Some time last year, a friend who was doing the beginner’s class in Japanese language at the same school I was at wanted to express a sentence in his homework. What he wanted to write was:
I like melon more than Cyrus does.
The sentence came out like this:
私はサイラスよりメロンのほうが好きです。
The teacher then asked him why he compared Cyrus to a melon. Turns out, the sentence was comprehended as:
I like melons more than I like Cyrus.
He then asked me how it should be written in Japanese if he were to say it correctly. It actually took me quite a few days to figure that out. Even when I asked the same thing to another Japanese language teacher, it took her quite a while to think about it. The correct sentence should be:
サイラスより私のほうがメロンが好きです。
So, if you ever need to compare your liking for something with a friend, make sure you don’t end up comparing that thing against your friend by mistake.
Couldn’t you also say: 私はサイラスほどよりメロンが好きです。
Certainly not correcting you, just curious because that’s how I would have said it.
By the way, I like your blog a lot. I am going to be moving to the area (my wife is from Kisosaki, we currently live in NYC) next year to learn Japanese and then hopefully off to Singapore in a year or two to go to business school. I will look you up when I move if you don’t mind.
Hi Whitney,
Thanks for sharing. I would certainly like to reply to that Japanese sentence you posted but I’m afraid to say that I do not have enough knowledge of the usage of ～ほどより～ and thanks to you, I’ve learnt a new way to express that same idea.
Great to hear that you’re visiting Japan next year. I actually did a search on where Kisosaki is (pardon my ignorance) and learnt that it’s in Mie. Ain’t too far away from Aichi eh? Well, let me know when the time comes.
I’m kinda surprised you have the intention to attend a business school in Singapore though. Is there any particular reason why of all places?
Well I wouldn’t get too excited about the new grammar because my wife tells me I’m using it wrong 😛
She says you can only use ほど in a negative sense and not with より. If you want to use ほど it would be: サイラスは私ほどりメロンのほうが好きじゃありません. i.e. Cyrus doesn’t like melon as much as me. Using the same grammar, you can’t say the opposite. So I think instead I have learned a new grammar from you and fixed a bad habit of mine! Sorry for the confusion!
Anyways, I’m not surprised you had not heard of Kisosaki, it is a very small town. Even though it is technically in Mie, it is on the east side of Nagashima which is Aichi. All the other towns around it are in Aichi in fact. I had thought maybe you might have randomly heard of it because I remember you posted something about Kuwana-shi awhile back which is right next to it as well.
Wow! I just read your About Me section and I see you are from Singapore. I had no idea! Yes, I want to go to INSEAD which is a business school which has campuses in France and Singapore. It is not very famous outside of the world of business, but it is considered one of the best business schools in Asia. Its specialty is international business. I studied Mandarin in college (I just turned 27 a few weeks ago) so I am hoping going to school will give me some opportunities to work in East Asia. I would also like to spend some time in Singapore, it seems like a very interesting place. Now I definitely want to meet you!
oops an extra り sliped in there after ほど. That was unintentional. It should read: サイラスは私ほどメロンのほうが好きじゃありま せん。
Well, I’ve heard of INSEAD but I never knew it was that good a business school. And wow, you studied Mandarin too? East Asia’s really amazing. I love it here so much I’m not sure if I ever want to head back home. At least not so soon, I guess.
just thinking,
can it also be サラスより私はメロンが好きです。
Ooh, interesting. I might be wrong but that sounds like it can go both ways.