The Japanese language does not have single-word or like “faster” or “fastest.” Instead, we use certain sentence structures to express comparison, for example:
今日は昨日より暖かいです。
Kyō wa kinō yori atatakai desu.
Today is warmer than yesterday.
In this post, we’ll go over how structure a sentence making three different kinds of comparisons in Japanese:
Comparisons of inequality: “more”
Her car is more expensive than his.
Comparisons of equality: “as”
Her car is as expensive as his.
Superlative sentences: “most”
Her car is the most expensive (in the parking lot).
Along the way, we’ll also cover more details, as well, such as how to ask questions about the differences between things (“which is more X?”) and how to specify how different those things are (“a lot more X”). Let’s have a look!
How to form basic comparisons in Japanese: “more”
In Japanese, there are three common sentence patterns you can use to form a comparison where one noun has “more” of a quality than another. This is sometimes called a “comparison of inequality.”
In a neutral context, you can often use this simple structure:
Use for a sentence like: Marcus is more experienced than Annette.
In contexts where the greater noun is not the “” of the sentence, you’ll need to mark it with 〜のほう[no hō] instead. Most commonly this follows the pattern below, but there are some variations:
Use for a sentence like: Who should we hire? Marcus is more experienced.
If you want to focus on the “lesser” noun you can flip things around replace より[yori] with ほど[hodo] and use a negative adjective.
Use for a sentence like: Anette is not as experienced as Marcus.
In this section, we’ll go through each of these patterns in more detail — when and how to use each one, then we’ll discuss a few points that are relevant to all three sentence structures.
The “attribute” part of a comparison sentence is traditionally a predicate adjective, a form of an adjective which you would translate with “to be” + adjective, like:
However, it can take a few other forms as well:
an + as in 速く走る[hayaku hashiru](to run fast):
adverbverb
健太は宗介より速く走ることができます。
Kenta wa Sōsuke yori hayaku hashiru koto ga dekimasu.
Kenta can run faster than Sosuke.
a noun with range + だ/です[da/desu]
A “noun with range” provides a description of something that an individual might fit very well, or not as well.
adverbverb
田中さんの腕時計は僕の腕時計より高級品です。
Tanaka san no udedokei wa boku no udedokei yori kōkyūhin desu.
Mr. Tanaka’s watch is more of a high-class item than mine.
Check out our post state-of-being sentences in Japanese to learn more about the endings you should use with attributes like these.
Neutral comparisons with “more”: は...より
In a neutral context, a simple comparison between qualities will often be formed using は...より[wa…yori], following the pattern below.
今日は 昨日より暖かいです。
Kyō wa kinō yori atatakai desu.
Today is warmer than yesterday.
Though we usually translate sentences with this pattern using a comparative adjective like “warmer” or “more impressive,” you can also translate them using a sentence like:
Today, in comparison with yesterday, is warm.
Translations like this are a bit less natural in English, but they more closely match the Japanese, which does not use a special form of the adjective.
When you use this structure, the “greater” noun must always be the of the sentence. This means the noun before は[wa] doesn’t answer a question, it just brings our attention to a noun we were already discussing.
If the “greater” noun is not the topic, then you’ll need to follow it with 〜のほう[no hō] instead. We’ll discuss that below.
This just means that here we are following the general rule for using the particle は[wa]. To review what constitutes a “topic” in a Japanese sentence, check out our discussion of the particle は[wa].
You’ll often see the particle も[mo] added after より[yori] in this construction. Luckily, this doesn’t really impact the meaning, so it’s totally optional!
今日は昨日より (も) 暖かいです。
Kyō wa kinō yori (mo) atatakai desu.
Today is warmer than yesterday.
When to use 〜のほうが to form a comparison?
In conversational contexts where you can’t to follow one of the nouns in the comparison with the particle は[wa], you’ll need to use the it with the expression 〜のほう[no hō] after the noun with “more” of the quality. This will then be followed by the appropriate particle, most often が[ga].
候補者は？ ジョニーのほうがアネットよりいいよ。
Kōhosha wa? Joni no hō ga anetto yori Ī yo.
The candidates? Johnny is better than Annette.
→ The topic, marked by
は[wa], is the candidates. “Johnny” is answering an unspoken question about which to pick, and so would more appropriately be followed by the
particle が[ga].
You’ll often use this structure to answer questions or to select an option. In this use, we often leave out the lesser noun + より[yori] entirely. For example:
サッカーの ほうが好きです
Sokkā no hō ga suki desu
I like soccer more.
lit. Soccer is more likeable (to me).
