Chapter 15 — Describing and Comparing

You now have two complete adjective systems. Chapter 13 covered い-adjectives — words like おおきい, たかい, あつい — which carry tense and polarity in their own endings. Chapter 14 covered な-adjectives — words like しずか, きれい, げんき — which behave like nouns and rely on the copula for conjugation. This chapter puts both systems to work.

Describing things in natural Japanese requires more than a single adjective at the end of a sentence. You need to say how much (degree adverbs), stack multiple descriptions together (adjective chaining), contrast two qualities (but), ask what kind (どんな), compare two or more things (より, ほど, いちばん), and describe people and weather with the right structural patterns. This chapter covers all of these.

15.1 Degree Adverbs

An adjective by itself gives you a binary: something is big or it is not big, something is quiet or it is not quiet. Real description requires gradation. Japanese uses degree adverbs — words placed directly before the adjective — to express how much of a quality something has.

とても — Very

とても is the standard word for "very." It works with both い-adjectives and な-adjectives.

このりょうりは とても おいしいです。 This food is very delicious.

あの こうえんは とても しずかです。 That park is very quiet.

きょうは とても さむいです。 Today is very cold.

とても is neutral in formality. It is appropriate in polite speech, writing, and casual conversation alike.

すこし / ちょっと — A Little

すこし means "a little" or "slightly." It places the quality at a low degree.

このへやは すこし くらいです。 This room is a little dark.

そのえいがは すこし ながいです。 That movie is a little long.

ちょっと means the same thing but is more casual. In formal writing or polite speech to a superior, すこし is safer. In daily conversation with friends or coworkers, ちょっと is natural and common.

きょうは ちょっと あついです。 Today is a bit hot.

この もんだいは ちょっと むずかしいです。 This problem is a bit difficult.

かなり — Fairly, Quite

かなり sits between とても and すこし. It means "fairly" or "quite" — more than expected, but the speaker is not using the strongest word available.

この テストは かなり むずかしいです。 This test is quite difficult.

あの レストランは かなり ゆうめいです。 That restaurant is fairly famous.

まあまあ — So-So

まあまあ means "so-so" or "not bad, not great." It expresses a middling evaluation.

この ほんは まあまあ おもしろいです。 This book is so-so interesting.

りょうりは まあまあ おいしかったです。 The food was so-so good.

まあまあ can also stand alone as a response. If someone asks how something was, you can simply say まあまあです — "It was so-so."

あまり〜ない — Not Very

あまり is different from the adverbs above. It requires a negative predicate. あまり by itself means "not very" or "not much," and the adjective that follows must be in its negative form.

この りょうりは あまり おいしくないです。 This food is not very delicious.

あの まちは あまり しずかじゃないです。 That town is not very quiet.

きょうは あまり さむくないです。 Today is not very cold.

You cannot say あまり おいしいです. The grammar requires the negative. Think of あまり as meaning "not to a great degree" — the negative is built into its meaning, and the predicate must match.

Placement

All degree adverbs go directly before the adjective they modify. The word order is fixed:

[topic]は [degree adverb] [adjective]です。

この まちは とても きれいです。 (correct) この まちは きれい とてもです。 (wrong)

15.2 Chaining Adjectives with て-Forms

In English, you can stack adjectives before a noun: "a big, bright, clean room." Japanese does not simply line up adjectives with commas. Instead, all adjectives except the final one must be converted to their て-form — a connecting form that means "and."

い-Adjective て-Form

Drop the final い and add くて.

この りょうりは やすくて おいしいです。 This food is cheap and delicious.

あの いえは おおきくて あたらしいです。 That house is big and new.

The て-form carries the meaning "and" — it connects one quality to the next. The final adjective in the chain takes its normal form (ending in い for い-adjectives, or な/です for な-adjectives).

Note: いい ("good") has the irregular て-form よくて, following the same irregular stem as its other conjugations (よくない, よかった).

この みせは やすくて おいしくて、 サービスも いいです。 This restaurant is cheap, delicious, and the service is good too.

