högre

Högre is the comparative form of the Swedish adjective hög, meaning high or tall. It is used to express that one thing has greater height, level, degree, or extent than another. The corresponding superlative is högst, and the positive form is hög.

Etymology and related forms: högre derives from the old Scandinavian word for high, with cognates in Danish høj and Norwegian høy. The form is a standard comparative inflection in modern Swedish.

Grammar and usage: Högre is used both attributively before a noun and predicatively in clauses. Examples: ett högre hus (a higher house), en högre byggnad (a higher building), huset blev högre än tidigare (the house became higher than before). In definite constructions the adjective still appears in the comparative form: det högre huset, de högre byggnaderna. The comparative is commonly followed by than, as in högre än, meaning higher than. Högre is also found in fixed expressions such as högre utbildning (higher education) and högre nivåer (higher levels).

Notes: When indicating an increase in degree rather than physical height, högre can describe more advanced or more intense states, for example högre krav (stricter or higher demands) or högre temperaturer (higher temperatures). The word is generally neutral and widely used in everyday Swedish, education, science, media, and policy discourse.

See also: hög, högsta, höghet, högre utbildning.