→ You might use this to respond to a question like “Do you prefer soccer or baseball?”
The word ほう[hō], 方 in kanji, is a noun that means “direction.” Therefore, a phrase like サッカーのほう[sokkā no hō] could be literally translated as “soccer’s direction,” implying it’s the “choice” or the “winner” in a competition.
This structure can vary in several ways:
You can reorder the sentence so that the lesser noun + より[yori] comes first with no change in meaning. Use this pattern:
野球よりサッカーのほうが好きです。
Yakyū yori sakkā no hō ga suki desu.
Compared with baseball, I like soccer more.
The particle that follows 〜のほう[no hō] can vary, depending on what expressions are used in the sentence.
のほう [no hō]particle
うちではコーヒーより紅茶のほうをよく飲みます。
Uchi de wa kōhii yori kōcha no hō o yoku nomimasu.
I drink black tea more often than coffee at home.
→ We use を[o] because the “greater” noun (tea) is the object of the verb “drink.”
僕は兄より姉のほうによくメールします。
Boku wa ani yori ane no hō ni yoku mēru shimasu.
I email my older sister more often than I email my older brother.
→ We use に[ni] here because the “greater” noun (older sister) is the recipient of the verb “email.”
When a particle other than が[ga] is used, it usually sounds more natural to put the “lesser” noun first.
Here are some examples of comparisons that use non-adjective attributes.
adverbverb
春のほうが冬よりよく眠れます。
Haru no hō ga fuyu yori yoku nemuremasu.
I can sleep better in spring than winter.
noun with rangeだ/です
私より姉のほうが努力家です。
Watashi yori ane no hō ga doryokuka desu.
My older sister is more of a hard worker than I am.
Comparisons with “not as”: 〜ほど...ない [hodo…nai]
The Japanese equivalent of the comparison structure “not as [adjective] as…” uses the word ほど[hodo] in place of より[yori] along with a negative adjective. Here, the lesser adjective will be the subject of the sentence.
今日は昨日ほど暖かくないです。
Kyō wa kinō hodo atatakakunai desu.
Today is not as warm as yesterday.
Note that, like the English translation, in Japanese this implies that both nouns have the quality, but one just has more of that quality. Both days were warm, but yesterday was warmer.
If yesterday was a warm, but today is definitely cold, you would instead use a positive comparison, like:
今日は昨日より寒いです。
Kyō wa kinō yori samui desu.
Today is colder than yesterday.
どちら [dochira]: How to ask “which one?”
In Japanese, you can ask a listener to choose between two nouns using the question word どちら[dochira](which one). Follow the sentence pattern below:
サッカーと野球と(では)どちら(のほう)が好きですか 。
Sakkā to yakyū to (de wa) .dochira (no hō) ga suki desu ka.
Soccer or baseball, which one do you like more?
lit. …Which one is more likeable (to you)?
In casual conversation, you can use どっち[dotchi](which one) instead of どちら. On these occasions, the second と[to] is often omitted:
コーヒーと紅茶 (と)、どっちがいい？
Kōhii to kōcha (to), dotchi ga ii?
Coffee or tea, which do you prefer?
Another way to present the two options is to replace the second と[to] with の[no]. When you do this, you won’t include では[de wa], since you’re creating a long question phrase meaning something like “which one of [noun] or [noun]”.
東京とニューヨークのどちら (のほう) に住みたいですか。
Tōkyō to Nyūyōku no dochira (no hō) ni sumitai desu ka.
Which one of Tokyo or New York do you want to live in?
Answering "which one" questions
When answering a “which one” question in Japanese, the question, remember to mark the one you choose with 〜のほう[no hō] as we saw above!
サッカーのほうが好きです。
Sakkā no hō ga suki desu.
In more casual situations, you can make your answer even shorter answer by omitting the particle が[ga] and the attribute 好き[suki]. You can even omit のほう[no hō] too!
サッカーのほうです。
Sakkā no hō desu.
When the question is asked using どっち[dotchi] instead of どちら[dochira], the answers will usually be brief, as below:
Speaker A:コーヒーと紅茶 (と)、どっちがいい？
Kōhii to kōcha (to), dotchi ga ii?
Coffee or tea, which do you prefer?
Speaker B:紅茶 (のほう) がいい。
Kōcha (no hō) ga ii.
Speaker A:→ Interested in why this answer looks like how you might say “I am coffee?” Check out our post on
unagi sentences!