な-Adjective て-Form

Replace な with で.

あの まちは しずかで きれいです。 That town is quiet and beautiful.

やまださんは げんきで やさしいです。 Yamada-san is energetic and kind.

The で here is the て-form of the copula だ. It is not the particle で (place of action) — same sound, different grammar. Context makes the distinction clear: if で follows a な-adjective stem and connects to another adjective, it is the copula て-form.

Mixed Chains

You can chain い-adjectives and な-adjectives together freely. Each adjective except the last one takes its て-form.

この へやは ひろくて あかるくて きれいです。 This room is spacious, bright, and beautiful.

In this example, ひろい and あかるい (both い-adjectives) take くて, and きれい (な-adjective) appears last in its normal form with です.

あの レストランは しずかで ひろい へやが あります。 That restaurant has a quiet and spacious room.

Here, しずか (な-adjective) takes で, and ひろい (い-adjective) modifies the noun へや directly. The chain can mix types in any order.

この まちは にぎやかで たのしくて、 とても すきです。 This town is lively and fun, and I like it a lot.

Important Nuance

The て-form chain implies that the listed qualities are compatible or cumulative — they build on each other to create a consistent picture. "Cheap and delicious" works because both are positive. If the qualities contrast ("delicious but expensive"), you need a different connector. That is the topic of the next section.

15.3 が for Contrast ("But") at Clause Boundary

You already know が as the subject-marking particle (Chapter 5). It has a second, entirely different function: connecting two clauses with a contrastive meaning. This が means "but" or "however."

おいしいですが、 たかいです。 It is delicious, but expensive.

この まちは きれいですが、 ちょっと ふべんです。 This town is beautiful, but a little inconvenient.

あの レストランは ゆうめいですが、 あまり おいしくないです。 That restaurant is famous, but not very delicious.

How It Works

The first clause ends with a polite predicate (です, ます, etc.), and が follows it directly. The second clause then states something that contrasts with or qualifies the first.

The structure is:

[Clause A]ですが、 [Clause B]です。

やまださんは やさしいですが、 すこし しずかです。 Yamada-san is kind, but a little quiet.

きょうは あたたかいですが、 かぜが つよいです。 Today is warm, but the wind is strong.

Distinguishing Two Uses of が

How do you tell contrastive が from subject-marking が? By position. Subject-marking が follows a noun and comes before the predicate of a single clause. Contrastive が comes after a complete predicate and introduces a new clause.

さかなが すきです。 (subject marker: さかな is what is liked) おいしいですが、たかいです。 (contrastive: "but")

There is no ambiguity in practice. If が appears after です or ます, it is contrastive.

Formality

This contrastive が is relatively formal. In casual speech, けど or けれど serves the same function. けど will be introduced in Chapter 20. For now, use が in polite sentences.

15.4 どんな — "What Kind of"

To ask what kind of thing something is, use どんな before a noun.

どんな たべものが すきですか。 What kind of food do you like?

どんな おんがくを ききますか。 What kind of music do you listen to?

どんな まちに すんでいますか。 What kind of town do you live in?

どんな is a question word that modifies a noun directly. It does not change form. The answer replaces どんな with the relevant adjective or descriptive phrase.

どんな たべものが すきですか。 — からい たべものが すきです。 "I like spicy food."

どんな まちに すんでいますか。 — しずかで ちいさい まちに すんでいます。 "I live in a quiet, small town."

どんな ひとですか。 — やさしくて おもしろい ひとです。 "A kind and interesting person."

Note that the answer uses adjective chaining naturally. どんな questions invite descriptive answers, and this is where the て-form chains from Section 15.2 become immediately useful.

15.5 Comparing Two Things

Up to now, you can describe something as おおきい or ちいさい, but you cannot say that one thing is bigger than another. This section introduces comparison — one of the most useful tools for real conversation. Japanese comparison works differently from English. There is no word like "more" or "-er." Instead, the particle より marks the thing being compared against, and the adjective stays in its plain form.

