kodomo no koro, ane ha orenzi yori remon no hou ga suki desita.

子供のころ means when someone was a child or in one’s childhood.

It is built like this:

• 子供 = child
• の = links the noun to the following word
• ころ = around the time of, in the period of

So X の ころ means around the time of X.

Examples:

• 学生のころ = when I was a student / in my student days
• 子供のころ = when I was a child / in childhood

By itself, 子供のころ does not explicitly say whose childhood it is. Japanese often leaves that understood from context.

In a sentence like this, the listener figures it out from the surrounding situation or from the translation already given. Very often, English has to make this clearer than Japanese does.

So this is a good example of a general Japanese pattern:

• Japanese: often leaves subjects and possessors unstated
• English: often requires them to be stated

Because Japanese often omits things that are obvious from context.

Here, 姉 usually means my older sister when the speaker is talking about their own family member. Saying 私の姉 is possible, but often unnecessary.

So:

• 姉 = my older sister
• 私の姉 = my older sister, with extra explicitness

Japanese tends to avoid repeating information that the listener can already infer.

は marks 姉 as the topic of the sentence.

The sentence is basically talking about the older sister:

• As for my older sister, ...

This does not mean 姉 is the thing being liked. It means she is the person whose preference is being discussed.

So the structure is roughly:

• 姉は = as for my older sister
• レモンのほうが好きでした = liked lemons better

This is a very common comparison pattern in Japanese:

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

So here:

• オレンジより = than oranges
• レモンのほうが = lemons, by comparison / the lemon side

Together:

• オレンジよりレモンのほうが好き = likes lemons more than oranges

This is one of the main ways Japanese expresses preference or comparison.

ほう literally means something like side, direction, or option.

In comparisons, it points to the side being favored.

So:

• レモンのほう = the lemon side / the lemon option

In natural English, we usually do not translate it literally. We just turn it into a comparison:

• レモンのほうが好き = like lemons better

So ほう is doing important grammatical work even though it often disappears in smooth English translation.

Because ほう behaves like a noun, and レモンのほう literally means the side of lemons or the lemon side.

The の connects the two nouns:

• レモン = lemon
• ほう = side
• レモンのほう = the lemon side

This is a fixed and very common pattern in comparison sentences. You should think of B の ほう が as a chunk.

Because が marks the thing that is the focus of 好き.

In Japanese, 好き does not work exactly like the English verb to like. The thing liked is often marked with が.

So in this sentence:

• 姉は = as for my older sister
• レモンのほうが = lemons are the preferred option
• 好きでした = was liked / were liked

A more literal way to think about it is:

• As for my older sister, the lemon side was liked more than oranges.

That sounds unnatural in English, but it helps explain the grammar.

Because 好き is not a regular verb. It is a na-adjective (often explained to learners as an adjectival noun).

So Japanese says something closer to:

• X が 好きです = X is liked / I like X

And the past polite form is:

• 好きでした = liked / was liked

This is why you do not say 好きました.

Useful forms:

• 好きです = like / likes
• 好きでした = liked
• 好きじゃないです = do not like
• 好きじゃなかったです = did not like

Because the sentence is talking about a past time: childhood.

So the preference is described as something true then:

• 好きでした = liked / used to like

The です / でした part also makes the sentence polite.

So でした carries two things:

• past tense
• polite style

Because they are loanwords.

In Japanese:

• オレンジ = orange
• レモン = lemon

Katakana is commonly used for:

• foreign loanwords
• many foreign names
• some sound effects
• some emphasis

So seeing fruit names in katakana is normal when the word came into Japanese from another language.

Yes. That is a very natural English way to express the same idea.

Japanese often uses the comparison pattern:

• A より B のほうが好き

English often uses:

• like B more than A
• prefer B to A

So these are good equivalents:

• She liked lemons more than oranges.
• She preferred lemons to oranges.

Both match the Japanese well.

Yes, in many situations they are very similar.

• 子供のころ = in childhood / when one was a child
• 子供の時 = when one was a child

A small nuance:

• ころ can feel a little more like around that period
• 時 can feel a little more neutral and exact as when

But in everyday use, both are very common, and in a sentence like this they are close in meaning.