Where is the Hotel? You ask at an Information desk, and the girl behind the desk politely answers... ホテルは駅の南よりあるいて分です Hoteru wa eki no Minamig

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1 19.5 Formal Ring Yori Hodo Language & Culture Lessons It's getting late and you have work tomorrow. After today's lesson you will be an expert at respectively and politely leaving a Japanese home Language Lesson 1.より a) より : Particle of Comparison より is the particle of comparison, and corresponds to English expression such as "than" or "rather than." When used comparing two items, the item preceding the particle より is the lesser of the two. We have two languages to compare: "Japanese" and "English". Which one is harder? Any English speaker would answer... にほんごはえいごよりむず(つ)かしい本語は英語より難しい Nihongo wa Eigo yori muzu(tsu)kashī. Japanese is harder than English. ** Notice that the above compares the difficulty between Japanese and English. The particle Yori comes right after the word for "English" which is えいご because "English" is less difficult, or easier, than Japanese. If the opposite was true, then you would say: 英語は本語より難しい Eigo wa Nihongo yori muzu(tsu)kashī. English is harder than Japanese. The particle Yori can also indicate that the noun or verb which it attaches to shows the measure for comparison: 沖縄は東京より暑い Okinawa wa Tōkyō yori atsui. Okinawa is warmer than Tokyo. 電でくほうが歩いていくより早い Densha de iku hō ga aruite iku yori hayai. Going by train is faster than going by bus. b) より : The Formal equivalent of からより is also used to mean "from" in relation to a point in space or time, similar to から but more formal. On a train platform in Japan, you will surely hear the train attendant courteously remind the passengers to stand away from the approaching train by saying... 黄い線より内側に下がってください Kiiroi sen yori uchigawa ni sagatte kudasai. Please step back [from] behind the yellow line.

より a) より : Particle of Comparison より is the particle of comparison, and corresponds to English expression such as "than" or "rather than.

2 Where is the Hotel? You ask at an Information desk, and the girl behind the desk politely answers... ホテルは駅の南よりあるいて分です Hoteru wa eki no Minamiguchi YORI aruite jyupun desu. The hotel is 10 minutes on foot FROM the Southexit of the station. Like から, より indicates the point of time from which an action commences, but より has a more formal or official sound to it. You may hear it used in place of から in formal situations: At a movie premier... ただいまよりえいががはじまります只今より映画が始まります Tadaima yori, eiga ga hajimari masu. The movie will now commence. At a company... かいぎはさんじよりおこなわれる会議は三時よりわれる Kaigi wa sanji yori okonawareru. The meeting will be held from 3 o'clock. 2.ほど a) ほど : "Not as... as..." ほど is used to indicate that one item is lesser in some way than another. The greater of the two is followed by Hodo in contrast to Yori, which follows the lesser, and the verb which comes after Hodo is generally in the negative. Hodo often follows nouns, but it can also follow verbs. "Not as ~ as ~ " 先ほど本語がうまくない Sensē HODO nihongo ga umaku nai. My Japanese is NOT AS good AS my teacher's. The particle hodo + negative expression indicates that the preceding noun or verb shows the "standard" of negative comparison. 思っていたほど寒くありません Omotte ita hodo samuku arimasen. It's NOT AS cold AS I thought [it would be]. b) ほど : "Do so [much] of... " ほど indicates the degree of extent to which an action is carried out, usually an extreme degree.

You may hear it used in place of から in formal situations: At a movie premier... ただいまよりえいががはじまります只今より映画が始まります Tadaima yori, eiga ga hajimari masu. The movie will now commence.

3 Plain Affirmative form of verb + hodo = "Do so [much] of [an action] that [something occurs as a consequence]" 死ぬほど疲れた Shinu hodo tsukareta. 涙がでるほど笑う Namida ga deru hodo warau. 痛いほど君がすき! Itai hodo kimi ga suki! もっと知るほど嫌いになる Motto shiru hodo kirai ni naru. I'm so tired that I think I'll die [I am dead tired]. I laugh so much it makes me cry. I like you so much, it hurts! The more I know [about it], the more I dislike it. Plain Negative form of verb (~Nai form) + hodo = "Do so [much] of [an action] that you can't do... " 動けないほど混んでいる Ugokenai hodo konde iru. 閉まらないほど詰め込む Shimaranai hodo tsumekomu. 信じられないほど嬉しい Shinjirarenai hodo ureshii. 眠れないほど痛い Nemurenai hodo itai. It's so crowded, that you can hardly move. I overstuff [it] so that [it] doesn't shut. I'm so happy, that I can't believe it. OR, I can't believe how happy I am. It hurts so much [that] I can't sleep. c) ほど : "Approximately" ほど indicates an approximate amount of time, with the slight implication that the figure given is the maximum. "Approximately" with a formal ring: 分ほど遅れます Nijyupun hodo okuremasu. 五分ほどお待ちください Gofun hodo omachi kudasai. I will be about 20 minutes late. Please wait approximately 5 minutes. d) ほど used with a Conditional ば or たらほど when used with a conditional, can express something like "the more you [do the action], the more [something happens]." The pattern is:

The more I know [about it], the more I dislike it. Plain Negative form of verb (~Nai form) + hodo = "Do so [much] of [an action] that you can't do... " 動けないほど混んでいる Ugokenai hodo konde iru.