AはBより — "A Is More ~ Than B"

The most basic comparison pattern places より after the item that comes out lower in the comparison. The adjective does not change at all — より does all the work.

[A]は [B]より [adjective]です。

とうきょうは おおさかより おおきいです。 "Tokyo is bigger than Osaka."

なつは はるより あついです。 "Summer is hotter than spring."

にほんごは えいごより むずかしいです。 "Japanese is harder than English."

この ほんは あの ほんより おもしろいです。 "This book is more interesting than that book."

The thing marked by より is the lesser side. とうきょうは おおさかより おおきい means "Tokyo is bigger, compared against Osaka." Osaka is the reference point; Tokyo exceeds it.

This pattern works identically with な-adjectives:

この こうえんは あの こうえんより しずかです。 "This park is quieter than that park."

やまださんは たなかさんより げんきです。 "Yamada-san is more energetic than Tanaka-san."

BよりAのほうが — Alternative Word Order

There is a second way to express the same comparison. Instead of making A the topic with は, you can use のほうが to explicitly point to the side that wins the comparison. This pattern is especially natural in answers to questions (covered in Section 15.6).

[B]より [A]の　ほうが [adjective]です。

おおさかより とうきょうの　ほうが おおきいです。 "Tokyo is bigger than Osaka."

えいごより にほんごの　ほうが むずかしいです。 "Japanese is harder than English."

あの こうえんより この こうえんの　ほうが しずかです。 "This park is quieter than that park."

The meaning is identical to the AはBより pattern. The difference is emphasis: のほうが draws attention to the winner of the comparison. In conversation, this form often sounds more natural when answering a question like "Which one is bigger?"

You can also drop the より phrase when context makes it obvious:

にほんごの　ほうが むずかしいです。 "Japanese is harder (than the other one we are talking about)."

AはBほど〜ない — "A Is Not As ~ As B"

To say that something does not reach the level of something else, use ほど with a negative adjective. This is the mirror image of より: where より marks the lesser side in an affirmative sentence, ほど marks the greater side in a negative sentence.

[A]は [B]ほど [adjective negative]です。

おおさかは とうきょうほど おおきくないです。 "Osaka is not as big as Tokyo."

えいごは にほんごほど むずかしくないです。 "English is not as hard as Japanese."

ふゆは なつほど あつくないです。 "Winter is not as hot as summer."

この まちは とうきょうほど にぎやかじゃないです。 "This town is not as lively as Tokyo."

The grammar requires a negative predicate. You cannot say Aは Bほど おおきいです — the negative is mandatory. Think of ほど as meaning "to the degree of." おおさかは とうきょうほど おおきくない literally means "Osaka is not big to the degree of Tokyo."

This is similar to あまり〜ない from Section 15.1 — both require a negative adjective, and both express "less than."

いちばん — The Superlative

To say something is the most or the best within a group, use いちばん ("number one") directly before the adjective. The group is marked with で.

[group]で [A]が いちばん [adjective]です。

くだものの　なかで りんごが いちばん すきです。 "Among fruits, I like apples the best."

この クラスで やまださんが いちばん せが たかいです。 "In this class, Yamada-san is the tallest."

日本で ふじさんが いちばん たかいです。 "In Japan, Mt. Fuji is the tallest."

きせつの　なかで はるが いちばん すきです。 "Among the seasons, I like spring the best."

Notice that the item being described takes が, not は. This is because いちばん answers the implicit question "which one?" — and new-information answers use が (Chapter 5).

The group can be marked with の なかで ("among") for clarity, or simply で when the group is a place or clear from context.

おなじくらい — "About the Same"

When two things are roughly equal, use と おなじくらい.

[A]は [B]と おなじくらい [adjective]です。

とうきょうは ニューヨークと おなじくらい おおきいです。 "Tokyo is about as big as New York."

この ほんは あの ほんと おなじくらい おもしろいです。 "This book is about as interesting as that book."

きょうは きのうと おなじくらい さむいです。 "Today is about as cold as yesterday."

おなじくらい literally means "about the same degree." The と marks the item being compared to, and くらい indicates approximation.

