“Short” Adjectives

To create comparative and superlative forms of one-syllable adjectives, add “-er” and “-est” respectively. If the adjective ends in a consonant after a vowel, double the consonant before adding the suffix.

(1음절 형용사의 비교형과 최상형을 만들려면 각각 “-er”와 “-est”를 추가한다. 형용사가 모음 뒤에 자음으로 끝나는 경우, 접미사를 추가하기 전에 자음을 하나더 해서 두개로 한다.)

For example:

The final consonant is not doubled if it is preceded by two vowels or another consonant,
(두 개의 모음 또는 또다른 자음 앞에 오는 최종 자음은 두 개가 되지 않는다)
as in:

(*If the adjective ends in an “e,” then you only need to add “-r” or “-st.”)

If an adjective has two syllables and ends in “-y,” we replace “y” with “i” and add “-er” or “-est,” as in:

“Long” adjectives are usually considered to have more than two syllables, and their comparative and superlative forms are usually formed with “more/less” or “most/least” before the adjective, rather than changing the adjective itself.

(“긴” 형용사는 세 개 이상의 음절을 가진 형용사 또는 두 개의 음절을 가지고 “-y”로 끝나지 않는 형용사이다. 긴 형용사의 끝을 바꾸기보다는, 우리는 형용사 앞에 있는 단어들을 비교적으로 만들기 위해 사용하거나, 가장/적게는 그것들을 최상급으로 만든다.)

For example:

Irregular adjectives

However, not all adjectives follow the patterns mentioned above. Adjectives that deviate from the standard comparative and superlative forms are referred to as irregular adjectives.
(모든 형용사가 위에서 언급한 패턴을 따르는 것은 아니다. 표준 비교 및 최상급 형식에서 벗어난 형용사를 불규칙 형용사라고 한다.)

 For example:

(*Although farther/further and farthest/furthest are often used interchangeably, there are differences between these two forms. In American English, farther/farthest is preferred when comparing physical distances, and further/furthest is preferred when comparing figurative distances; in British English, further/furthest is preferred for both uses.)

Adjectives with multiple forms of inflection

There are also some adjectives that can be inflected using either form we looked at above. The following are some of the most common: