LEARN + KOREAN / Note 34 TOPIK I

More Than (-보다)

a

보다 attaches to whatever you’re comparing against, “than [noun].” 더 (more) is optional, tucked in right before the adjective for emphasis, but the comparison already works without it.

수박이 딸기보다 비싸요.
subagi ttalgiboda bissayo.
Watermelon is more expensive than strawberries.
호주가 한국보다 더 커요.
hojuga hangukboda deo keoyo.
Australia is bigger than Korea.
In Real Life
It’s easy to flip which noun takes 보다. The thing serving as the baseline gets 보다; the thing that wins the comparison gets 이/가. 호주가 한국보다 커요, Australia (이/가) is bigger than Korea (보다). Swap them and you’ve reversed the meaning entirely.
여름이 겨울보다 좋아요.
yeoreumi gyeoulboda joayo.
I like summer more than winter.
지하철이 버스보다 더 편해요.
jihacheori beoseuboda deo pyeonhaeyo.
The subway is more comfortable than the bus.
삼계탕이 불고기보다 더 맛있어요.
samgyetangi bulgogiboda deo masisseoyo.
Samgyetang is more delicious than bulgogi.
저는 축구를 수영보다 더 좋아해요.
jeoneun chukgureul suyeongboda deo joahaeyo.
I like soccer more than swimming.
숙제가 생각보다 어려워요.
sukjega saenggakboda eoryeowoyo.
The homework is harder than I thought.
In Real Life
생각보다 isn’t comparing against another noun at all, 생각 just means “what I expected.” It’s one of the most common uses of 보다 in casual speech: less about ranking two things and more about a reality check against your own assumption.

Vocabulary

KoreanEnglish
수박
subak
watermelon
딸기
ttalgi
strawberry
삼계탕
samgyetang
samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)
축구
chukgu
soccer
생각
saenggak
thought, thinking
많다
manta
to be many, a lot
적다
jeokda
to be few
빠르다
ppareuda
to be fast
느리다
neurida
to be slow
훨씬
hwolssin
by far, much more
조금
jogeum
a little
비슷하다
biseutada
to be similar
제일
jeil
the most (casual for 가장)
차라리
charari
rather, would rather
오히려
ohiryeo
rather, on the contrary
역시
yeoksi
as expected, indeed
차이
chai
difference
낫다
natda
to be better
뒤지다
dwijida
to fall behind
앞서다
apseoda
to be ahead