15.6 Comparison Questions and Answers

Comparison naturally shows up in questions. Japanese has clean patterns for asking "which is more?" and "which is the most?"

Comparing Two Things: AとBとどちらが

To ask which of two things has more of a quality, use どちら ("which of two"):

[A]と [B]と どちらが [adjective]ですか。

にほんごと えいごと どちらが むずかしいですか。 "Which is harder, Japanese or English?"

なつと ふゆと どちらが すきですか。 "Which do you like better, summer or winter?"

とうきょうと おおさかと どちらが おおきいですか。 "Which is bigger, Tokyo or Osaka?"

The answer uses のほうが (pointing to the winner), often with より (pointing to the loser):

— にほんごの　ほうが むずかしいです。 "Japanese is harder."

— にほんごの　ほうが えいごより むずかしいです。 "Japanese is harder than English."

— なつの　ほうが すきです。 "I like summer better."

If the two are about equal, answer with おなじくらい:

— どちらも おなじくらいです。 "They are about the same."

どちらも means "both" — combined with おなじくらい, it says neither one wins.

Choosing the Best: ～でなにがいちばん / ～でどこがいちばん

To ask about the best among three or more, use the appropriate question word with いちばん:

[group]で なにが いちばん [adjective]ですか。

くだものの　なかで なにが いちばん すきですか。 "Among fruits, what do you like the best?"

— りんごが いちばん すきです。 "I like apples the best."

きせつの　なかで いつが いちばん すきですか。 "Among the seasons, when (which) do you like the best?"

— あきが いちばん すきです。 "I like autumn the best."

日本で どこが いちばん きれいですか。 "Where in Japan is the most beautiful?"

— きょうとが いちばん きれいです。 "Kyoto is the most beautiful."

The question word changes depending on what you are asking about: なに for things, どこ for places, だれ for people, いつ for times. The answer replaces the question word with the specific item and keeps いちばん.

この クラスで だれが いちばん せが たかいですか。 "Who is the tallest in this class?"

— やまださんが いちばん せが たかいです。 "Yamada-san is the tallest."

Full Q&A Examples

Here are natural question-and-answer pairs that combine the patterns from this section:

A: とうきょうと きょうとと どちらが すきですか。 B: きょうとの　ほうが すきです。 しずかで きれいです。 "A: Which do you like better, Tokyo or Kyoto?" "B: I like Kyoto better. It is quiet and beautiful."

A: にほんの たべもので なにが いちばん おいしいですか。 B: すしが いちばん おいしいです。 "A: What is the most delicious among Japanese food?" "B: Sushi is the most delicious."

A: えいごと にほんごと どちらが むずかしいですか。 B: にほんごの　ほうが えいごより むずかしいです。 でも、 にほんごの　ほうが おもしろいです。 "A: Which is harder, English or Japanese?" "B: Japanese is harder than English. But Japanese is more interesting."

A: あなたの まちは とうきょうと おなじくらい おおきいですか。 B: いいえ、 わたしの まちは とうきょうほど おおきくないです。 とても ちいさい まちです。 "A: Is your town about as big as Tokyo?" "B: No, my town is not as big as Tokyo. It is a very small town."

15.7 Describing People

Japanese has a specific construction for describing a person's physical characteristics or attributes. It uses a double-subject structure:

[person]は [body part / attribute]が [adjective]です。

This pattern should remind you of the は / が distinction from Chapter 5. The は marks the topic (the person being talked about), and the が marks the specific attribute being described.

たなかさんは かみが ながいです。 Tanaka-san has long hair. (Literally: "As for Tanaka, hair is long.")

やまださんは せが たかいです。 Yamada-san is tall. (Literally: "As for Yamada, height is tall.")

さとうさんは めが おおきいです。 Sato-san has big eyes. (Literally: "As for Sato, eyes are big.")

すずきさんは かおが まるいです。 Suzuki-san has a round face. (Literally: "As for Suzuki, face is round.")

