Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha nootopasokon yori sumaho no zisyoapuri de tango wo siraberukoto ga ooi. - I more often look up words with a dictionary app on my phone than on my laptop.

In the original sentence, the first part (ノートパソコンで単語を調べる) is abbreviated to just ノートパソコンより, because the rest is understood from context. Japanese often shortens the side of the comparison that is “obvious.”

So ノートパソコンより = “rather than (doing it on) my laptop,” with the “doing it on” part omitted.

Why is there no particle after ノートパソコン? Should it be ノートパソコンでより?

No particle is needed after ノートパソコン here because より is directly attached to the noun to mark the comparison.

Grammatically, it’s:

ノートパソコン + より = compared to a laptop

If you said ノートパソコンでより, it would sound wrong or at least very unnatural. The idea “on the laptop” (ノートパソコンで) is understood from the rest of the sentence and doesn’t have to be repeated.

Think of Xより Y as a single comparison pattern:
“Rather than X, (it’s) Y.”
Here: “Rather than laptop, (it’s) looking up words via a smartphone dictionary app.”

What is the difference between より and ほうが? Why is only より used here?

The basic comparison pattern is:

AよりBのほうが～ = B is ~ (more) than A.

But in real sentences you don’t always need both pieces. There are two main styles:

Full form:
- ノートパソコンよりスマホのほうが便利です。
  (Smartphones are more convenient than laptops.)
“One-sided” form with only より:
- ノートパソコンよりスマホを使います。
  (I use my smartphone more than my laptop.)

Your sentence uses type 2: the “better/more” side is just stated as the main predicate, and より only marks what it’s compared to. So:

ノートパソコンよりスマホの辞書アプリで単語を調べることが多い。
= “Compared to the laptop, I more often look up words using my smartphone’s dictionary app.”

You could make it more explicit (but also more wordy) with:

ノートパソコンで調べるより、スマホの辞書アプリで調べるほうが多い。

What does the の in スマホの辞書アプリ mean? Is it possession like “smartphone’s dictionary app”?

の here is the general “linking” or “modifying” particle. It often corresponds to English “of,” “for,” or a noun used as an adjective.

スマホの辞書アプリ can be understood as:

“dictionary app on/for (my) smartphone”
literally: “smartphone’s dictionary app,” but not necessarily about ownership; rather, it specifies type.

So AのB can mean:

possession: 私の本 (my book)
location/type: スマホの辞書アプリ (dictionary app for/on smartphones)

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could also say:

スマホで使う辞書アプリ (a dictionary app that you use on your smartphone)

Why is 辞書アプリ followed by で? Shouldn’t it be を if I’m “using” the app?

で marks the tool, means, or place by which an action is performed. Here, 辞書アプリで means “by/with/using the dictionary app.”

So the structure is:

辞書アプリで単語を調べる
- 辞書アプリで = using a dictionary app (tool)
- 単語を = words (direct object)
- 調べる = look up

If you said 辞書アプリを使って単語を調べる, then 辞書アプリを would be the direct object of 使う (“use the dictionary app”), and then 単語を調べる would be a second action.

Your sentence compresses that into one clause by using で:

“look up words with a dictionary app”

Why is 単語 marked with を? Why not something like 辞書アプリを調べる?

を marks the direct object—the thing the verb acts on.

調べる in this context means “to look up / to check / to investigate (something).”
What are you looking up? 単語 (words).
How are you doing it? Using a 辞書アプリ (tool, marked by で).

So:

単語を調べる = “to look up words”
辞書アプリで単語を調べる = “to look up words with a dictionary app”

If you said 辞書アプリを調べる, it would mean “to look up / investigate the dictionary app itself,” which is not what you want here.

What is the role of こと in 調べることが多い? Why not just 調べるが多い?

こと is a nominalizer: it turns a verb phrase into a noun-like phrase.

