We've learned how to use より to compare nouns, and now we’re going to learn a similar construction that allows us to compare adjectives and verbs as well.
In Japanese, adjectives don’t change when you want to make a comparison. Rather than adding a suffix to them as in English (e.g. fast, faster), in Japanese we use the phrase より ~ ほうが also written as より ~ 方が.
In a previous lesson, we learned to say:
| Today is busier than yesterday. | 今日 は 昨日 より 忙しい です。kyou wa kinou yori isogashii desu. |
When using より ~ ほうが, we would say:
| Today is busier than yesterday. | 昨日 より 今日 の 方 が 忙しい です。kinou yori kyou no hou ga isogashii desu. |
より ~ ほうが combines with nouns, adjectives and verbs as follows:
| Noun 1 | より | Noun 2 + の | ほう が |
| い-adjective 1 | より | い-adjective 2 | ほう が |
| な-adjective + な | より | な-adjective + な | ほう が |
| Verb 1 | より | Verb 2 | ほう が |
See the below tables for some more examples:
| I like hot (weather) more than the cold. | 寒い より 暑い 方 が 好き だ。samui yori atsui hou ga suki da. |
| I like people who are energetic rather than quiet. | 静かな より 元気な 人 が 好き です。shizukana yori genkina hito ga suki desu. |
| I think it's more interesting to watch films than to read books. | 本 を 読む より 映画 を 見る 方 が 面白い と 思う。hon o yomu yori eiga o miru hou ga omoshiroi to omou. |
You can also write より and 方が the other way around, as you can see in the following sentences.
| Today is busier than yesterday. | 今日 の 方 が 昨日 より 忙しい です。kyou no hou ga kinou yori isogashii desu. |
| The bus is cheaper than the train. | バス の 方 が 電車 より 安い です。basu no hou ga densha yori yasui desu. |
| I'm taller than my younger sister. | 私 の 方 が 妹 より 背 が 高い です。watashi no hou ga imouto yori se ga takai desu. |
| A: Which do you like more, summer or winter? B: I like summer more than winter. | 「夏 と 冬、 どちら の 方 が 好き か。」 「夏 の 方 が 冬 より 好き だ。」「natsu to fuyu, dochira no hou ga suki ka.」 「natsu no hou ga fuyu yori suki da.」 |
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