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.
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.
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:
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.
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!)
"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 20042014 USA: 10660 Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA Phone: 7033490452 Asia/Pacific: 21008 Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand Phone: +6433846350