Comparing things: "more than", "the most", "as … as"
Japanese adjectives have no "-er" or "-est": the adjective stays as it is, and another word does the comparing. より, "than", is the one to start with. The others depend on what the comparison shows: one person is not as tall as another, two are about equal, or one is the tallest.
| To say | Form | With 背が |
|---|---|---|
| taller than my brother | より | 兄より |
| my brother is the taller one | の | 兄の |
| which is taller? | どちらが | どちらが |
| the tallest | 一番 | 一番背が |
| not as tall as my brother | ほど | 兄ほど |
| about as tall as my brother | と | 兄と |
| tall, like my brother | と | 兄と |
| tall, unlike my brother | と | 兄と |
| nobody is as tall as my brother | ほど | 兄ほど |
| tall compared with my brother | に | 兄に |
より: than
Full pageより・
より comes after the thing you measure against, where English puts "than" in front.
My older sister is taller than I am.
Tokyo has more people than Osaka.
"Has more people" is 人が多い: the people are many.
To say how much more, ずっと (much), 少し (a little) or an amount goes right before the adjective. もっと is "more", mostly when the "than" part goes unsaid. No single word means "less": "less expensive" is 安い, "cheap".
The coffee at this shop is one hundred yen cheaper than at the shop by the station.
Do you have a cheaper one?
Rent in Tokyo is twice what it is in this town.
With 二倍, "twice as much", the thing you measure against takes の, not より.
のほうが and どちら: which of the two
Full pageより・
のほうが goes after the one you pick out of two: the cheaper one, the one you like better. "Prefer" is のほうが好き, and "I'd rather have" is のほうがいい.
I prefer coffee to tea.
I'd rather have coffee.
"Which?" is どちらが, for exactly two of anything, or どっち with friends. The second と in the question often drops. The answer takes のほうが.
Which do you prefer, summer or winter?
I prefer winter.
一番: the most
Full pageより・
一番, "number one", is "the most" or "-est" before an adjective. The group you are picking from comes first. A place can take で; a kind of thing or a set of items usually takes の中で, "out of". "Favorite" is 一番好きな.
The highest mountain in the world is Everest.
Among these four people, Ms. Tanaka is the tallest.
What is your favorite food?
With three or more, どちら no longer fits. The question takes 何, どれ, だれ or another ordinary question word.
Which animal do you like best?
二番目にN5
"Second most": 二番目に高い, the second highest. 一番, "the most", has no 目.
I'm the second tallest in my class.
ほど～ない: not as … as
Full pageほど・
ほど with a negative is the usual way to say "not as … as", or "less … than"; より with a negative is not.
Today is not as cold as yesterday.
Before ほど comes the one with more: yesterday was colder.
Ken is not as good at cooking as Mika.
Gentler than ミカより下手だ, "worse than Mika".
より, のほうが or ほど～ない?
One fact can be said three ways, depending on what the conversation is about.
This shop is cheaper than the shop by the station.
You are already talking about this shop.
This shop is cheaper than the shop by the station.
You are choosing between the two.
The shop by the station is not as cheap as this shop.
You are talking about the shop by the station.
と同じくらい: about as … as
Full pageと同じ・
と同じくらい says two things are about equal: 同じ is "the same", and くらい, or ぐらい, is "about".
The wind is about as strong today as it was yesterday.
Where it goes wrong
English uses the same words in "as tall as" and "not as tall as". Japanese doesn't: ほど goes with a negative when comparing two things.
Not said: 私は
(I am as tall as my older brother.)
It is 私は兄と同じくらい背が高い.
The より part can come first or second, so English word order is no guide: look at which word より follows.
I prefer dogs to cats.
より second. It means the same.
と同じ and と違って: the same as, unlike
Full pageと同じ・
と同じ is "the same as", and と違う is "different from". Their て-forms join onto what follows: と同じで is "like", usually with も in the second half, and と違って is "unlike".
The same as this one, please.
同じ goes straight onto a noun, with no な.
The price is different from last year.
Like my older sister, I'm a morning person too.
Unlike on weekdays, there are fewer buses on Sundays.
ほど～はない: nothing is as … as
Full pageほど・
ほど～はない is 一番 said with feeling, in praise or complaint. Unlike in "not as … as", the adjective stays positive, the negative follows a noun, and くらい can stand in for ほど.
Nobody is as kind as he is.
About a person the negative is いない: nobody else is as kind.
Among life's minor stresses, nothing is as unpleasant as the morning traffic.
に比べて: compared with
Full pageに比べてN3
に比べて first names what you measure against, and what you find comes after. と比べて and に比べると mean the same. People say it as well as write it.
Rent in this town is cheaper than in Tokyo.
The short everyday way.
Compared with Tokyo, rent in this town is cheap.
Here it means the same as the より sentence.
Compared with the previous model, there is no big difference in performance.
"No big difference": より can't say that.
Comparisons people make all the time
思ったよりthan I expected
The test was easier than I expected.
思ったほど～ないnot as … as I expected
The exam wasn't as hard as I expected.
前よりthan before
Your Japanese has gotten better than before.
昔に比べるとcompared with the old days
Compared with the old days, this area has become a lot more convenient.
以前と違ってunlike before
Unlike before, I now live near the station.
Other things "more" and "as … as" can mean
ば～ほどN3
Two things changing together: "the more …, the more …".
This novel gets more interesting the more you read it.
以上・以下N4
After a number: "or more", "or less". Both include the number; "more than" doesn't.
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