| Let's take a look at the sentence pattern. |
| Do you remember how the character said, |
| Is this seafood udon spicier than soy sauce udon? |
| 이 해물 우동이 간장 우동보다 더 매워요? (i haemul udongi ganjang udongboda deo maewoyo?) |
| 이 해물 우동이 간장 우동보다 더 매워요? (i haemul udongi ganjang udongboda deo maewoyo?) |
| This sentence follows the pattern here. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| Noun보다 더/덜 Adjective (NOUN boda deo/deol ADJECTIVE) |
| More/less Adjective than Noun |
| This pattern is used to compare two things. You start with the noun you are comparing against, followed by 보다, which means “than.” Then comes 더 to say “more” or 덜 to say “less,” followed by the adjective. The structure shows how one item differs in quality or degree from another. |
| Let’s see how the line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| 이 해물 우동이 간장 우동보다 더 매워요? |
| Let’s break down how it fits. |
| 간장 우동보다 is the comparison base. 간장 우동 means “soy sauce udon,” and 보다 means “than.” So this means “than soy sauce udon.” |
| 더 매워요 is the key comparison phrase. 더 means “more,” and 매워요 comes from 맵다, meaning “spicy.” So 더 매워요 means “spicier.” |
| 이 해물 우동이 is the item being compared—“this seafood udon.” 이 means “this,” 해물 우동 means “seafood udon,” and 이 is the subject marker. |
| 서준 씨, 이 해물 우동이 간장 우동보다 더 매워요? (Seojun ssi, i haemul udongi ganjang udongboda deo maewoyo?) |
| Is this seafood udon spicier than soy sauce udon? |
| When the context makes it clear what you're comparing, you don’t always need to use 보다. For example, in the dialogue: |
| 간장 우동은 맛이 더 순하네요. |
| The soy sauce udon tastes milder. |
| Here, there's no 보다, but it's still clearly a comparison with the seafood udon mentioned earlier. Since both dishes are already in the conversation, Korean speakers often drop 보다 to keep things more natural and concise. |
| This happens frequently in spoken Korean. As long as it’s clear what two things are being compared, native speakers may use just 더 or 덜 + adjective without repeating the comparison marker. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| 택시가 버스보다 더 빨라요. (Taeksiga beoseuboda deo ppallayo.) |
| Taxis are faster than buses. |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, ‘버스보다’ means “than the bus.” 보다 is the comparison marker, meaning “than,” and it attaches to 버스 (bus). This matches the Noun보다 part of the pattern. |
| Next, ‘더’ means “more.” It signals that the adjective is in the comparative form, matching the 더/덜 part of the pattern. |
| Then we have ‘빨라요’, which is the present tense polite form of the adjective 빠르다, meaning “to be fast.” So 빨라요 is the adjective, meaning “is fast.” |
| The subject is ‘택시가’, marked by the subject particle 가, telling us we’re describing the taxi. |
| Here's another example |
| 이 음식이 다른 음식보다 덜 짜요. (I eumsigi dareun eumsikboda deol jjayo.) |
| This dish is less salty than the other. |
| 이 음식이 다른 음식보다 덜 짜요. (I eumsigi dareun eumsikboda deol jjayo.) |
| This dish is less salty than the other. |
| Let's try one more, |
| 이 가방이 저 가방보다 더 무거워요. (i gabangi jeo gabang-boda deo mugeowoyo.) |
| This bag is heavier than that one. |
| 이 가방이 저 가방보다 더 무거워요. (i gabangi jeo gabang-boda deo mugeowoyo.) |
| This bag is heavier than that one. |
| Another one. |
| 오늘이 어제보다 더 추워요. (oneuri eoje-boda deo chuwoyo.) |
| Today is colder than yesterday. |
| 오늘이 어제보다 더 추워요. (oneuri eoje-boda deo chuwoyo.) |
| Today is colder than yesterday. |
| Another example. |
| 점심 메뉴가 아침 메뉴보다 덜 맛있어요. (jeomsim menyuga achim menyu-boda deol masisseoyo.) |
| The lunch menu is less tasty than the breakfast menu. |
| 점심 메뉴가 아침 메뉴보다 덜 맛있어요. (jeomsim menyuga achim menyu-boda deol masisseoyo.) |
| The lunch menu is less tasty than the breakfast menu. |
| Next. |
| 약이 커피보다 더 써요. (Yagi keopiboda deo sseoyo.) |
| Medicine is more bitter than coffee. |
| 약이 커피보다 더 써요. (Yagi keopiboda deo sseoyo.) |
| Medicine is more bitter than coffee. |
| Another. |
| 이 과일이 초콜릿보다 덜 달콤해요. (I gwaili chokollitboda deol dalkomhaeyo.) |
| This fruit is less sweet than chocolate. |
| 이 과일이 초콜릿보다 덜 달콤해요. (I gwaili chokollitboda deol dalkomhaeyo.) |
| This fruit is less sweet than chocolate. |
| One last example. |
| 이 신발이 저 신발보다 더 비싸요. (I sinbari jeo sinbalboda deo bissayo.) |
| These shoes are more expensive than those shoes. |
| 이 신발이 저 신발보다 더 비싸요. (I sinbari jeo sinbalboda deo bissayo.) |
| These shoes are more expensive than those shoes. |
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