Sentence Structure - Comparison

Comparative

The comparative structures allow one to compare one thing in relation to another. For example, "My cat is cuter than your cat," or, "He is braver than anyone I know!" In English, comparative sentences are easy to pick out because they all use the conjunction than.

In Japanese, there is one standard way of expressing the comparative. However, there is also a lot of flexibility due to the numerous variations of colloquial speech inJapanese.


Forming the Comparative in Japanese

First, let's take two nouns to compare: ピザ (pizza) and 寿司 (sushi). The speaker of the sentence we're about to create is going to assert that pizza is more delicious than sushi. Take the noun that is superior (in this case, more delicious), and place it at the beginning of the sentence, followed by の方が（のほうが）. So, that leads us to have:

ピザの方が

Then, take the inferior noun, 寿司（すし）, and place it next, followed by より. This leads us to have:

ピザの方が寿司より

This structure essentially means "Pizza is more _____ than sushi." After より, you must add an adjective. In this case, we are going to use delicious, おいしい. Also, to be polite, we will add the polite copula です to the end of the sentence.

ピザの方が寿司よりおいしいです。

The adjective can be changed to anything you'd like.

ピザの方が寿司より臭いです。（ぴざのほうがすしよりくさいです）// Pizza is smellier than sushi.

ピザの方が寿司より安いです。（ぴざのほうがすしよりやすいです）// Pizza is cheaper than sushi.


Variations

* It doesn't matter which part comes first: ＿＿の方が or ＿＿より. This means that either of these make sense and are OK to say or write:

ピザの方が寿司よりおいしいです。AND 寿司よりピザの方がおいしいです。

Just make sure that the superior or "more" noun is always matched with の方が, and the inferior noun is always matched with より. The adjective part must always come last, however.


* It is OK to omit の方が. In its place, just use は. Some people may find this easier to remember, though it's not quite as standard as the form explained above.

ピザの方が寿司よりおいしいです。 is the same as saying ピザは寿司よりおいしいです。


* Lastly, this is a very small thing, but instead of より, you can say よりも. This is mostly only used in speaking, and it adds emphasis. Others may use it simply because they like to say it instead of plain より. You can choose for yourself which you'd like to use.

ピザの方が寿司よりもおいしいですよ！


Superlative

The superlative structure is designed to allow one to say that one thing is greater than all other things in one or more aspects. For example, "He is the kindest person," or, "This is the most expensive computer." This differs from the comparative in that when you use the superlative, you're not comparing, you're stating outright that this person or object is the most of something.

In Japanese, there are two ways to express the superlative. The first way is to say "____ is the most _____." The second way is to say that "______ is _______ more than anyone/anything."


The Japanese Superlative - Method One

Let's try the first method of expressing the superlative. This method is easier than the second because this only involves one additional word: 一番（いちばん）. Let's try an example using the な adjective, 素敵（すてき）meaning "great."



* 一番素敵な人（いちばんすてきなひと）=　Greatest person.

* 彼女にとって、私は一番素敵な人です。（かのじょにとって、わたしはいちばんすてきなひとです）= From my girlfriend's point of view, I am the greatest person.


You can use any い or な adjectives with 一番！

1. 一番おいしい（いちばんおいしい） // The most delicious.
2. 一番高い（いちばんたかい）// The most expensive (or The highest).
3. 一番長い（いちばんながい）// The longest.
4. 一番悲しい（いちばんかなしい）// The saddest.


You can modify a noun with the 一番 form by placing a noun after the adjective, or by putting the 一番 and adjective after "(Noun)は." Take a look at these examples:


この小説は一番有名です。（このしょうせつはいちばんゆうめいです）// This novel is the most famous. これは一番有名な小説です。(これはいちばんゆうめいなしょうせつです）// This is the most famous novel.

その映画は一番悲しいです。(そのえいがはいちばんかなしいです）// That movie is the saddest. それは一番悲しい映画です。(それはいちばんかなしいえいがです）// That is the saddest movie.


The Japanese Superlative - Method Two

The second way to use the superlative in Japanese is also relatively simple. This method has two forms, but they use the same structure, and only one word changes between each method.


For a nonliving thing, you say (Noun)は何より(Adjective)です。（何より＝なにより）

For a living thing, you say (Name or pronoun)は誰より(Adjective)です。（誰より＝だれより）

Instead of just 何より or 誰より, you can say 何よりも or 誰よりも. It's up to you which form you choose to use.


Here are some examples!

1. この手紙は何より大切です！（このてがみはなによりたいせつです）// This letter is more important to me than anything!
2. この歌は何よりもきれいですね。（このうたはなによりもきれいですね）// This song is prettier than anything, isn't it?
3. お母さんは誰より恋しいです。（おかあさんはだれよりこいしいです）// I miss my mother more than anyone.


Source: elanguageschool.net