4 Verb in Conditional ば or たら form + Same verb in Plain form + ほど [Conditional BA of verb] + followed immediately by [same verb + Hodo] べれば + べるほど勉強すれば + 勉強するほど The more you eat, the more... The more you study, the more... [Conditional TARA of verb] + followed immediately by [same verb + Hodo] 歩いたら + 歩くほど Aruitara + aruku hodo 寝たら + 寝るほど Netara + neru hodo The more I walk, the more... The more I sleep, the more... So, if you wanted to say that the more you eat something, it gets tastier... べればべるほど美味しくなる Tabereba taberu hodo oishiku naru. [Lit: "If you eat, to the extent that you eat, it becomes tasty."] The more you eat, the tastier it becomes. Or with a Tara conditional phrase, what usually happens when you sleep a lot? The more you sleep the more... 寝たら寝るほどもっと眠たくなる The more you sleep, the sleepier you become. Netara neru hodo motto nemutaku naru. [Lit: "If you sleep, to the extent that you sleep, you become sleepier."] e) Set Expressions with ほどほど written 程 in Kanji by itself means "moderation" or "a limit": 程がある Hodo ga aru. There is a limit [to things] And here are some examples using the expression ほどがある / Hodo ga aru: 何でも物事には程がある Nan demo mono goto ni wa hodo ga aru. 我慢にも程がある Gaman ni mo hodo ga aru. There is a limit to everything. There is a limit to how much one can put up with.

.. [Conditional TARA of verb] + followed immediately by [same verb + Hodo] 歩いたら + 歩くほど Aruitara + aruku hodo 寝たら + 寝るほど Netara + neru hodo The more I walk, the more... The more I sleep, the more.

5 Culture 花より男 There is a popular Japanese Manga titled "Boys Over Flowers," and written with the Japanese Kanji's and Hiragana: 花より男 this is actually a pun on the wellknown Japanese saying "Sweet dumplings over Flowers" written 花より団. 団だんご (Dango) meaning "sweet dumplings" in the Japanese saying is replaced with a different set of characters, also pronounced "Dango," which mean boy 男. The original idiom emphasizes choosing practical things such as food over aesthetics, like flowers... 花より団 Hana yori dango "Sweet dumplings rather than Flowers" This Japanese proverb uses the expression of comparison that we learned in the Grammar section of this lesson より (yori). 花より団 (Hana yori dango)implies that flowers may be beautiful, but they won't fill your stomach like sweet dumplings do. It also means eating dumplings or any other kind of sweets to our hearts content is better than viewing cherry blossoms signifying the appreciation of something "beautiful" to fill our appetite rather than something "beautiful" to our eyes. 花より団 "Sweets Over Flowers" is used in reference to someone who has a poor appreciation for aesthetically beautiful and elegant things. This saying 花より団 originates in the Japanese custom of going flower viewing or 花 (hanami) every spring. Though the purpose is to view the cherryblossoms, the people often seem to be more interested in eating foods and drinking alcohol rather than simply appreciating the beauty of the flowers. You could say that 花より団 illustrates a part of human nature. Let me illustrate a scene in which this Japanese proverb may be used. Two colleagues are at an お花おはなみ (Ohanami)... One colleague Tanakasan is fascinated by the flowers and comments... きれいですね (Kirei desu ne!)

The original idiom emphasizes choosing practical things such as food over aesthetics, like flowers.

6 "They are so beautiful, don't you agree?" Our second colleague Kikuchisan notices the cherry blossoms for the first time and says... えあそうですね (E..a so desu ne...) "Oh, ah, yes, they certainly are, aren't they?" And proceeds to ask Tanakasan... もっとビールはいかがですか? (Motto biiru, ikaga desu ka?) "Would you like more beer?" Tanakasan smiles and says to Kikuchisan... 菊池さんは花より団ですね! (Kikuchisan wa Hana yori dango desu ne!) "You like sweets better than cherry blossoms!" And Kikuchisan quite ashamed responds with... あどうもすみません (A, dōmo mo sumimasen.) "Oh I'm sorry" Libros Media Ltd. Copyright USA: Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA Phone: Asia/Pacific: Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand Phone:

" Tanakasan smiles and says to Kikuchisan... 菊池さんは花より団ですね! (Kikuchisan wa Hana yori dango desu ne!) "You like sweets better than cherry blossoms!

鹿大広報149号

鹿大広報149号 No.149 Feb/1999 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Learned From Japanese Life and Experiences in Kagoshima When I first came to Japan I was really surprised by almost everything, the weather,

Where is the Hotel? You ask at an Information desk, and the girl behind the desk politely answers... ホテル は 駅 の 南 より あるいて 分 です Hoteru wa eki no Minamig

Where is the Hotel? You ask at an Information desk, and the girl behind the desk politely answers... ホテルは駅の南よりあるいて分です Hoteru wa eki no Minamig