Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 11/13

より~の(ほう)

To be more ~ than ~

Structure

Verb (A) + より + Verb (B) + (ほう) +

[い]Adjective (A) + より + [い]Adjective (B) + (ほう) +

[な]Adjective (A) + + より + [な]Adjective (B) + + (ほう) +

Noun (A) + より + Noun (B) + + (ほう) +

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Expression

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    表現

  • 単語の種類

    形容詞・形容動詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About より~のほうが

より~のほうが can be thought of as similar to the grammar points たほうがいい, and ないほうがいい, in that it expresses that one thing is the 'better (A)', or 'more (A)'. However, unlike ほうがいい based expressions, any pair of adjectives, verbs, or nouns may be compared in this construction, so long as のほうが is followed by an adjective.
より translates roughly to 'than', or 'rather than' in this phrase.
  • 田舎(いなか)()より都会(とかい)(ほう)いい
    I like living in the city more than the countryside.
  • 彼女(かのじょ)より(わたし)(ほう)()(たか)
    I am taller than my girlfriend.
  • 映画(えいが)(こわ)より面白(おもしろ)(ほう)()
    I like funny movies more than scary movies.
From the examples listed here, we can see that より will always appear after the word that has the lower extent of (A), when used together with のほうが.
Caution
When より is used by itself, or when it is not linked directly to the previous word, it can seem like it has the opposite meaning. However, in these cases, のほうが just remains unsaid.
  • これより(たか)
    This is more expensive. (Compared to other things in general)
In this example, because the より is after , not before これ, it is easy to assume that これ is the thing that is lower. However, this behaves in the same way as のほうが, meaning that これ itself is the more expensive thing, with より just being used like 'relatively' (compared to many other things).
Caution
Although (ほう) is the most common construction, the particle を may sometimes replace が. This is especially true when used with markers of desire such as たい and ほしい. The primary difference between these two is that が emphasizes what a person wants or wants to do (the whole statement), while を emphasizes the item or action itself (regardless of the rest of the statement). With たい, both を and が will sound completely natural. However, with ほしい, が will be more natural, while を is accepted.
  • 給料(きゅうりょう)がいい仕事(しごと)より、(たの)しい仕事(しごと)(ほう)したい。
    I want to do a job that is fun, more than a job that pays better. (Natural Japanese)
  • この(ちい)さいテレビより、その(おお)きいテレビ(ほう)()しい。
    I want that big TV rather than this small TV. (Natural Japanese, but が is more common)
This use of ほしい only applies to wanting items, as opposed to たい, which indicates the desire to 'do' something.

Examples

  • このパンよりそのパン(ほう)美味(おい)しいです

    That bread is more delicious than this bread.

  • バスケットボールよりサッカー(ほう)()

    I like soccer more than basketball.

  • ユキよりリュウト(ほう)(かしこ)

    Ryuto is smarter than Yuki.

  • 月曜日(げつようび)より日曜日(にちようび)(ほう)()

    I like Sunday more than Monday.

  • あそこ 公園(こうえん)より(いえ)(ちか)公園(こうえん)(ほう)(ひろ)

    The park near my house is more spacious than that park over there.

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より~のほうが – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

  • TokyoNeonDreams

    TokyoNeonDreams

    About 1 year ago

    わかりました。ありがとうございました。

  • Arwin1

    Arwin1

    About 1 year ago

    This sentence turned up in my reviews:
    漢字より文法のほうを勉強したい。

    I typed のほうが here and got a hint that another particle (を apparently) would be more natural than が. Why is this? I can’t find a mention of this in the grammar point or its examples.

  • komocode

    komocode

    About 1 month ago

    wondering the same. weird solution

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