How to Compare with より in Japanese

より in Japanese is a particle for comparing things, referring to starting points or points in time and space, or a source of something. You can translate it from English to Japanese as than, more than, or rather. Let’s take a closer look.

Comparing Things

The first usage of より is to compare two things with each other.

ジョンはリンゴよりオレンジが好すき
John prefers oranges more than apples

飛行機ひこうきは車くるまより速はやい
Planes are faster than cars

When you are comparing things with より in Japanese often you will use the word ほう. So, that would be in the form AよりBのほう. We can take the first sentence and rewrite it:

ジョンはリンゴよりオレンジのほうが好すき
John prefers oranges more than apples

A Reference Point in Space and Time

Next より also follows spacial and temporal terms to represent a point of reference. Here, より refers to the space or time starting at the reference point and beyond. If I say AよりB then it means everything starting at A into the area marked by B. Here are some examples:

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埼玉県さいたまけんは東京とうきょうより北きたにある
Saitama is north of Tokyo

午前ごと10時じより前まえに出発しゅっぱつする
I am departing before 10:00 am

Let’s say that we removed 前に from the last sentence. In this case より does not have anything to compare 10時 to so the express means starting at 10 instead of before.

午前10時より出発する
I am departing at 10:00 am

The Source of Something

Finally, より can refer to a source of something. For example, a source as in a person you receive something from:

先生せんせいより届とどいた手紙てがみ
the letter from my teacher

Resources

• より – Weblio
• 2,110 Pages, No Word Wasted – A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, Reviewed