Japanese - Comparisons

Lesson 42 of 168

Two people comparing two dishes at a cafe, Japanese phrases about comparisons visible; scene shows polite conversation in Japanese about preferences.

Goal: Compare items, degrees, and quantities politely

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome! This lesson focuses on real conversation comparisons — helpful when you want to choose, explain differences, or say things are similar. Have fun testing small opinions and facts.

Level B1: In this lesson you'll practice polite comparison patterns (どちらがいいですか / のほうが…より… / 同じくらい / だいたい同じ etc.). We use short, useful frames to compare things, degrees, and quantities in natural conversation. CEFR-aligned and focused on speaking so you can try these in real chats.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Use polite comparison questions like 「___と___では、どちらがいいですか。」
  • Say one thing is better, more, less, similar, or different using phrases from this lesson
  • Ask and explain simple differences: 「___と___の違いは何ですか。」 (Level B1)
Close-up of a menu with two options and a speech bubble asking 「どちらがいいですか。」 in Japanese, friendly comparison theme.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

___のほうが___よりいいです。

___ no hō ga ___ yori ii desu.

___ is better than ___.

Meaning: ___ is better than ___.

When to use: Use this frame when you want to say one option is better than another. Put the preferred option before のほうが and the other option before より.

Tip: Don't swap the two items. The preferred option comes before のほうが, the other before より.

コーヒーのほうが紅茶よりいいです。

Kōhī no hō ga kōcha yori ii desu.

Coffee is better than tea.
東京のほうが大阪よりいいです。

Tōkyō no hō ga Ōsaka yori ii desu.

Tokyo is better than Osaka.

___と___では、どちらがいいですか。

___ to ___ de wa, dochira ga ii desu ka.

Which is better, ___ or ___?

Meaning: Which is better, ___ or ___?

When to use: Ask this when you want someone's opinion between two choices. Put と between the two options, and use どちら for polite/neutral speech.

寿司と天ぷらでは、どちらがいいですか。

Sushi to tempura de wa, dochira ga ii desu ka.

Which is better, sushi or tempura?
映画と読書では、どちらがいいですか。

Eiga to dokusho de wa, dochira ga ii desu ka.

Which is better, movies or reading?

___は___に似ています。

___ wa ___ ni nite imasu.

___ is similar to ___.

Meaning: ___ is similar to ___.

When to use: Use this to point out that two things share likeness. Put は for the topic and に before the thing it resembles.

このシャツは前のシャツに似ています。

Kono shatsu wa mae no shatsu ni nite imasu.

This shirt is similar to the previous shirt.
彼の声は父に似ています。

Kare no koe wa chichi ni nite imasu.

His voice is similar to his father's.

___は___と違います。

___ wa ___ to chigaimasu.

___ is different from ___.

Meaning: ___ is different from ___.

When to use: Use this to say two things are not the same. Use は for the first item and と before the second.

このケーキは前のと違います。

Kono kēki wa mae no to chigaimasu.

This cake is different from the previous one.
日本のシステムは他の国と違います。

Nihon no shisutemu wa hoka no kuni to chigaimasu.

Japan's system is different from other countries'.

___と___の違いは何ですか。

___ to ___ no chigai wa nan desu ka.

What's the difference between ___ and ___?

Meaning: What’s the difference between ___ and ___?

When to use: Use this question to ask someone to explain differences. Put と between the two items and 違い (chigai) after them.

自転車とバイクの違いは何ですか。

Jitensha to baiku no chigai wa nan desu ka.

What's the difference between a bicycle and a motorbike?
コーチングとティーチングの違いは何ですか。

Kōchingu to tīchingu no chigai wa nan desu ka.

What's the difference between coaching and teaching?

___は___より___です。

___ wa ___ yori ___ desu.

___ is more ___ than ___.

Meaning: ___ is more ___ than ___.

When to use: Use this to compare degrees with an adjective. Put the first thing with は, the comparison target before より, and the adjective before です.

Tip: Remember the adjective comes after より: A は B より 高いです. Don't put より after the adjective.

このビルはあのビルより高いです。

Kono biru wa ano biru yori takai desu.

This building is taller/more expensive than that building.
りんごはみかんより甘いです。

Ringo wa mikan yori amai desu.

Apples are sweeter than tangerines.

___は___ほど___くないです。

___ wa ___ hodo ___ kunai desu.

___ is less ___ than ___.

Meaning: ___ is less ___ than ___.

When to use: Say something is not as ___ as another by using ほど with the comparison target and the adjective in negative form.

Tip: For な-adjectives, use ではありません or じゃないです instead of ～くない.

今日は昨日ほど寒くないです。

Kyō wa kinō hodo samuku nai desu.

Today is not as cold as yesterday.
この部屋はあの部屋ほど広くないです。

Kono heya wa ano heya hodo hiroku nai desu.

This room is not as spacious as that room.

___は___と同じくらい___です。

___ wa ___ to onaji kurai ___ desu.

___ is as ___ as ___.

Meaning: ___ is as ___ as ___.

When to use: Use 同じくらい + adjective to say two things are equal in degree. Put と before the comparison item.

この車はあの車と同じくらい速いです。

Kono kuruma wa ano kuruma to onaji kurai hayai desu.

This car is as fast as that car.
私の家は田中さんの家と同じくらい大きいです。

Watashi no ie wa Tanaka-san no ie to onaji kurai ōkii desu.

My house is about as big as Mr. Tanaka's house.

だいたい同じです。

Daitai onaji desu.

They're about the same.

