Knowing when to use mieux and meilleur (better) can be tricky in French because they only have one form in English. It can seem even more complex to say the best.
Irregular superlatives and comparatives in French
Here's what you need to remember:
- Meilleur/meilleure is the comparative form of the adjective bon/bonne
- Mieux is the comparative form of the adverb bien.
- Mieux is the comparative form of the adverb bien.
Therefore, whenever you would use bon/bonne (good), you'll use meilleur/e, and whenever you would use bien, you'll use mieux!
When to use bon/bonne (adjective) and therefore meilleur
In French, you'll use the adjective bon and its comparative meilleur when:
1.
qualifying something as good/better/the best at what it does, i.e. efficient/practical, or good/better/the best in taste (food):
Quel est le meilleur aspirateur ?Which is the best vacuum cleaner?
C'est la meilleure idée que tu aies jamais eue !It's the best idea you've ever had!
Tu préfères le chocolat ou la vanille ?
- La vanille, c'est bon, mais le chocolat, c'est meilleur !
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
- Vanilla is good, but chocolate is better!
- La vanille, c'est bon, mais le chocolat, c'est meilleur !
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
- Vanilla is good, but chocolate is better!
Ces bonbons sont meilleurs que les tiens: ce sont les meilleurs du monde.These sweets are better than yours: they are the best in the world.
2.
qualifying someone as a good/better/the best person or good/better/the best at something:
Ces deux-là sont les meilleures amies du monde !These two are the best friends in the world!
Je suis bon en maths, mais il est meilleur en maths que moi.I'm good at maths, but he is better at maths than me.
Je suis le meilleur de ma classe.I'm the best in my class.
These forms come from:
- bon/bonne (good) -> meilleur/e (better) -> le/la meilleur/e (the best)
- bons / bonnes -> meilleurs / meilleures -> les meilleurs / les meilleures
- bons / bonnes -> meilleurs / meilleures -> les meilleurs / les meilleures
When to use bien (adverb) and therefore mieux
In French, you'll use the adverb bien and its comparative mieux when:
1.
making a general statement with être about something or someone being fine/OK/better/the best:
C'est bien d'y aller à pied, mais c'est mieux de prendre le bus.It's fine to walk there, but it's better to take the bus.
Et si je le mets comme ça ? - Oui, c'est mieux.And if I put it like this? - Yes, that's better.
Ta télé est bien mais la mienne est mieux.Your TV is fine but mine is better.
Tu préfères courir ou nager ?
- Nager, c'est mieux !Do you prefer running or swimming?
- Swimming, it's better!
- Nager, c'est mieux !Do you prefer running or swimming?
- Swimming, it's better!
2.
talking about an action (verb) being done well/better/the best:
Laquelle de ces bouilloires marche le mieux ?Which of these kettles works the best?
De tous mes amis, tu es celui qui dessine le mieux.Of all my friends, you're the one who draws the best.
Je cours bien, mais il court mieux que moi.I run well, but he runs better than me.
Lady Gaga chante mieux que Lana Del Rey.Lady Gaga sings better than Lana Del Rey.
These forms come from:
bien (well) -> mieux (better) -> le mieux (the best)
The negative cases are a bit different:
- Plus mauvais(e) is the comparative form of the adjective mauvais/mauvaise;
- Plus mal is the comparative form of the adverb mal
and
- Pire applies both to mauvais(e), and to general statements with être.
- Plus mal is the comparative form of the adverb mal
and
- Pire applies both to mauvais(e), and to general statements with être.
When to use pire or plus mauvais/e (adjective)
In French, you'll use the adjective mauvais and its comparative pire/plus mauvais when:
1.
qualifying something as bad/worse/the worst at what it does, or bad/worse/the worst in taste (food):
Ton accent est mauvais, mais mon accent est pire que le tien.Your accent is bad, but my accent is worse than yours.
Ton accent est mauvais, mais mon accent est plus mauvais que le tien.Your accent is bad, but my accent is worse than yours.
Ces voitures sont les pires du monde.
Ces voitures sont les plus mauvaises du monde.These cars are the worst in the world.
Ces voitures sont les plus mauvaises du monde.These cars are the worst in the world.
Ses résultats sont plus mauvais que l'année dernière.His results are worse than last year.
Ses résultats sont pires que l'année dernière.His results are worse than last year.
2.
qualifying someone as a bad/worse/the worst person or bad/worse/the worst at something:
Clarisse est la plus mauvaise élève de ma classe.Clarisse is the worst pupil in my class.
Matt et Sylvain sont les pires élèves de la classe.Matt and Sylvain are the worst students in the class.
Béatrice est plus mauvaise en français que moi.Beatrice is worse at French than I am.
Béatrice est pire en français que moi.Beatrice is worse at French than I am.
ATTENTION:
You can never use plus pire, as pire already contains the idea of more.
These forms come from:
- mauvais/e (bad)
-> pire / plus mauvais/e (worse)
-> le/la pire / le/la plus mauvais/e (the worst) - mauvais/mauvaises
-> pires / mauvais / mauvaises
-> les pires / les plus mauvais / les plus mauvaises
When to use plus mal (adverb)
In French, you'll use the adverb mal/plus mal when:
talking about an action (verb) being done badly/worse/the worst:
Pierre joue mal, mais Louis joue encore plus mal que lui.Pierre plays badly, but Louis plays even more badly than him.
De toute l'équipe, c'est Karl qui danse le plus mal.Out of the whole team, Karl is the one who dances the worst.
These forms come from:
mal (badly) -> plus mal (more badly / worse) -> le plus mal (the worst)
When to use pire in general statements (adverb)
In French, you'll use the adverb pire when:
making a general statement with être about something or someone being bad/worse/the worst:
C'est moins douloureux comme ça ? - Non, c'est pire !Is it less painful like this? - No, it's worse!
C'est difficile de parler, mais c'est pire de se taire.It's hard to talk, but it's worse to stay quiet.
- Et si je le mets comme ça, c'est mieux ? - Non, c'est encore pire !- And if I put it like this, is it better? - No, it's even worse!
For other Superlative forms, see:
Le/la/les plus and Le/la/les moins = The most and the least (Superlative with Adjectives in French)
Le plus/Le moins = The most/the least (Superlative with Adverbs in French)
Forming the superlative of French adjectives in complex cases
And for Comparative structures:
Plus... plus..., moins... moins... = the more...the more..., the less...the less... (comparisons with phrases)
Better and better, worse and worse = de mieux en mieux, de pire en pire (Comparisons in French)
De plus en plus / De moins en moins + [adverbe/adjectif/verbe] = more and more / less and less + [adverb/adjective/verb] (Comparisons in French)
De plus en plus de / de moins en moins de + [nom] = more and more / less and less + [nouns] (Comparisons in French)
Plus ... que/Moins ... que/Aussi ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As ... as (Comparisons with Adjectives in French)
Plus ... que/Moins ... que/Aussi ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As ... as (Comparisons with Adverbs in French)
Plus que/Moins que/Autant que = More than/Less than/As much as (Comparisons with Verbs in French)
Plus de ... que/Moins de ... que/Autant de ... que = More ... than/Less ... than/As much/many ... as (Comparisons with Nouns in French)
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Examples and resources
Ces voitures sont les plus mauvaises du monde.These cars are the worst in the world.
- La vanille, c'est bon, mais le chocolat, c'est meilleur !
Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?
- Vanilla is good, but chocolate is better!
- Nager, c'est mieux !Do you prefer running or swimming?
- Swimming, it's better!