Clarifying a comparison: How much “more”?
When we want to indicate how much difference there is between the two items, we can add an to the sentence. You can put this adverb in a number of locations, but it most often comes right before the attribute.
父のほうが母よりずっと背が高いです。
Chichi no hō ga haha yori zutto se ga takai desu.
My father is much taller than my mother.
友達のスマホより私のスマホのほうが少し新しいです。
Tomodachi no sumaho yori watashi no sumaho no hō ga sukoshi atarashii desu.
My smartphone is a little newer than my friend’s smartphone.
Here are some common adverbs of degree you can use in comparisons:
If you want to get specific, you can also use a number + counter/unit, like １０分[juppun](ten minutes), in place of the degree adverb:
僕は佐藤さんより１０分早く来ました。
Boku wa Satō san yori juppun hayaku kimashita.
I came ten minutes earlier than Ms. Sato.
The adverbs ずっと[zutto] and もっと[motto] are both used when there is a large difference between the two nouns, like you might use “much more” in English. The usage, however, is different:
ずっと[zutto] is used simply to indicate that the difference is great:
秋田犬はチワワよりずっと大きいです。
Akita inu wa chiwawa yori zutto ōkii desu.
An akita is much bigger than a chihuahua.
もっと[motto] can only be used if both nouns already have a lot of the quality, but the difference is still great. It’s a bit like how you might use “even more” or “still more” in English:
秋田犬も大きいですが、グレートデンは (秋田犬より) もっと大きいです。
Akita inu mo ōkii desu ga, gurētoden wa (akita inu) yori motto ōkii desu.
An akita is big, but a great dane is even bigger.
Comparisons of equality: How to form “as…as” comparisons in Japanese?
If you’re comparing two nouns, and neither one has more of a quality than the other, you’ll use the phrases 同じぐらい[onaji gurai] or 同じくらい[onaji kurai] in the following patterns. There is both mean “about the same,” and there’s no real difference between the two.
When one of the nouns is the of the sentence, use this structure:
ケントさんは、日本人と同じぐらい上手に日本語が話せます。
Kento san wa, nihonjin to onaji gurai jōzuni nihongo ga hanasemasu.
Kent can speak Japanese as well as Japanese people.
When both of the nouns are not topic of the sentence, you’ll use this pattern instead:
ジョンさんもマイクさんも(同じぐらい)背が高いです。
Jon san mo Maiku san mo (onaji gurai) jōzuni desu.
Both John and Mike are (equally) tall.
Answering a “which one” question with “both” or “neither”
If you’re answering a “which one” question with “both” or “neither”, you don’t usually need 同じぐらい[ onaji gurai], you can just use どちらも[dochira mo] before the attribute. For example:
Speaker A:しゃぶしゃぶとすき焼きとどちらが好きですか。
Shabushabu to sukiyaki to dochira ga suki desu ka.
Which do you like better, shabu-shabu or sukiyaki?
Speaker B:どちらも好きです。
Dochira mo suki desu.
Speaker A:どちらもあまり好きじゃありません。
Dochira mo amari suki ja arimasen.
I don’t like either very much. (I like neither very much.)
Check out our introduction to the particle も[mo] to find out more about why we use it in this context!
Superlatives: How to say “the most” in Japanese?
When you’re selecting the noun in a group that has “the most” of a quality, you’ll generally use the noun いちばん[ichiban], meaning “number one” before the attribute, using this structure:
greatest noun + は[wa]
(topic)
私は家族(の中)でいちばん背が高いです
Watashi wa kazoku (no naka) de ichiban se ga takai desu.
I am the tallest out of my family.
Tip:You can use もっとも[mottomo] as a more formal version of いちばん[ichiban].
In this context, で[de] means “in” or “at” while の中で[no naka de] means something more like “among.” You can use either expression after the noun representing the group that the noun with the most of a quality was drawn from. But what’s the difference?
で[de] is most often used alone after a noun representing a place.
place
富士山は日本で一番高い山です。
Fujisan wa nihon de ichiban takai yama desu.
Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan.
の中で[no naka de] is more common:
after a noun representing a category or group:
group
山本さんはクラスメートの中でいちばん頭がいいです。
Yamamoto san wa kurasumēto no naka de ichiban atama ga ii desu.
Ms. Yamamoto is the smartest among her classmates.
after a number + counter:
number + counter
母は家族５人の中でいちばん明るいです。
Haha wa kazoku go nin no naka de ichiban akarui desu.