Meaning: They’re about the same.

When to use: Use this short phrase when differences are small or unimportant. It’s natural in polite conversation.

値段はだいたい同じです。

Nedan wa daitai onaji desu.

The prices are about the same.
味はだいたい同じです。

Aji wa daitai onaji desu.

The flavors are about the same.

___は___と比べてどうですか。

___ wa ___ to kurabete dō desu ka.

How does ___ compare with ___?

Meaning: How does ___ compare with ___?

When to use: Ask someone to compare generally. Place the main item as the first slot, then と比べて before the thing you compare it to.

今年の夏は去年と比べてどうですか。

Kotoshi no natsu wa kyonen to kurabete dō desu ka.

How is this summer compared with last year?
このモデルは前のモデルと比べてどうですか。

Kono moderu wa mae no moderu to kurabete dō desu ka.

How does this model compare with the previous model?

___と比べて、___は___です。

___ to kurabete, ___ wa ___ desu.

Compared with ___, ___ is ___.

Meaning: Compared with ___, ___ is ___.

When to use: Start with the reference using と比べて, then describe the target with は and an adjective or phrase.

去年と比べて、今年は暑いです。

Kyonen to kurabete, kotoshi wa atsui desu.

Compared with last year, this year is hot.
日本と比べて、私の国は小さいです。

Nihon to kurabete, watashi no kuni wa chiisai desu.

Compared with Japan, my country is small.

___は___が___より多いです。

___ wa ___ ga ___ yori ōi desu.

___ has more ___ than ___.

Meaning: ___ has more ___ than ___.

When to use: Compare counts or features. First is the thing/place, second (the countable noun) takes が, third is the comparison target before より.

東京はレストランが大阪より多いです。

Tōkyō wa resutoran ga Ōsaka yori ōi desu.

Tokyo has more restaurants than Osaka.
この店は客が他の店より多いです。

Kono mise wa kyaku ga hoka no mise yori ōi desu.

This shop has more customers than other shops.

___は___が___より少ないです。

___ wa ___ ga ___ yori sukunai desu.

___ has fewer ___ than ___.

Meaning: ___ has fewer ___ than ___.

When to use: Use this to compare smaller counts. The second slot (countable item) takes が and the comparison target comes before より.

図書館は本が他の図書館より少ないです。

Toshokan wa hon ga hoka no toshokan yori sukunai desu.

The library has fewer books than other libraries.
私のクラスは学生が去年より少ないです。

Watashi no kurasu wa gakusei ga kyonen yori sukunai desu.

My class has fewer students than last year.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David discuss whether movies or theatre are better and what the differences are.

Anna and David sitting at a small table comparing cinema and theatre, Japanese comparison phrases appear as subtitles.

What are they comparing?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

映画と演劇では、どちらがいいですか。

Eiga to engeki de wa, dochira ga ii desu ka.

Which is better, movies or theatre?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

映画のほうが演劇よりいいです。映画は手軽ですから。

Eiga no hō ga engeki yori ii desu. Eiga wa tegaru desu kara.

Movies are better than theatre. They're more convenient.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

映画と演劇の違いは何ですか。

Eiga to engeki no chigai wa nan desu ka.

What's the difference between movies and theatre?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

演劇は映画に似ているところもありますが、演出が生で違います。

Engeki wa eiga ni nite iru tokoro mo arimasu ga, enshutsu ga nama de chigaimasu.

Theatre is similar to movies in some ways, but the direction is live and different.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

だいたい同じですか。

Daitai onaji desu ka.

Are they about the same?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

だいたい同じです。でもライブ感は演劇のほうが映画より強いです。

Daitai onaji desu. Demo raibu-kan wa engeki no hō ga eiga yori tsuyoi desu.

They're about the same. But the live feeling is stronger in theatre than in movies.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which Japanese sentence asks “Which is better, A or B?”

Which sentence means “They’re about the same.”?

Which sentence says “has more X than”?

Which sentence asks “What’s the difference between A and B?”

What's the difference between the new smartphone and the old smartphone?

新しいスマホと古いスマホの___は何ですか。

Between coffee and tea, coffee is better.

コーヒーと紅茶では、___のほうがいいです。

This dress is as expensive as that dress.

このワンピースはあのワンピースと同じくらい___です。

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

___のほうが___よりいいです。

___ no hō ga ___ yori ii desu.

___ is better than ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___と___では、どちらがいいですか。

___ to ___ de wa, dochira ga ii desu ka.

Which is better, ___ or ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___に似ています。

___ wa ___ ni nite imasu.

___ is similar to ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___と違います。

___ wa ___ to chigaimasu.

___ is different from ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___と___の違いは何ですか。

___ to ___ no chigai wa nan desu ka.

What’s the difference between ___ and ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___より___です。

___ wa ___ yori ___ desu.

___ is more ___ than ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___ほど___くないです。

___ wa ___ hodo ___ kunai desu.

___ is less ___ than ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___と同じくらい___です。

___ wa ___ to onaji kurai ___ desu.

___ is as ___ as ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

だいたい同じです。

Daitai onaji desu.

They're about the same.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___と比べてどうですか。

___ wa ___ to kurabete dō desu ka.

How does ___ compare with ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___と比べて、___は___です。

___ to kurabete, ___ wa ___ desu.

Compared with ___, ___ is ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___が___より多いです。

___ wa ___ ga ___ yori ōi desu.

___ has more ___ than ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は___が___より少ないです。

___ wa ___ ga ___ yori sukunai desu.

___ has fewer ___ than ___.