clause.

• Using как (transcribed kak) and its synonyms before a noun:

  The main grammatical rule to remember is that the noun after как (or one of its synonyms), will take on the same case as the noun it is being compared to. For example:

  • instrumental case

    Он махал руками, точно крыльями.

    Transcription: on maKHAL rooKAmi TOCHna KRYLyami

    Translation: He was flapping his arms like wings.
  • nominative case

    Он смотрел на подарок с восхищением, словно ребёнокv.

    Transcription: on smaTRYEL na paDArak s vaskhiSHCHEniyem SLOVna riBYOnak

    Translation: He was looking at the present with admiration, like a child.

  However, you don’t always need to explicitly include the first noun, the one you’re comparing something to, especially if you add the Russian particle бы (transcribed by) after как or one of its synonyms.

  После этого случая он стал как бы другим человеком.

  Transcription: POSlye Etava SLOOchiya on stal kag by drooGEEM chilaVYEkam

  Translation: After that incident he became sort of a different person.

• Using как (transcribed kak) and its synonyms before a clause:

  Just like the English word “like” you can use как and its synonyms before clauses (phrases with both a subject and a verb).

  • Вы как будто (бы) ждали нас!

    Transcription: vy kak BOOta (by) ZHDAli nas

    Translation: It’s like you’ve been expecting us!
  • Он украшал торт долго и тщательно, точно это было произведение искусства.

    Transcription: on ookraSHAL tort DOLga i TSHCHAtilna TOCHna Eta BYla praizviDYEniye isKOOstva

    Translation: He was decorating the cake for a long time and very carefully, as if it was a piece of art.

  Sometimes the verb can be left out of the clause.

In Russian, we can make comparisons using words like вроде (transcribed VROdi, meaning “kind of like”) or в отличие от (transcribed v atLEEchii at, meaning “unlike”) by using them before a noun in the genitive case.

• The words вроде (transcribed VROdi), наподобие (transcribed napaDObii), and типа (transcribed TEEpa), all mean “kind of like,” are used to compare similar objects.

  genitive case

  У него на голове было что-то вроде / наподобие / типа короны.

  Transcription: oo niVO na galaVYE BYla SHTOta VROdi / napaDObii / TEEpa kaROny

  Translation: He had on his head something like a crown.

• The phrase в отличие от (transcribed v atLEEchii at) is generally used to say that something is “unlike” something else. For example:

  genitive case

  Русские, в отличие от американцев, редко думают о размере налогов.

  Transcription: ROOSkiye v atLEEchii at amyeriKANtsev RYETka DOOmayut a razMYErye naLOgaf

  Translation: Russians, unlike Americans, seldom think about the amount they pay in taxes.

In this post we have looked at the three main sentence structures we use to make comparisons in Russian:

• Using comparative adjectives and adverbs, which can be followed by…

  • чем (transcribed chem, meaning “than”) + noun or clause

  • a noun in the genitive case (in some circumstances)

• Using words как (transcribed kak), будто (transcribed BOOta), словно (transcribed SLOVna), точно (transcribed TOCHna), all meaning “like” or “as if.” These can be followed by…

  • a noun, in the same case as the noun you’re comparing it to

  • a complete clause

• Using words like типа (transcribed TEEpa), наподобие (transcribed napaDObii), вроде (transcribed VROdi), meaning “kind of like” or the phrase в отличие от (transcribed v atLEEchii at, meaning “unlike”). These can be followed by a noun in the genitive case.

Ready to practice? Try the Russian comparison activities linked below!