Comparing Things: Better, Worse, Same

In this lesson, you'll learn how to compare things in Japanese using expressions for "better," "worse," and "the same." Understanding these comparisons is essential for everyday conversations and expressing your opinions. Since you learned about giving reasons in the previous lesson ("Why? Giving Reasons with から & ので"), try thinking about why you might make these comparisons!

1. Comparing Two Things: Using "より" (yori)

The key to comparing two things in Japanese is the word より (yori), which means "than".

A is better than B

Japanese: AはBよりいいです。
Romaji: A wa B yori ii desu.
Meaning: A is better than B.

Explanation:

Aは (A wa): A (topic marker)
Bより (B yori): Than B
いいです (ii desu): is good/better (polite form)

Examples:

この本はあの本よりいいです。
- Kono hon wa ano hon yori ii desu.
- This book is better than that book.
東京は大阪より大きいです。
- Toukyou wa Oosaka yori ookii desu.
- Tokyo is bigger than Osaka.
夏は冬より好きです。
- Natsu wa fuyu yori suki desu.
- I like summer better than winter. (Summer is more liked than winter)

A is worse than B

Japanese: AはBより悪いです。
Romaji: A wa B yori warui desu.
Meaning: A is worse than B.

Explanation:

Aは (A wa): A (topic marker)
Bより (B yori): Than B
悪いです (warui desu): is bad/worse (polite form)

Examples:

この映画はその映画より悪いです。
- Kono eiga wa sono eiga yori warui desu.
- This movie is worse than that movie.
今年の夏は去年の夏より暑いです。 (This sentence requires the context that the speaker thinks that hot weather is "bad", hence using the word 悪いです.)
- Kotoshi no natsu wa kyonen no natsu yori atsui desu.
- This summer is hotter than last summer.
朝ごはんは晩ご飯より簡単です。
- Asa gohan wa ban gohan yori kantan desu.
- Breakfast is easier than dinner.

Important Note: いい (ii) and 悪い (warui) are i-adjectives. Remember that i-adjectives conjugate differently than nouns or na-adjectives.

Quiz: Fill in the blank with the correct word (いい or 悪い)

ラーメンはうどん__________。 *Raamen wa udon __________.* (Ramen is better than Udon.)

Answer

いいです

2. Saying "The Same As": Using "と同じ" (to onaji)

To express that two things are the same, you use the expression と同じ (to onaji), which means "the same as."

Japanese: AはBと同じです。
Romaji: A wa B to onaji desu.
Meaning: A is the same as B.

Explanation:

Aは (A wa): A (topic marker)
Bと同じ (B to onaji): The same as B
です (desu): is (copula)

Examples:

私の車はあなたの車と同じです。
- Watashi no kuruma wa anata no kuruma to onaji desu.
- My car is the same as your car.
私の誕生日は妹の誕生日と同じです。
- Watashi no tanjoubi wa imouto no tanjoubi to onaji desu.
- My birthday is the same as my younger sister's birthday.
このケーキはあのケーキと同じ値段です。
- Kono keeki wa ano keeki to onaji nedan desu.
- This cake is the same price as that cake.

Alternative phrasing: Adding "くらい" (kurai)

Sometimes, you might want to say something is almost the same. You can use the word くらい (kurai) which means "about" or "approximately".

AはBと同じくらいです。
A wa B to onaji kurai desu.
A is about the same as B.

Example:

私の背は兄の背と同じくらいです。
Watashi no se wa ani no se to onaji kurai desu.
My height is about the same as my older brother's height.

Quiz: Fill in the blank with the correct phrase (と同じ or より)

私の日本語のレベルはあなたの日本語のレベル__________低いです。 *Watashi no nihongo no reberu wa anata no nihongo no reberu __________ hikui desu.* (My Japanese level is lower than your Japanese level.)

Answer

より

3. Comparisons with Adverbs: "Much More/Less"

You can add adverbs to your comparisons to make them more nuanced. Two very useful ones are:

ずっと (zutto): Much more, by far
少し (sukoshi): A little, slightly

Using ずっと (zutto):

AはBよりずっといいです。
- A wa B yori zutto ii desu.
- A is much better than B.
AはBよりずっと悪いです。
- A wa B yori zutto warui desu.
- A is much worse than B.

Example:

このレストランはあのレストランよりずっと高いです。
- Kono resutoran wa ano resutoran yori zutto takai desu.
- This restaurant is much more expensive than that restaurant.

Using 少し (sukoshi):

AはBより少しいいです。
- A wa B yori sukoshi ii desu.
- A is a little better than B.
AはBより少し悪いです。
- A wa B yori sukoshi warui desu.
- A is a little worse than B.

Example:

今日のテストは昨日のテストより少し難しかったです。
- Kyou no tesuto wa kinou no tesuto yori sukoshi muzukashikatta desu.
- Today's test was a little more difficult than yesterday's test. (past tense of desu is used, "deshita/desu" becomes "deshita/desu")

Quiz: Translate: "This cake is much better than that one."

Answer

このケーキはあのケーキよりずっといいです。 *Kono keeki wa ano keeki yori zutto ii desu.*

4. Practice

Translate the following into Japanese:

This coffee is worse than that coffee.
My apartment is the same as your apartment.
This exam was much easier than the last exam.
The red car is a little faster than the blue car.
Eating Inaka cuisine is better than eating Italian food.

Quiz: Provide the Romaji translation and English translation for the sentence "日本語は英語より難しいと思います。"

Answer

Romaji: *Nihongo wa eigo yori muzukashii to omoimasu.* English: I think Japanese is more difficult than English.

5. Answers

このコーヒーはあのコーヒーより悪いです。
- Kono koohii wa ano koohii yori warui desu.
私のアパートはあなたのアパートと同じです。
- Watashi no apaato wa anata no apaato to onaji desu.
今回の試験は前の試験よりずっと簡単でした。
- Konkai no shiken wa mae no shiken yori zutto kantan deshita.
赤い車は青い車より少し速いです。
- Akai kuruma wa aoi kuruma yori sukoshi hayai desu.
田舎料理を食べることはイタリア料理を食べるよりいいです。
- Inaka ryouri wo taberu koto wa Itaria ryouri wo taberu yori ii desu.

6. Vocabulary

Japanese	Romaji	English
より	yori	than
いい	ii	good/better
悪い	warui	bad/worse
同じ	onaji	same
大きい	ookii	big
小さい	chiisai	small
好き	suki	like
嫌い	kirai	dislike/hate
ずっと	zutto	much more, by far
少し	sukoshi	a little, slightly
簡単（な）	kantan (na)	easy, simple
難しい（い）	muzukashii	difficult
背 (高さ)	se (takasa)	height
値段	nedan	price
大体 (くらい)	daitai (kurai)	about, approximately, roughly
レベル	reberu	level
低い	hikui	low
速い	hayai	fast
田舎	inaka	countryside/rural area
料理	ryouri	cuisine/cooking

Practice making your own comparison sentences! Try comparing things about your own life, your city, or your favorite foods. Use the new vocabulary to add more variety to your sentences. Consider using the conjunctions から or ので from the previous lesson to explain why you are making the comparisons. For example:

日本のラーメンはアメリカのラーメンより美味しいと思います。なぜなら、スープの味が全然違うからです。 Nihon no raamen wa Amerika no raamen yori oishii to omoimasu. Nazenara, suupu no aji ga zenzen chigau kara desu. I think Japanese ramen is more delicious than American ramen. Because, the taste of the soup is completely different.