Comparing
The frames that rank things: most, more, than, than expected, and not as.
ichiban
the most; number one
一番 いちばん
Makes any adjective superlative ('the most'). kono naka de ('out of these') sets the range.
kyou, kotoshi ichiban samui ne
Today's the coldest day of the year, huh.
今日、今年一番寒いね
kyou wa kotoshi ichiban samui desu ne
Today's the coldest day of the year, isn't it.
今日は今年一番寒いですね
'Ichiban suki' (my favourite) is the chunk you will use most.
Learn alongside: no hou ga, yori, omotta yori, hodo
no hou ga
X is more …
の方が のほうが
Goes after the winning item to say 'X is more …' (kotchi no hou ga ii). It is the standard answer to 'dotchi?'.
kyou no hou ga samui ne
Today's colder, huh.
今日の方が寒いね
kyou no hou ga samui desu ne
Today's colder, isn't it.
今日の方が寒いですね
The full frame is A yori B no hou ga …, but in speech either half usually stands alone. no goes only after a noun (kotchi no hou ga ii). Adjectives and verbs take hou ga directly (yasui hou ga ii, iku hou ga hayai); never yasui no hou ga.
Learn alongside: ichiban, yori, omotta yori, hodo
yori
than
より
Goes after the item being beaten to mean 'than' (kinou yori samui). In speech it usually stands alone; the full frame adds no hou ga to the winner.
kinou yori samui ne
It's colder than yesterday.
昨日より寒いね
kinou yori samui desu ne
It's colder than yesterday, isn't it.
昨日より寒いですね
Trap: the thing before yori is the one that loses (has less of the quality). Kinou yori samui = today is colder.
Learn alongside: ichiban, no hou ga, omotta yori, hodo
omotta yori
than I thought
思ったより おもったより
Says that something was more (or less) than you expected, and works with any adjective (omotta yori takai, omotta yori hayakatta).
omotta yori samui ne
It's colder than I expected.
思ったより寒いね
omotta yori samui desu ne
It's colder than I expected.
思ったより寒いですね
Two pool items used as one chunk. Casual speech often uses omotteta yori (思ってたより) with the same meaning. The let-down version is omotta hodo … nai.
Learn alongside: ichiban, no hou ga, yori, hodoLearn first: omou, -ta, yori
hodo
not as … as; about (polite)
ほど
With a negative it means 'not as … as' (kinou hodo samukunai). It also marks extreme extent (shinu hodo, 'to death'). After an amount in polite or service speech it simply means 'about' (juppun hodo kakarimasu = it takes about ten minutes), with no negative and no comparison.
kinou hodo samukunai ne
It's not as cold as yesterday.
昨日ほど寒くないね
kinou hodo samukunai desu ne
It's not as cold as yesterday, is it.
昨日ほど寒くないですね
Trap: in a comparison, hodo always means NOT as … as, never 'as … as'. -ba … hodo means 'the more … the more'.
Learn alongside: ichiban, no hou ga, yori, omotta yoriLearn first: yori, -kunai / -ja nai