swaps one description for a better one: "more Y than X", "rather than X, Y". The first description goes in front – a noun, a な-adjective stem, or a plain-form verb or い-adjective – and the more accurate one follows.
、。
This is more tedious than difficult.
。
That person is more like family than a friend.
、。
I'm not so much tired as sleepy.
The first description is not wrong, only less exact. The speaker is reaching for the better word.
、。
It's not so much that I dislike it – I'm just not interested.
というより or より
compares two things: A is bigger than B. というより compares two ways of describing the same thing. Dropping という turns the sentence into a comparison that makes no sense.
、。
He's not so much kind as soft.
。
He's kinder than his brother.
- × 彼は優しいより甘い → 彼は優しいというより甘い
Usage notes
These go beyond the plain A-というより-B sentence.
というよりむしろ
"if anything" often follows to lean on the second description.
is a slightly fuller form with the same meaning.
、。
He's not so much skilled as a genius, if anything.
、。
Rather than skilled, I think he's a genius.
Correcting yourself
At the start of a sentence, というより corrects what you have just said: "or rather". In casual speech does the same.
。、。
I was busy yesterday. Or rather, I couldn't get anything done.
Lingaku