Korean Grammar: 보다 더 (-er than)

In Korean, '보다 더' is a grammar point used to express comparisons between two entities. It translates to '-er than' in English and is used with adjectives or adverbs to indicate that one entity possesses a certain quality to a greater degree than the other.

Examples

1. 이 케이크는 저 케이크보다 더 맛있다. (This cake is more delicious than that cake.)
2. 나는 내 친구보다 더 똑똑하다. (I am smarter than my friend.)
3. 한국어를 중국어보다 더 잘한다. (I speak Korean better than Chinese.)
4. 이 음식은 저 음식보다 더 맵다. (This food is spicier than that food.)
5. 나는 겨울보다 여름에 더 활동적이다. (I am more active in the summer than in the winter.)
6. 이 영화는 저 영화보다 더 재미있다. (This movie is more interesting than that movie.)

It's important to note that "보다 더" can also be used with negative adjectives, such as 덜 (less) or 더 작다 (smaller), to express that one entity possesses a certain quality to a lesser degree than the other.

Examples with Negative Adjectives

• 저 사람은 그 사람보다 덜 친절하다. (That person is less friendly than the other person.)

1. When you use ‘보다’, you can omit ‘더’.

• 고양이보다 치타가 더 빨라요. (Cheetahs are faster than cats.)
• 고양이보다 치타가 빨라요. (Cheetahs are faster than cats.)

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• 날씨가 어제보다 더 추워요. (It's colder than yesterday)
• 날씨가 어제보다 추워요. (It's colder than yesterday)

2. You can't omit '덜'.

• 이 떡볶이는 라면보다 덜 맵다. (This tteokbokki is less spicy than ramen.) (Correct)
• 이 떡볶이는 라면보다 맵다. (This tteokbokki is less spicy than ramen.) (Incorrect). If you omit 덜, it means 'This tteokbokki is more spicy than ramen)