Comparatives and superlatives: How to form and use them in Japanese?

In a neutral context, a simple comparison between qualities will often be formed using は...より (transcribed wa…yori), following the pattern below.

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:

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.

In conversational contexts where you can’t to follow one of the nouns in the comparison with the particle は (transcribed wa), you’ll need to use the it with the expression 〜のほう (transcribed no hō) after the noun with “more” of the quality. This will then be followed by the appropriate particle, most often が (transcribed 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 (transcribed yori) entirely. For example:

This structure can vary in several ways:

• You can reorder the sentence so that the lesser noun + より (transcribed yori) comes first with no change in meaning. Use this pattern:

  lesser noun

  

  より

  Transcription: yori

  

  greater noun

  

  〜のほう

  Transcription: no hō

  が

  Transcription: ga

  

  attribute

  野球よりサッカーのほうが好きです。

  Transcription: desu.

  Translation: Compared with baseball, I like soccer more.

• The particle that follows 〜のほう (transcribed 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。

  Transcription: Uchi de wa kōhii yori kōcha no hō o yoku nomimasu.

  Translation: I drink black tea more often than coffee at home.

  We use を (transcribed 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。

  Transcription: Boku wa ani yori ane no hō ni yoku mēru shimasu.

  Translation: I email my older sister more often than I email my older brother.

  We use に (transcribed ni) here because the “greater” noun (older sister) is the recipient of the verb “email.”

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。

  Transcription: Haru no hō ga fuyu yori yoku nemuremasu.

  Translation: 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。

  Transcription: Watashi yori ane no hō ga doryokuka desu.

  Translation: My older sister is more of a hard worker than I am.

The Japanese equivalent of the comparison structure “not as [adjective] as…” uses the word ほど (transcribed hodo) in place of より (transcribed yori) along with a negative adjective. Here, the lesser adjective will be the subject of the sentence.

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:

In Japanese, you can ask a listener to choose between two nouns using the question word どちら (transcribed dochira, meaning “which one”). Follow the sentence pattern below:

In casual conversation, you can use どっち (transcribed dotchi, meaning “which one”) instead of どちら. On these occasions, the second と (transcribed to) is often omitted:

When we want to indicate how much difference there is between the two items, we can add an adverb of degree 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。

  Transcription: Chichi no hō ga haha yori zutto se ga takai desu.

  Translation: 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。

  Transcription: Tomodachi no sumaho yori watashi no sumaho no hō ga sukoshi atarashii desu.

  Translation: My smartphone is a little newer than my friend’s smartphone.

Here are some common adverbs of degree you can use in comparisons:

• ずっと

  Transcription: zutto

  Translation: much more
• もっと

  Transcription: motto

  Translation: even more
• かなり

  Transcription: kanari

  Translation: fairly, rather
• 少し

  Transcription: sukoshi

  Translation: a little
• ちょっと

  Transcription: chotto

  Translation: a little bit

If you want to get specific, you can also use a number + counter/unit, like １０分 (transcribed juppun, meaning “ten minutes”), in place of the degree adverb:

If you’re answering a “which one” question with “both” or “neither”, you don’t usually need 同じぐらい (transcribed onaji gurai), you can just use どちらも (transcribed dochira mo) before the attribute. For example:

Check out our introduction to the particle も (transcribed mo) to find out more about why we use it in this context!

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 (transcribed ichiban), meaning “number one” before the attribute, using this structure:

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。

  Transcription: Maikeru san wa chiimu no naka de ichiban hayaku oyogemasu.

  Translation: Michael can swim the fastest among the team members.

• noun with a range + だ/です (transcribed 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。

  Transcription: Sofu wa kazoku no naka de ichiban (no) hayaoki desu.

  Translation: My grandfather is the number one early riser in my family.

Note, though, that when いちばん (transcribed ichiban) comes before a noun, it should be followed by the particle の (transcribed no).

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:

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.

  • 何

    Transcription: nani

    Translation: what
  • どこ

    Transcription: doko

    Translation: where
  • だれ

    Transcription: dare

    Translation: who
  • いつ

    Transcription: itsu

    Translation: when

• Though the question word will most often be followed by が (transcribed 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 (transcribed 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:

Or you can simply say: