sofu wa, sashimi yori tenpura no hou ga tabeyasui to itte ita.

My grandfather said tempura is easier to eat than sashimi.

Breakdown of sofu wa, sashimi yori tenpura no hou ga tabeyasui to itte ita.

• は: topic particle
• 食たべる: to eat
• が: subject particle
• の: possessive case particle

Questions & Answers about sofu wa, sashimi yori tenpura no hou ga tabeyasui to itte ita.

What does より mean in this sentence?

より marks the thing being compared against. In this sentence, 刺身より means than sashimi.

So the pattern is:

• A より B のほうが ...
• B is more ... than A

Here:

• 刺身より = than sashimi
• 天ぷらのほうが = tempura, rather / tempura is the one that...
• 食べやすい = easy to eat

So より does not mean from here. It is the comparison particle than.

Why is のほうが used after 天ぷら?

ほう literally means side or direction, but in comparisons it means something like the one / the option / the side.

So:

• 天ぷらのほうが = tempura is the one that... / as for tempura, it is more...

This pattern is extremely common in Japanese comparisons:

• A より B のほうが adjective
• B is more adjective than A

Examples:

• 犬より猫のほうが好きです。
  I like cats more than dogs.

• 電車よりバスのほうが安いです。
  Buses are cheaper than trains.

In your sentence, 天ぷらのほうが emphasizes that, of the two foods, tempura is the easier one to eat.