より～ほうが

The structure より～ほうが is used to make comparisons between two things, stating that one is more of something than the other. The item marked with より is the one being compared against (the lesser), and the item marked with ほうが is the one that is "more" (the greater).

The basic pattern is: A より B のほうが ～ meaning "B is more ~ than A."

Comparing nouns

When comparing two nouns, use の before ほう.

Comparing verbs

When comparing actions, verbs appear in their plain (dictionary) form before より and ほうが.

Comparing adjectives

Adjectives can also be used before より to form the basis of comparison.

Word order flexibility

While the pattern A より B のほうが is the standard order, より and ほうが can also appear in the reverse order (B のほうが A より) without changing the meaning. In fact, this reversed order is very common in natural speech.

Negative comparison

To say "A is not as ~ as B," you can negate the sentence.

Common usage notes

• When the context makes it clear what is being compared, the より part can be omitted:
  こっちのほうがいい。

  This one is better.
• ほうが literally means "the side/direction of," so the structure is expressing that "the side of B" has more of a quality than A.