Here is a short list of それ’s kosado group to show what I mean: I won’t go into too much detail on that here, since it would take too long, but basically speaking words that belong to this group are often used in similar situations. One of the interesting things about それより is that is uses それ which is a part of the kosoado group of words. ( P1: kore wa dō? | P2: sore yori, kocchi no bōshi no hō ga chiisai.) An Interesting Note P1: How about this one? | P2: More than (the hat you’re holding) this hat is smaller (and therefore better suited). Person 2 then says that the hat they have found is smaller, and therefore a better choice.

Person 1 picks up a hat and shows it to Person 2 and asks if it will suffice. In this next example, let’s say that two people are looking for the smallest hat they can find.

It can be used when comparing the qualities of two objects, with the first item mentioned to be lacking in some sort of way.

However, there is also another way to understand それより. In these last two examples, それより is used to change the topic, and in a way turn down what ever was suggested or mentioned in the first sentence. In this response, it seems as if someone has suggested an activity which is acknowledged, but then kind of put to the side as a reminder of today’s work is brought up. ( sore yori kyō mo hatarakanakereba naranai.) This one changes from drinking beer, to drinking wine.Īside from that, we must also work today. Someone makes a suggestion, or some sort of statement, and you use それより to change to something else. So this first example is one of the more common ways that this phrase is used. ( biiru ga nomitai? | iya, sore yori wain o nomu.) Want some beer? | Naw, rather than that I’m going to have wine. Example Sentences for PracticeĪlright, so here are some simple example sentences to help show how それより works. In this way you can understand what’s being said (it’s comprehensive) and then through repeated exposure you can lock it down at an unconscious level for instant usage. So generally the best way to do that is to first learn what the words and phrases mean, which we just finished doing, and then see lots and lots examples of it in action so that you can begin to really get a feel for it. However, I personally feel that even knowing that particular piece of information and what it means isn’t really all that helpful when it comes to using the language.Īfter all, what most people want is to be able to hear a phrase (or read it) and to understand the meaning behind it right away. This grammatical structure is what’s known as a “conjunction” which is something that’s used to connect two clauses or sentences. Even if you totally agree with the point that the other person is making, you could then use それより as a way to acknowledge what the other person has said, and then more on to what you need to say. Remember, this phrase is used to change the subject to something else.

In this way you are setting up the information that you are about to present to the other person, in a way as to let them know that it is more important (or relevant, exciting, etc.) than what they’ve just said.įor example, if your friend said you need to leave early to make it on time, you might start your reply with それより to say, “rather than that, I’m just going to drive fast.” Here are a couple of English phrases that could all be used for それより: But essentially it is used when changing the subject suddenly during a conversation. It is a phrase that is hard to translate directly into English because it can change slightly depending on the context of the situation. So now let’s get to what それより really means. Then we have the Japanese particle より which has many potential meaning, but in this particular case means “than” and is used for the comparison of two different things. The reason for this is because それ means “that” and is very often used to refer to something abstract, such as a situation or an idea, which can be referred to in English as “it” many times. If you simply pop the phase それより into Google Translate it will provide you with the English translation “Than it” which kind of gets you close to the real meaning of it, but unfortunately isn’t quite right. 3) An Interesting Note The Meaning Behind the Phrase

Omae wa mou shindeiru meaning