My mother is the most cheerful among the five people in my family.
However, the distinction is not very strict, and there are many cases where either version is acceptable.
Here, also, we can use a few different types of phrases besides adjectives in the “attribute” slot:
adverb + verb:
adverbverb
マイケルさんはチームの中でいちばん速く泳げます。
Maikeru san wa chiimu no naka de ichiban hayaku oyogemasu.
Michael can swim the fastest among the team members.
noun with a range + だ/です[da/desu]:
noun with a rangeだ/です
祖父は家族の中でいちばん(の) 早起き です。
Sofu wa kazoku no naka de ichiban (no) hayaoki desu.
My grandfather is the number one early riser in my family.
Note, though, that when いちばん[ichiban] comes before a noun, it should be followed by the particle の[no].
How to ask “which one is the most?”
When asking someone about “which one” of a group has the most of some quality, the question word you use will depend on exactly what kinds of nouns you’re discussing. However, you’ll use the general sentence pattern below:
デザートの中で何がいちばん好きですか。
Dezāto no naka de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka.
Among desserts, what do you like the best?
lit. Among desserts, what is the most preferable?
Some notes on the question word:
The question you use will depend on whether the nouns that you’re comparing are people, places, things, times, etc. Here are some common words you might use.
Though the question word will most often be followed by が[ga] the particle does depend on the grammatical role that the question word plays in the sentence. So if the question word represents the object of a verb, it might be followed by を[o] instead!
To answer a question like this, you’ll usually replace the question word with the answer, retaining the same particle attached to the question word. The phrase describing the group is usually omitted:
アップルパイがいちばん好きです。
Appurupai ga ichiban suki desu.
I like apple pies the best.
lit. Apple pies are the most preferable.
Or you can simply say:
What if you’re picking from a specific list?
If you’re asking your listener to pick one member of a specific list with the “most” of a quality, we use the question word どれ[dore](which) instead of 何[nani](what).
Here’s how to structure your list of options (e.g. “out of X, Y, or Z….”). The members of the list of items will always be separated by the particle と[to], but you can end the list in a number of different ways. There isn’t much difference in meaning between the options.
…と...と...と
... to … to … to
…と...と...では
... to … to … de wa
…と...と...の中で
... to … to … no naka de
…と...と...のうちで
... to … to … no uchi de
You can answer these questions using the same sentence structures we’ve seen above:
犬と猫とうさぎの中でどれをいちばん飼いたいですか。
Inu to neko to usagi no naka de dore o ichiban kaitai desu ka.
Among a dog, a cat, and a rabbit, which one do you want to have (as a pet)?
うさぎ (をいちばん飼いたい) です。
Usagi (o ichiban kaitai) desu.
I want to have a rabbit (the most).
→ Notice that here the answer is followed by を[o] rather than が[ga]because it’s the object of the verb!
If our answer is “all of them” or “none of them,” You can use どれも[dore mo] as in the responses below:
どれも飼いたいです。
Dore mo kaitai desu.
I want to have all of them.
どれも飼いたくないです。
Dore mo kaitakunai desu.
I don’t want to have any of them.
Note, though, that どれ[dore] is only used for things. When the list contains places, people, or time expressions, then we should use the appropriate question word for that type of noun.
The question words どちら[dochira], どっち[dotchi], and どれ[dore] can all be translated as “which one” in English, and it can be confusing to decide which one to use in what occasions. Here’s a quick reminder:
Use どちら[dochira] or どっち[dotchi] when you are asking to choose between any two nouns. These can be used for things, people, places, times, etc. どっち[dotchi] is just a bit less formal.
Use どれ[dore] when you are asking to choose one from the list of three or more things.
Also, remember to use 何[nani] when you are asking to choose one among a group or category of things such as foods, animals, or products!
To sum up
How did that compare to what you were expecting? In this post we covered everything you need to know to get started making comparisons in Japanese. Remember these most common patterns:
A is more [adjective] than B | A + は + B + より + attribute |
A + 〜のほうが + B + より + attribute |
B is not as [adjective] as A | B + は + A + 〜ほど + attribute (ない) |
| A + は + B + と + 同じぐらい + attribute |
A is the most [adjective] out of B | A + は+ B + (の中)で + いちばん + attribute |
We covered a lot more than that, though! If you’re ready to study, check out this review sheet that we made, summarizing the most important patterns we discussed in this article. Or, if you’d rather test your understanding, check out these Japanese comparison exercises. Happy learning!
