タグ: comparison

Japanese Learning (A4 S12): Comparison between two using “Hou ga” in an Adjective Predicate Sentence; [A] no Hou ga [Adjective] desu.

Yesterday we learned an expression for comparison as the following;

1. Eigo wa Nihongo yori Muzukashii desu. (English is more difficult than Japanese.)

Some of you may say Japanese is more difficult than English, but don’t argue which is more difficult or not at this moment. Today, too, we are learning an expression for comparison, which uses “Hou ga”.

Q : Eigo to Nihongo to Dochira ga Muzukashii desuka.

(Which is more difficult, English or Japanese?)

A : Eigo no Hou ga Muzukashii desu.

(English is more difficult than Japanese.)

Actually, the sentence A can be as below;

2. Eigo no Hou ga Nihongo yori Muzukashii desu.

Look at 2. and 1. They look similar, but the difference is;

1. [Subject]= “Eigo wa”

2. [Subject]= “Eigo no Hou ga”

Knowing ‘what is the word “Hou”’ is one issue. But putting aside it, it seems like the issue of which to use for a subject, “wa”or “ga” comes again.

– “[Subject] wa” : the sentence is to explain nature/condition of the subject.

– “[Subject] ga” : the sentence is to identify what(which) the subject is.

Therefore, in the sentence 2;

2. Eigo no Hou ga Nihongo yori Muzukashii desu.

The word “Hou” helps to identify which is more difficult language in the comparison between English and Japanese.

This post was written with reference to the exercise A4 on Section 12 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”

Japanese Learning (A3 S12): Comparison between two in an Adjective Predicate Sentence; [A] wa [B] yori [Adjective] desu.

1. Oosaka wa Koube yori Ookiidesu. (Osaka is bigger than Kobe.)

Tokyo is not the only urban city in Japan. There are many big cities in Japan. If you look at the western part of Japan, you will find some cities are there. Both the cities of Osaka and Kobe have wide surrounding areas, but let us look at their populations under each municipal government. There are 2.8 million citizens in Osaka City, while 1.5 million in Kobe City. Therefore, we can say “Osaka is bigger than Kobe”.

In the construction of “[A] wa [B] yori [Adjective] desu.”, you can substitute [N1 no N2] into [A] and [B], as shown below;

2. Watashi no Ie wa Satou-san no Ie yori Ookiidesu. (My house is bigger than Sato-san’s.)

The above example 1 and 2 use the I-adjective “Ookii(big)”. Not only I-adjective but you can also use Na-adjective in this construction as below.

3. Kono Kouen wa Ano Kouen yori Kirei desu. (This park is more beautiful than that park.)

This post was written with reference to the exercise A3 on Section 12 of “Minna no Nihongo” published by “3A Corporation”