This is not a special exception. It is the standard は/が topic-subject structure applied to body descriptions. The person is the topic. The body part is the grammatical subject — the thing that the adjective actually describes. The adjective describes the body part, not the person directly.

This construction extends beyond physical traits to abilities and general attributes:

あのひとは こえが おおきいです。 That person has a loud voice.

この まちは みちが ひろいです。 This town has wide roads.

The second example shows that this pattern is not limited to people. Any topic can be described this way when a specific aspect of it is being singled out.

Combining with Adjective Chains

You can chain adjectives within this structure:

たなかさんは かみが ながくて くろいです。 Tanaka-san has long, black hair.

やまださんは めが おおきくて まるいです。 Yamada-san has big, round eyes.

15.8 Describing Weather

Weather is one of the most common topics in daily conversation. Japanese uses several patterns to describe it.

Basic Weather Statements

The simplest weather sentence uses the topic-comment structure with a noun predicate:

きょうは いい てんきです。 It is nice weather today.

あしたは あめです。 Tomorrow is rain. (= It will rain tomorrow.)

きのうは くもりでした。 Yesterday was cloudy.

The weather nouns are:

Ongoing Weather with ている

To describe weather that is currently happening, use the ている form introduced in Chapter 11:

あめが ふっています。 It is raining.

ゆきが ふっています。 It is snowing.

The verb ふる (to fall — used for rain and snow) is a 五段 verb. Its て-form is ふって (following the つ→って pattern from Chapter 10).

そとは あめが ふっていますが、 あたたかいです。 Outside it is raining, but it is warm.

Temperature Adjectives

Temperature descriptions use い-adjectives:

きょうは とても あついです。 Today is very hot.

けさは すこし さむかったです。 This morning was a little cold.

あきは すずしくて きもちがいいです。 Autumn is cool and pleasant.

はるは あたたかくて、 はなが きれいです。 Spring is warm, and the flowers are beautiful.

Note the difference between temperature words for weather and for objects. あつい for weather means "hot (air temperature)." The same word can describe a hot room. For hot liquids or foods, あつい also works, but this chapter focuses on weather usage.

Seasons

The four seasons appear frequently with weather descriptions:

日本の なつは とても あつくて、 ふゆは かなり さむいです。 Japanese summers are very hot, and winters are quite cold.

とうきょうの はるは あたたかくて、 さくらが きれいです。 Spring in Tokyo is warm, and the cherry blossoms are beautiful.

15.9 Body Parts Vocabulary

This section introduces the body parts needed for describing people (Section 15.7) and for daily life.

These words combine naturally with the double-subject construction:

あの ひとは はなが たかいです。 That person has a prominent nose. (Literally: "nose is tall")

この あかちゃんは てが ちいさいです。 This baby has small hands.

せんせいは こえが おおきいです。 The teacher has a loud voice.

Note that はなが たかい ("nose is tall/high") is the standard Japanese way of saying someone has a prominent or well-defined nose. The same adjective たかい applies to both height (せがたかい) and noses (はながたかい) — different from English, which would use different words.

15.10 Reading Passage — わたしの まち と とうきょう

Read the following passage. It uses adjective chaining, degree adverbs, contrastive が, the double-subject construction, and weather descriptions. All vocabulary and grammar come from this chapter and prior chapters.

わたしは ちいさい まちに すんでいます。 この まちは しずかで きれいです。 みちが ひろくて、 くるまが あまり おおくないです。 こうえんも たくさん あります。 はるは あたたかくて、 はなが とても きれいです。 なつは すこし あついですが、 かぜが すずしいです。

この まちには おおきい みせが あまり ありません。 かいものは ちょっと ふべんです。 でも、 たべものは やすくて おいしいです。 とくに やさいが しんせんで、 とても おいしいです。

せんしゅう、 ともだちと とうきょうに いきました。 とうきょうは とても にぎやかで おおきい まちです。 ひとが おおくて、 でんしゃも おおいです。 たてものが たかくて あたらしいです。 レストランは ゆうめいで おいしいですが、 かなり たかいです。

とうきょうは べんりですが、 すこし うるさいです。 ひとも とても おおいです。 わたしの まちは ふべんですが、 しずかで きもちがいいです。 わたしは しずかな まちが すきです。

きょうは くもりです。 すこし さむいですが、 あしたは はれです。 あしたは あたたかくて いい てんきです。 こうえんに いきたいです。

Translation

I live in a small town. This town is quiet and beautiful. The roads are wide, and there are not very many cars. There are also many parks. Spring is warm, and the flowers are very beautiful. Summer is a little hot, but the breeze is cool.

