より
- 1Marks the item being compared against, meaning "than".Ex. 1
- 2Used with ほうが to say which of two things has more of a quality.Ex. 2
- 3In formal or written style, marks a starting point in time or space, meaning "from".
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This is a basic, neutral way to compare two things in both speech and writing. It often pairs with ほうが to identify the item with more of the stated quality, while に比べて is a more formal "compared with". The "from" meaning appears mainly in notices, announcements and formal writing.
Learners often attach より to the wrong noun, but より follows the standard being compared against, not the item described.
Note that Japanese adjectives do not change form for comparison, so there is no ending like English "-er".
Note that ほど〜ない is the standard way to say "not as … as", although より with a negative (去年より暑くない) is also possible.
- より〜ほうがN5Used only for comparison: mark the higher-degree side with 「ほうが」 (add 「の」 after a noun), putting the focus on that side; it often answers 「どちらが」 questions. Unlike 「より」, it has no 'starting point' meaning.
- 〜ほど〜ないN5Used only for negative comparison: the sentence must end in a negative form, meaning 'A is not as ... as B', with a relatively soft tone. 「AはBほど〜ない」 can roughly be rephrased as 「BはAより〜」, but the two sides of the comparison are swapped.
- に比べてN3Corresponds only to 「より」's 'compared to' sense; it stresses the contrast between the two and is often used to contrast differences in nature or category, with a somewhat formal tone. Before a verb, add 「の」 first, as in 「行くのに比べて」.
- にもましてN1Corresponds only to 「より」's comparison sense; it is written-style and emphasizes exceeding the previous item. It attaches to nouns, question words, and 「それ」, but not to verbs or adjectives. When 「何より」 is used adverbially it can be replaced with 「何にもまして」, but not when it functions as a predicate.
- にひきかえN1Close to 「より」's 'compared to' sense only, but it does not compare degrees; instead it stresses that the two are complete opposites, carrying a tone of praise or criticism and leaning written-style. Before a conjugated word, add 「の」 first. For simply comparing degrees, use 「より」; the two generally cannot be swapped.
より〜ほうが is the fuller frame built on より that picks out the item with more of the quality, whether desirable or not (as in hotter weather), and 〜ほど〜ない is the usual negative comparison ("not as … as"). に比べて is a more formal "compared with", にもまして means "even more than" (often "than ever"), and にひきかえ contrasts two opposite situations, often with a judgment.
