に比(くら)べてCompared to, When compared to

Structure

Noun + に比(くら)べ（て）⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾ に比(くら)べたら、に比(くら)べれば、に比(くら)べると

Details

About に比べて

に比(くら)べて is a set expression in Japanese, used when comparing one thing to another. It is often simply translated as '(A) compared to (B)', or 'when comparing (A) to (B)'. 比(くら)べる is a る - Verb that means 'to compare', or 'to contrast'.

に比(くら)べて will be attached directly after a noun, before the (B) part of the sentence will explain the comparison that is being made.

Occasionally, the case marking particle と will be used instead of に. に and と are largely interchangeable in this expression, with に focusing slightly more on the changes/differences between similar features of (A) and (B). Alternatively と often mutually contrasts (A) and (B), discussing their individual/unique characteristics.

Caution

The way that 比(くら)べる is conjugated is not overly important to the sentence, so long as the meaning of 'if', or 'when' is conveyed. Due to this, に比(くら)べたら, に比(くら)べれば, and に比(くら)べると are all possible combinations.

Examples

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野球(やきゅう)に比(くら)べたら、サッカーの方(ほう)が好(す)きだ。

When compared with baseball, I like soccer more.

一学期(いちがっき)に比(くら)べて成績(せいせき)がよくなった。

My grades have improved compared to first semester.

昨日(きのう)に比(くら)べたら今日(きょう)は暖(あたた)かい。

Compared to yesterday, today is warmer.

去年(きょねん)に比(くら)べて今年(ことし)は雪(ゆき)が多(おお)い。

Compared to last year, there is more snow.

昔(むかし)に比(くら)べると、今(いま)の人(ひと)は長生(ながい)きだ。

People live longer nowadays compared to those in the past.

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- ～に比べて・と比べて
  日本語の先生
- に比べて [video]
  Nihongoの森

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に比べて – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (10 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
compared to

Structure
Noun + に比べて
Noun + に比べると
Noun + に比べ
Noun + に比べたら

View on Bunpro
conan
The explanation on the grammar page adds: “[に比べて→Comparing A opposed to B with more emphasis on a change/difference・と比べて→Mutually contrasting A with B]”

Is it possible to add some sentences or a separate grammar point with the と比べて version to help us better see/remember the difference?
eefara

mrnoone:

Noun + に比べて
Noun + に比べると
Noun + に比べ
Noun + に比べたら

What are the differences between these four? Is it just how they connect to other words/clauses/sentences?
mrnoone
Hey there is not much difference between those, except に比べ being most formal. Also に比べ・に比べて is used more often than に比べると and に比べたら。

Cheers!
Johnathan-Weir
@conan Seconding this, it really bugs me when Bunpro shows alternative grammar patterns on the site but then has no example sentences for them.
Tulip
How does に比べて differ from より? I’ve currently got them slotted into sufficiently similar mental slots that I keep answering one to questions looking for the other; I think of them both as comparison markers. But I assume that important differences do, in fact, exist between the two, given that those answers of mine keep being marked as wrong. So what are those differences?
Culo_nudo

How does に比べて differ from より? I’ve currently got them slotted into sufficiently similar mental slots that I keep answering one to questions looking for the other; I think of them both as comparison markers. But I assume that important differences do, in fact, exist between the two, given that those answers of mine keep being marked as wrong. So what are those differences?

I have the same question. For example, why is using より instead of に比べて wrong in this sentence?
去年に比べて、今年は雪は多い。
nekoyama
I think より could be used in this sentence and the meaning would be more or less the same.

In English there also isn’t really a difference in meaning between “compared to last year, this year there’s a lot of snow” (に比べて) and “this year there’s more snow than last year” (より).
Pablunpro
Hi,
I have the same exact question. Is there a kind soul that can enlighten us on this?
Thank you in advance
Fuga
Hey @Tulip and @Pablunpro !

に比べて and より basically mean the same thing, so you can replace each grammar point with the other. However, they do have a slight difference in nuance. Since this grammar point uses the verb 比べる, ‘to compare’, it is used to emphasize the contrast (A compared to B), while より is used to demonstrate that something is more ~ than something else (B is more something than A).

It seems like some of the questions for this grammar point did not include a hint for より, so we have just added them!

I hope this answers your question!
Pablunpro
Indeed it does, Fugaさん! お返事ありがとうございます。
Do have a nice day！