más inteligente
/mas intelixente/from spelling rules
The English phrase "smarter" is translated into Spanish as más inteligente.
más inteligente is used to describe someone who possesses more intelligence. You can increase the intensity by pairing the phrase with mucho to say "much smarter" (mucho más inteligente).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase más inteligente is composed of más (more) and inteligente (intelligent).
How does it change in a sentence?
In English, the comparative is often formed with the suffix "-er", but in Spanish, you use the adverb más before the adjective. Additionally, the adjective must agree in number with the subject. If you are referring to multiple people, más inteligente becomes más inteligentes.
How do you pronounce it?
/mas intelixente/
Did you know?
- Spanish has a specific word for a type of 'smartness' that English lacks: chispa, which literally means 'spark' and refers to a quick-witted or lively intelligence.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, saying someone is muy listo (very smart) can be used sarcastically to describe someone who thinks they are clever but is actually being fooled.
- The English word 'master' and the Spanish word más share a common ancestor in the Latin word 'magis', which means 'more'.
Examples in context
- Eres más inteligente que eso.You are smarter than that.This sentence is useful for using más inteligente to compare a person to a situation.Tatoeba #1508832 by marcelostockle, translation #1437211 by CM
- Él es más inteligente que ella.He's smarter than her.This sentence is useful for using más inteligente to compare two people by gender.Tatoeba #594419 by Shishir, translation #507976 by ddnktr
- Ella es más inteligente que él.She's smarter than him.Tatoeba #1123993 by cueyayotl, translation #887620 by CK
- Creo que Juan es más inteligente que Pedro.I think Juan is smarter than Pedro.
- Carmen es una estudiante más lista que todos sus compañeros.Carmen is a smarter student than all her classmates.
- ¡Eres más vivo de lo que pensaba!You are smarter than I thought!
- Maria aprendió mucho y ahora es mucho más inteligente.Maria learned a lot and now she is much smarter.
- 25 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maria and Mateo are discussing a difficult riddle.
- MaríaNo puedo resolver este acertijo.I cannot solve this riddle.
- MateoYo lo sé, yo soy más inteligente.I know it, I am smarter.
- MaríaNo seas presumido, Mateo.Don't be conceited, Mateo.
- MateoEs la verdad, soy más inteligente hoy.It's the truth, I am smarter today.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries inteligente, más, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
