よりComparison baseline marker
より marks the person, thing, time, or expectation used as the baseline for a comparison. The adjective, adverb, or quantity elsewhere in the sentence tells you what difference is being compared.
How the comparison works
Think of the phrase ending in より as the reference point. The rest of the sentence says how the compared item differs from that reference point.
Different kinds of comparison
The same particle works with many scales, including weight, temperature, and price.
このかばんはあのかばんより軽いです。
This bag is lighter than that bag.
Analyze今日は昨日より寒いです。
Today is colder than yesterday.
Analyzeこの店のコーヒーは駅前の店より百円安いです。
The coffee at this shop is one hundred yen cheaper than at the shop by the station.
AnalyzeThe quantity gives the size of the difference; the phrase with より still marks the baseline.
Comparing with an expectation
試験は思ったより簡単でした。
The test was easier than I expected.
AnalyzeHere the baseline is what the speaker had expected, rather than another physical object.
When the baseline is already clear
この部屋は前の部屋より広いですか。
Is this room larger than the previous room?
Analyzeはい、ずっと広いです。
Yes, it is much larger.
AnalyzeThe answer does not repeat the baseline because the question has already made it clear that the comparison is with the previous room.
Related comparison patterns
より alone compactly marks the baseline. The fuller pattern より～のほうが explicitly presents two alternatives and highlights the selected side, while the topic-first frame ～は～より makes the compared item the topic. に比べて creates a fuller comparison frame and often sounds more deliberate or expository.
More examples
電車はバスより速いです。
The train is faster than the bus.
Analyze姉は私より背が高いです。
My older sister is taller than I am.
Analyze私はパンよりごはんをよく食べます。
I eat rice more often than bread.
Analyze会議は予定より早く終わりました。
The meeting ended earlier than planned.
Analyzeこの町は東京より人が少ないです。
This town has fewer people than Tokyo.
Analyze明日は今日より早く家を出ます。
Tomorrow I will leave home earlier than today.
Analyze