N5 · UNIT 11

Comparisons

Compare anything, foods, seasons, cities, pets, with より and のほうが, then crown your favorites with いちばん.

About this unit

Which is better, ramen or sushi, cats or dogs, summer or winter? より, のほうが, and いちばん are the machinery of preference, and Japan, a country that ranks everything it eats, gives you plenty to practice on.

語彙 · Vocabulary 42 words · 10 kanji

1

Read the words

Read straight down the list once, out loud if you can. Don't grind them here, the Anki deck at the bottom does the memorizing. Right now you only want the shapes and sounds to feel familiar.

WordReadingMeaning
ramen
sushi
udon (thick wheat noodles)
soba (buckwheat noodles)
takoyaki (octopus balls)
okonomiyaki (savory pancake)
meat
beef
chicken (meat)
pork
fish
vegetables
fruit
apple
mandarin orange
tea; green tea
juice
beer
sake; alcohol
taste; flavor
sweet
spicy; hot
morning
noon; daytime
night
breakfast
lunch
dinner
healthy; energetic
country; homeland
time; hours
flower
cherry-blossom viewing
which (of two)
which (of two, casual)
both
both sides; both
number one; the most
by far; much more
more
shop; restaurant
local specialty (food)
2

Learn the kanji

The 10 kanji for this unit. Tap any card to flip between its meaning and its readings, and say the reading aloud as it flips.

morning
noon; daytime
night
tea
meat
fish
origin; source
country
interval; between
flower
3

Read it in context

Everything above, working together. Read the conversation top to bottom, out loud. Every line is built only from words and kanji you have already met, so resist the English, tap a word only if you are truly stuck.

Show English

At a ramen shop near the station, Maria, Mr. Tanaka, and Ms. Yamada settle the big questions over lunch, ramen or sushi? Cats or dogs? Summer or winter?

やまだ
This ramen is delicious. I like ramen more than sushi.
たなか
What, really? I like sushi more than ramen.
マリア
I like both. But ramen is way cheaper than sushi.
たなか
That's true. Okay then, dogs or cats, which do you like better?
やまだ
Dogs. Dogs are livelier than cats.
マリア
I prefer cats. All right, summer or winter, which do you like?
たなか
Winter. Summer's just too hot.
やまだ
I like summer. Beer tastes best on a summer night.
マリア
Then the final question, of all Japanese foods, which do you like the very best?
たなか
Sushi is number one!
やまだ
No way, ramen is number one!
マリア
I like both. Everything is number one!
Notice: より attaches to the LOSER of the comparison, in すしよりラーメンのほうが好きです, ramen wins. And when Maria asks どっちが好きですか, she's using the casual twin of どちら, same meaning, rounder sound.
Stop, learn the vocabulary before the grammar

These units are short on purpose. The grammar only clicks when the words are already automatic, so front-load the deck here, and let spaced repetition do the memorizing while the lesson does the teaching.

  1. Import this unit's deck. Generate it with npm run content:deck, then import n5-unit11-deck.apkg into Anki or Migaku. (SRS connection status lives on your dashboard.)
  2. Learn all 42 words as new cards. Get through the whole deck in a sitting or two, you're aiming for recognition, not mastery yet.
  3. Review daily until every card reaches a 3–5 day interval. When the whole deck has settled at that spacing, the words are holding on their own and won't fight you during the grammar.
  4. Then come back. You'll read the patterns instead of decoding the words, and that's when a "small" unit actually soaks in.
Anki open with AnkiConnect? I can confirm the deck for you.

Tick the box above once the deck is soaking in, then the grammar unlocks.

文法 · Grammar 4 patterns

Take one pattern at a time. Read the rule, then read each example out loud until the shape feels obvious. The words should already be automatic from your deck, so all you are learning here is how they lock together.

Quick suggestion: write these patterns down by hand as you read them. It is the one habit that textbook learners and self-taught immersion learners both swear by, and a notebook is the cheapest memory upgrade there is. Not required, just recommended.
"A is more ~ than B." より marks the standard of comparison, attach it to B, the one being beaten.
Summer is hotter than winter.
Ramen is cheaper than sushi.
Note: The adjective never changes form, no -er, no “more.” All the comparing is done by より. The order can even flip: すしより、ラーメンは安いです means exactly the same thing.
Either/or questions. List both options with と, ask with どちら, and answer with のほうが, "the side of A."
“Dogs or cats, which do you like better?” “I like dogs better.”
“Coffee or tea, which would you like?” “Tea, please.”
Note: For a choice between exactly two, always どちら, never どれ. In casual speech どちら shrinks to どっち, and ほう stays put: どっちが好き？ ねこのほうが好き。
Superlatives. Name the category, add （の中）で, and crown the winner with いちばん, literally "number one."
Among fruits, I like apples the best.
Winter is the coldest time of the year.
Note: With three or more choices, the question word switches, things → 何, people → だれ, places → どこ: のみものの中で、何がいちばん好きですか。The で here marks the scope of the contest, not a place.
When you refuse to pick a side: どちらも = both; どちらでもいいです = either one is fine.
“Summer or winter, which do you like better?” “I like both.”
“Tea or coffee, which would you like?” “Either is fine.”
Note: Watch the temperature: どちらも好きです is warm (I love both!), while どちらでもいいです can sound indifferent. To soften a real preference, add ちょっと, どちらも好きです。でも、犬のほうがちょっと好きです。

文化 · Culture note

A short read on the world these words live in. Nothing to drill here, just the context that makes the grammar feel like something people actually say.

Eat Yourself Broke, Japan's Food Rivalries

Japan's oldest rivalry is fought with soup. Order udon in Tokyo (Kanto) and the broth is dark and soy-heavy; order it in Osaka (Kansai) and it's pale gold and delicate, and each side insists the other ruins the noodles. なっとう (fermented soybeans) splits the country too: beloved in the east, politely refused across much of the west. Osaka's civic motto is くいだおれ, “eat yourself broke”, and locals wear it proudly, ranking their favorite たこやき and おこのみやき stands the way other cities rank sports teams.

Ranking food is practically a national pastime. TV programs run hours-long countdowns of the best ramen shops, magazines publish annual top-100 restaurant lists, and department-store food basements stage head-to-head dessert battles. Every town promotes its めいぶつ, the one local specialty it claims is Japan's best, and travelers plan entire trips around eating them in order. This unit's grammar is the engine of all of it: ～より、～のほうが、いちばん.

Menus change with the calendar, because ingredients are judged by しゅん, the short window when a food is at its absolute peak. That's why convenience stores roll out sakura sweets in spring, restaurants push chilled noodles in summer, and everyone suddenly craves grilled fish and hot pot when autumn arrives. So asking なつの食べものの中で、何がいちばん好きですか isn't small talk, it's a serious question, and people will have answers ready.

Try it: At your next meal with Japanese speakers, pick any two things on the table and ask ～と～と、どちらが好きですか. It's the single easiest way to start a conversation that never stalls.

練習 · Worksheet 8 exercises

Type each missing word in hiragana, then check your answers.

Check your answers to continue, it doesn't matter how many you miss.

Unit Quiz JLPT FORMAT

Pass mark 80% · instant explanations · passing unlocks the next unit