In order to make a comparison, you have to define either side of the comparison using 「方」（ほう） and/or 「より」. 「方」 defines the direction the comparison is leaning toward while 「より」 defines the side it’s leaning away from. The important thing to remember is that 「方」 is a noun while 「より」 is a particle. Another particle often used in making comparisons is 「ほど」, which describes the extent of something.
Example
- 方 【ほう】 – direction; side
- ～より (particle) – rather than ～
- ～ほど (particle) – extent of ～
- どちら – which way
- 犬 【いぬ】 – dog
- 猫 【ねこ】 – cat
- 英語 【えい・ご】 – English (language)
- 日本語 【に・ほん・ご】 – Japanese (language)
- 難しい 【むずか・しい】(i-adj) – difficult
- 思う 【おも・う】(u-verb) – to think
- 犬と猫、どちらの方が好き？
Which do (you) like more, dog or cat? (lit: Dog and cat, which side is (the) one (you like)?) - 犬の方が猫より好き。
Like dog more than cat. (lit: Like the side of dog rather than cat.) - 犬の方が猫より嫌い。
Hate dog more than cat. (lit: Hate the side of dog rather than cat.) - 猫は、犬ほど好きじゃない。
Don’t like cat as much as dog. (lit: Don’t like cat to extent of dog.) - 英語と日本語、どちらの方が難しいと思いますか？
Which do (you) think is harder, English or Japanese? (lit: English and Japanese, which side is harder (you) think?)
Cats or Dogs
アリス：猫と犬、どちらの方が好き？
Alice: Which do (you) like more, dog or cat
りー：僕は、どちらも好き。
Lee: I like both. (lit: Like either way also.)
ジョン：犬の方がいいんじゃない？猫より頭がいいから。
John: Isn’t dog better. Because (they’re) smarter than cats.
アリス：でも、犬の方が世話が大変だし、猫の方がかわいいと思わない？
Alice: But dog(s) are tougher to take care of and don’t (you) think cat(s) are cuter?
ジョン：世話はどちらも大変だと思うし、俺は、犬がもっとかわいいと思うよ。
John: (I) think both are tough to take care of and as for me, I think dogs are much more cute.
アリス：どうして猫がそんなに嫌いなの？
Alice: Why do (you) hate cat(s) that much?
ジョン：嫌いだと言ってないよ！
John: (I’m) not saying (I) hate (them)!
アリス：きっと、子供の時に、猫と何か悪い事が起きたんだね。
Alice: (I’m) sure, when (you) were a child, something bad occurred with a cat, huh?
ジョン：いや、別に・・・。
John: No, not really…
アリス：とにかく、ジョンさんほど猫が嫌いな人は、会った事ないよ。
Alice: Anyway, (I) have never met a person that hates cat(s) to the extent of John-san.
ジョン：だから、嫌いじゃないって。
John: Like I said, (I) don’t hate (them).