dyrare

Dyrare is the Swedish comparative form of the adjective dyr, meaning expensive. It is used to compare prices or values of two or more items. In standard Swedish, dyrare appears before the noun it modifies when used attributively, and can also occur predicatively after the verb vara (to be). An example is: "Den här boken är dyrare än den där." The superlative form is dyrast.

In practice, dyrare is used across contexts including consumer pricing, finance, and everyday speech. It is commonly combined with conjunctions or phrases that introduce the comparison, such as "än" (than). The expression ju dyrare, desto bättre is a common construction meaning "the more expensive, the better" in certain stylistic contexts.

Dyrare is cognate with related forms in neighboring Scandinavian languages. In Danish and Norwegian, the equivalent comparative is dyrere (Danish) or dyrere (Norwegian), and these forms share a root meaning of costliness. The Swedish dyrare differs in spelling but conveys the same basic idea of greater expense.

Etymology: dyr in Swedish derives from a common Germanic root meaning valuable or costly; cognates include Danish dyr and Norwegian dyr, as well as the English word dear in its costly sense. The precise historical forms vary by language, but the core meaning—cost or value—remains consistent.