11.1 Comparison, Questions & Connectors

Comparing Two Things: より, のほう, どちら

At N5 the workhorse comparison frame is A は B より [adjective] です — "A is more [adjective] than B." The particle より (yori, 'than') attaches to the yardstick — the thing you measure against — while the topic marker は sits on the item being described. Example: 「でんしゃは バスより はやいです」(densha wa basu yori hayai desu) = "The train is faster than the bus." There is no particle between the adjective and です, and you never conjugate the adjective for comparison — the word より carries the whole 'more...than' meaning by itself.

The mirror-image pattern spotlights the winner with のほう (no hō, 'the side of / the -er one'): B のほうが A より [adjective] です. So 「バスより でんしゃのほうが はやいです」(basu yori densha no hō ga hayai desu) states the identical fact but foregrounds the train. In real speech the loser is often dropped: 「でんしゃのほうが はやいです」("the train is the faster one"). Watch the particles — のほう always takes が, and the yardstick still takes より.

To ask which of two items wins, use A と B と どちらが [adjective] ですか — "Between A and B, which is more [adjective]?" The double と links the two nouns and どちら (dochira, 'which of two') is the question word. A natural answer reuses のほう: 「でんしゃのほうが はやいです」. If neither wins, the fixed reply is 「どちらも おなじです」(dochira mo onaji desu, "both are the same"). A trap on the exam is choosing どれ ('which of three or more') where どちら ('which of two') is required — count the options in the prompt.

The Superlative: いちばん

For "the most" or "the -est" among three or more things, N5 uses いちばん (ichiban, literally 'number one') placed directly before the adjective: 「この みせで いちばん やすいです」(kono mise de ichiban yasui desu) = "It is the cheapest in this shop." The group you pick from is marked with で or the phrase の中で (no naka de, 'among'). The matching question combines a category word with a question word: 「くだものの 中で なにが いちばん すきですか」(kudamono no naka de nani ga ichiban suki desu ka) = "Among fruits, what do you like best?" Answer: 「りんごが いちばん すきです」.

Question Words and Their Answer Shapes

Every N5 wh-word forces a specific answer type — the grammar section tests whether you can pair them. なに/なん (nani/nan, 'what') shifts to なん before counters and です (なんですか, なんじ). だれ (dare, 'who') is answered with a person or 〜さん. どこ (doko, 'where') wants a place; いつ (itsu, 'when') wants a time word. どうして (dōshite, 'why') must be answered with a から reason clause. どうやって (dō yatte, 'how / by what means') is answered with a means: 「でんしゃで いきます」. いくつ (ikutsu) asks a count of general objects or age; いくら (ikura) asks only a price.

A classic exam item gives a passage — 「やまださんは まいにち でんしゃで かいしゃに いきます」— then asks 「どうやって いきますか」. The correct answer is 「でんしゃで いきます」, because どうやって targets the で of means (transport), not the destination.

Sentence Connectors: そして, それから, でも, しかし, から, が

Connectors glue sentences into a flow, and the Grammar + Reading section tests them heavily. そして (soshite, 'and / and also') adds a similar idea: 「へやは ひろいです。そして あかるいです」. それから (sorekara, 'and then / after that') adds a next item or step in sequence: 「パンを たべます。それから コーヒーを のみます」. でも (demo) and しかし (shikashi) both mean 'but / however' and begin a new sentence; でも is conversational, しかし is more formal/written. から (kara) means 'because' and follows the reason clause — 「やすいから、かいます」("because it's cheap, I'll buy it"). Finally, が (ga) joins two clauses inside one sentence to mean 'but': 「たかいですが、かいます」("it's expensive, but I'll buy it"). Do not confuse this clause-joining が with the subject-marker が from Chapter 4 — position tells them apart.

Ending Particles ね and よ

The final particles color the whole sentence. 〜ね (ne) seeks agreement or confirmation, like English "...right?" — 「いい てんきですね」("nice weather, isn't it?"). The speaker assumes the listener shares the view. 〜よ (yo) asserts new information the listener may not know — 「あそこに ゆうびんきょくが ありますよ」("there's a post office over there — just so you know"). A frequent listening trap contrasts them: ね expects a nod, よ delivers news. Both attach after です/ます and never change the sentence's core meaning, only its social tone.

A Worked Example: Chaining Comparison and Connectors

Exam passages love to stack these tools, so train yourself to read them as a single flow rather than word by word. Consider a short notice like this in English: "My town has two stations. The new station is bigger than the old one, and it is also cleaner. However, the old station is closer to my house, so I usually use it." In Japanese this becomes a chain of the very patterns above — a のほうが comparison, a そして addition, a でも contrast, and a から reason, all within a few lines. When you meet such a paragraph, first locate the comparison and decide which item wins on each quality. Then track every connector in order, because each one steers the argument: そして keeps you on the same side of the point, while でも or しかし flips it to the opposite side. The final から clause almost always reveals the writer's real choice or conclusion, and that conclusion is exactly what the comprehension question tends to ask about. Reading connectors as direction signals — 'continue' versus 'reverse' — is faster and far more reliable than translating each sentence in isolation.

Common Traps to Avoid

• どちら versus どれ: use どちら for exactly two options and どれ for three or more. Count the nouns in the prompt before you choose the question word.
• Dropping より: many learners forget the yardstick particle. 'A is faster than B' always needs は on A and より on B; leaving out より is a graded mistake.
• から meaning 'because' versus 'from': the identical word から means 'because' when it follows a full clause but 'from' when it follows a time or place noun; the surrounding words decide which reading applies.
• が the connector versus が the subject marker: a mid-sentence が that follows a complete clause means 'but,' whereas が after a single noun marks the grammatical subject. Read what comes immediately before it.
• ね versus よ direction: ね pulls agreement from the listener, while よ pushes fresh information to the listener — one of the most common quick-response distractors in the listening section.