単語を調べる = (to) look up words
単語を調べること = the act of looking up words / looking up words (as a thing)

The adjective 多い (“many / frequent”) needs a noun as its subject:

〇〇が多い = there are many 〇〇 / 〇〇 happens a lot

So we need to turn the action “look up words” into a noun phrase so it can be the subject of 多い. That’s what こと does:

単語を調べることが多い。
= The act of looking up words is frequent.
→ I often look up words.

調べるが多い is ungrammatical because 調べる by itself is a verb, not a noun phrase.

You could also say:

単語を調べるのが多い。

Here の plays a similar nominalizing role to こと, but sounds a bit more casual/personal.

How does ことが多い express “I often do X”? Couldn’t I just say よく調べます?

Both patterns are common, but they’re slightly different in feel:

（私は）よく単語を調べます。
- Adverb よく modifies the verb.
- Very direct: “I often look up words.”
（私は）単語を調べることが多いです。
- The whole action “looking up words” is treated as a thing whose frequency is “many”.
- Literally: “The act of looking up words is frequent (for me).”

Nuance:

よく～する: simple, neutral, straightforward.
～ことが多い: a bit more descriptive/reflective; often used when talking about tendencies or habits, especially in slightly more formal or written language.

Both are natural; your sentence is just using the “tendency” pattern.

Why do we have both は and が in the same sentence (私は … 調べることが多い)?

This is a classic topic (は) vs subject (が) pattern.

私 is the topic: “as for me / speaking about me”.
The real grammatical subject of 多い is 単語を調べること (the act of looking up words).

So structurally:

私は [単語を調べることが多い]。
- Topic: 私は (as for me)
- Subject: 単語を調べることが (the act of looking up words)
- Predicate: 多い (is frequent)

You could also say:

単語を調べることが多いです。

and omit 私は if it’s clear you’re talking about yourself. That’s very natural in Japanese.

Why is the verb 調べる in dictionary form (non-past) instead of some “present continuous” form to mean a habit?

In Japanese, the dictionary form (non-past) of the verb is commonly used to describe general habits and regular actions, not just timeless facts.

毎日コーヒーを飲む。 = I drink coffee every day. (habit)
よく音楽を聞く。 = I often listen to music. (habit)

In your sentence:

単語を調べることが多い。
= The act of looking up words is frequent. (I often look up words.)

There is no need for a separate “present continuous for habits” form like English “I am usually doing…”. The combination of the non-past verb plus words like 多い / よく / たいてい / いつも easily expresses habitual actions.

Can 私 be omitted here? Would the sentence still be natural?

Yes, 私 can definitely be omitted, and that’s often more natural in real conversation if it’s obvious you’re talking about yourself.

So you could simply say:

ノートパソコンよりスマホの辞書アプリで単語を調べることが多い。

Listeners will normally infer the subject (“I”) from context, especially when you are talking about your own preferences or habits. Japanese frequently drops pronouns that are obvious from the situation.

Is ノートパソコン just “laptop”? Could I just say パソコン?

ノートパソコン specifically means a laptop/notebook computer.
パソコン is more general: “personal computer” (desktop or laptop).

In casual speech, many people do say パソコン even when they mean a laptop, especially if the distinction doesn’t matter. But if you want to clearly contrast a laptop with a smartphone, ノートパソコン is a bit more precise and natural.

Could you rephrase this sentence in a simpler way using a pattern learners see early, like AよりBのほうが～?

A clearer, textbook-style comparative version could be:

私はノートパソコンで単語を調べるより、スマホの辞書アプリで単語を調べるほうが多いです。

Or a bit smoother:

私は、ノートパソコンよりスマホの辞書アプリのほうで単語を調べることが多いです。

These explicitly show:

A: ノートパソコン（で）単語を調べる
B: スマホの辞書アプリ（で）単語を調べる
Bのほうが多い = B is more frequent.

Your original sentence just omits the explicit ほうが and relies on context plus より to express “more than.”