Meaning & Usage
より means "than" — it marks the baseline in a comparison. Put より after the thing you are comparing against, then describe the topic with an adjective.
Japanese word order is the reverse of English here. English says "cats are smaller than dogs." Japanese says 猫は犬より小さい — the baseline (犬より) comes before the adjective. Topic first, baseline second, adjective last. Get that sequence automatic and より clicks into place.
より works in both formal and casual speech. In conversation, speakers often pair it with の方が (no hō ga) after the winning noun for emphasis: バスより電車の方が速い (trains, compared to buses, are faster). Both structures are natural at N5 — の方が just makes the winning side explicit.
At this level, より pairs with i-adjectives (大きい, 速い, 寒い) and na-adjectives (便利, 静か). Verb-based comparisons appear at higher levels, so focus on adjective patterns for now.
Structure & Formation
Two patterns cover most N5 uses of より:
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A は B より [Adjective] | A is more [Adj] than B |
| B より A の方が [Adjective] | A is more [Adj] than B (emphasis on A) |
| B より [Adjective] | More [Adj] than B (topic A understood from context) |
Breaking down A は B より Adjective:
- A は — the topic being described
- B より — the comparison baseline
- Adjective (+ です) — the quality being compared
With の方が, the structure becomes B より A の方が [Adjective] — literally "compared to B, the side of A is more [Adjective]." This sounds deliberate and is the preferred form for preferences. Both patterns are interchangeable in most situations.
- 犬より → than a dog
- 犬より猫の方が → cats, compared to dogs
Example Sentences
Basic Object Comparisons
東京は大阪より大きいです。
Tōkyō wa Ōsaka yori ōkii desu.
Tokyo is bigger than Osaka.
夏は冬より暑いです。
Natsu wa fuyu yori atsui desu.
Summer is hotter than winter.
猫は犬より小さいです。
Neko wa inu yori chiisai desu.
Cats are smaller than dogs.
Expressing Preferences
私はコーヒーよりお茶が好きです。
Watashi wa kōhī yori ocha ga suki desu.
I like tea more than coffee.
映画より本の方が好きです。
Eiga yori hon no hō ga suki desu.
I like books more than movies.
魚より肉の方が好きです。
Sakana yori niku no hō ga suki desu.
I like meat more than fish.
Comparing People
兄は私より背が高いです。
Ani wa watashi yori se ga takai desu.
My older brother is taller than me.
田中さんは私より年上です。
Tanaka-san wa watashi yori toshiue desu.
Tanaka-san is older than me.
Comparing Transportation
バスより電車の方が速いです。
Basu yori densha no hō ga hayai desu.
Trains are faster than buses.
自転車より車の方が便利です。
Jitensha yori kuruma no hō ga benri desu.
Cars are more convenient than bicycles.
Comparing Weather & Places
今日は昨日より寒いです。
Kyō wa kinō yori samui desu.
Today is colder than yesterday.
富士山は他の山より高いです。
Fujisan wa hoka no yama yori takai desu.
Mount Fuji is taller than other mountains.
Studying & Language
日本語は英語より難しいと思います。
Nihongo wa eigo yori muzukashii to omoimasu.
I think Japanese is more difficult than English.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Reversing the Comparison Order
❌ 大阪は東京より大きいです。(when you mean Tokyo is bigger)
✅ 東京は大阪より大きいです。
The noun marked with は is the thing you are describing; より follows the thing you are comparing against. Swap them and you reverse the meaning entirely.
Mistake 2: Using より in Negative Comparisons
❌ 東京は大阪よりそんなに大きくない。
✅ 東京は大阪ほど大きくない。
"A is not as [adj] as B" uses ほど (hodo), not より. Pattern: A は B ほど [Adjective] くない. One rule to remember: より = positive comparison (A beats B), ほど = negative comparison (A doesn't reach B's level).
Mistake 3: Omitting the Topic Marker は
❌ 東京大阪より大きいです。
✅ 東京は大阪より大きいです。
The topic marker は before the first noun is not optional. Without it, the sentence has no grammatical anchor and sounds incomplete.
Mistake 4: Mixing もっと and より Together
❌ 東京はもっと大阪より大きいです。
✅ 東京は大阪より大きいです。
もっと (motto) intensifies a quality without naming a specific comparison: もっと食べて (eat more!). It does not combine with より. For A vs. B comparisons, より alone is sufficient.
Cultural Notes
Direct comparisons between people can sound blunt in Japanese. Native speakers soften them with ちょっと (a little) or すこし (a bit) before the adjective. 今日はちょっと昨日より寒いね feels natural and warm; the bare unhedged version can come across as abrupt.
より also has a second meaning in formal and written Japanese: "from", indicating origin or starting point. 東京よりお届けします means "We will deliver from Tokyo" — common in business letters and announcements. Context separates the two uses cleanly: より followed by an adjective means "than"; より followed by a verb typically means "from."
For preferences, native speakers gravitate toward the より...の方が pattern over the simpler A は B より form. コーヒーより紅茶の方が好きです sounds more natural in casual conversation. Notice which form speakers choose in different situations — that instinct is hard to pick up from a textbook alone.
Related Grammar Points
- か — Question Marker (Grammar N5)
- Na-Adjective (な形容詞) — Complete Usage Guide (Grammar N5)
- しか — Nothing But, Only (Negative) (Grammar N5)
- に (ni) — Direction, Time, and Location Particle (Grammar N5)
- ない — Negative Form (Not) (Grammar N5)
- だけ — Only, Just, Merely (Grammar N5)
JLPT Tips
On the N5 exam, より appears in sentence ordering (文の組み立て) questions and short reading passages. In sentence ordering tasks, the fixed pattern — topic (は) → comparison baseline (より) → adjective (です) — is your anchor. Identify which noun takes より first; the remaining fragments usually fall into order from there.
In reading comprehension, spot より and immediately ask three questions: what is the topic (marked by は or が), what is the baseline (the noun before より), and what quality is being compared. That three-step check handles most N5 comprehension questions involving comparisons.
The より vs. ほど contrast is a favorite exam trap. より signals a positive comparison (A exceeds B); ほど signals a negative one (A doesn't reach B's level). If you see 〜くない or 〜じゃない in the sentence, ほど is almost certainly the answer. Build the habit by comparing everyday things around you — your phone vs. your laptop, today's weather vs. yesterday's, coffee vs. tea — until the pattern feels automatic.