This town does not have many large stores. Shopping is a little inconvenient. But the food is cheap and delicious. The vegetables especially are fresh and very delicious.

Last week, I went to Tokyo with a friend. Tokyo is a very lively and big city. There are many people, and there are many trains too. The buildings are tall and new. The restaurants are famous and delicious, but quite expensive.

Tokyo is convenient, but a little noisy. There are also very many people. My town is inconvenient, but it is quiet and pleasant. I like quiet towns.

Today is cloudy. It is a little cold, but tomorrow is sunny. Tomorrow will be warm and nice weather. I want to go to the park.

Reading Passage 2 — きょうとと おおさか

にほんで ゆうめいな まちが ふたつ あります。きょうとと おおさかです。

きょうとは ふるい まちです。おてらが たくさん あって、とても しずかです。まちは おおさかより ちいさいですが、けしきは きょうとの ほうが きれいです。とくに あきは やまが あかくて きいろくて、とても うつくしいです。たべものは きょうりょうりが ゆうめいです。やさしい あじで、とても おいしいです。

おおさかは きょうとより にぎやかで、ひとが おおいです。たべものは にほんで いちばん おいしいと おもいます。たこやきと おこのみやきが とくに ゆうめいです。やすくて おいしい みせが おおさかの ほうが おおいです。おおさかの ひとは おもしろくて、よく わらいます。

きょうとと おおさか、どちらが いいですか。しずかな ところが すきな ひとは きょうとの ほうが いいです。にぎやかな ところが すきな ひとは おおさかの ほうが いいです。

わたしは おおさかの ほうが すきです。たべものが やすくて おいしいですから。でも、きょうとの おてらも とても すきです。どちらも すばらしい まちです。

Translation

There are two famous cities in Japan: Kyoto and Osaka.

Kyoto is an old city. There are many temples, and it is very quiet. The city is smaller than Osaka, but the scenery is more beautiful in Kyoto. Especially in autumn, the mountains turn red and yellow, and it is very beautiful. As for food, Kyoto cuisine is famous. It has a gentle flavor and is very delicious.

Osaka is livelier than Kyoto, and there are more people. I think the food is the most delicious in Japan. Takoyaki and okonomiyaki are especially famous. Osaka has more cheap and delicious restaurants. The people of Osaka are funny and laugh a lot.

Kyoto or Osaka — which is better? People who like quiet places will prefer Kyoto. People who like lively places will prefer Osaka.

I prefer Osaka, because the food is cheap and delicious. But I also really like Kyoto's temples. Both are wonderful cities.

Notes on the Passage

おおさかより ちいさいですが — "smaller than Osaka, but..." より marks the standard of comparison.

きょうとの ほうが きれいです — "Kyoto is more beautiful (of the two)." の ほうが marks the preferred or greater side in a comparison.

にほんで いちばん おいしいと おもいます — "I think it is the most delicious in Japan." いちばん creates a superlative; と おもいます adds the speaker's opinion.

どちらが いいですか — "which is better?" どちら is the polite word for "which (of two)."

どちらも すばらしい — "both are wonderful." どちらも means "both."

よく わらいます — "laugh a lot." よく as a frequency adverb meaning "often."

Vocabulary List

New words introduced in this chapter. Pitch accent is marked with the notation: [0] = flat/heiban (no drop), [number] = drop after that mora.

Degree Adverbs

い-Adjectives

な-Adjectives

Weather and Nature

Body Parts

Verbs

Comparison Words

Other