What the absolute superlative is
The absolute superlative (superlativo absoluto) says that something has a quality to a very high degree. Nothing is compared to anything: it means very, extremely, incredibly.
There are two ways: the ending -ísimo on the adjective, or muy in front of it. muy works just like English very and is neutral. -ísimo has no English equivalent, since English uses a separate word, never an ending. The closest thing is the informal super- in supertired, and that is the flavour of -ísimo: more emphatic and typical of speech. Never both together: not muy altísimo.
Same meaning, different tone
El café está buenísimo.
The coffee is absolutely delicious.
El café está muy bueno.
The coffee is very good.
La casa es carísima.
The house is incredibly expensive.
La casa es muy cara.
The house is very expensive.
Building the -ísimo form
The final vowel of the adjective drops, then -ísimo follows. The result is still an ordinary adjective and agrees in gender and number: -ísimo, -ísima, -ísimos, -ísimas. English very tall looks the same whoever it describes.
These endings work differently. With -co and -go the spelling changes so that the sound stays the same, as in queso and guitarra (compare English panic → panicking).
Different endings
| Ends in | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Consonant | add -ísimo directly | fácil → facilísimo |
| -co / -ca | c → qu | rico → riquísimo |
| -go / -ga | g → gu | largo → larguísimo |
The stress always falls on the í, and it always carries the written accent. An accent the adjective had before disappears: fácil → facilísimo, rápido → rapidísimo. English never writes accents, so this is easy to forget.
Este edificio es altísimo.
This building is incredibly tall.
Estos zapatos son carísimos.
These shoes are incredibly expensive.
La paella está riquísima.
The paella is absolutely delicious.
Este camino es larguísimo.
This path goes on forever.
El examen es facilísimo.
The exam is dead easy.
mucho works the same way: muchísimo, muchísima. You will hear it all the time.
Muchísimas gracias.
Thank you so, so much.
Me gusta muchísimo.
I like it a lot.
