Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
The core contrast is structural: ほうが marks the preferred or more prominent item in a comparison, while より marks the baseline it is measured against. In a sentence like このカメラのほうがあのカメラより好きです, ほうが picks the winner and より picks the loser. Swapping them is unnatural because より alone cannot carry the "this one is better" role, and ほうが alone cannot introduce the standard of comparison. A second use of より, seen in これより方法はない, means "other than" and has no ほうが counterpart.
- より Use より to mark the item or action that serves as the baseline in a comparison.
- ほうがより Use ほうが to mark the item or option that comes out ahead in the comparison.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| より yori | Than/More than | N5 |
| ほうがより hougayori | More (in comparison) | N5 |
より yori
Than/More than
A particle which indicates that something/someone is being compared with something/someone.
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これより方法はありません。 バスで行くより仕方がありません。
There is no other way than this. There is no other way than to go by bus.
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それは赤と言うより 茶色に近かった。
That was closer to brown rather than saying it was red.
ほうがより hougayori
More (in comparison)
~ be more (adjective) than ~; ~ do something more (adverb) than ~ do | Comparing two entities, one is in some state or does something more than the other.
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このカメラのほうがあのカメラより好きです。
I like this camera better than that camera.
-
もちろん、安いほうが高いより嬉しいです。
Of course, I'm happier when it is cheap than when it is expensive.
より and ほうがより are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.