比較

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 比較 is a noun read ひかく, meaning a comparison that examines similarities or differences between two or more things. It forms the verb 比較する.
• Basic usage: It can describe comparing several objects before choosing one or using an earlier record as a standard for judging change.
  • 店で三つの机を比較して、最も軽い物を選んだ。 says that three desks were compared and the lightest was chosen; 前回の記録と比較すると、作業時間が短くなった。 says that the work time became shorter when compared with the previous record.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 三つの机を比較する
  • を marks the three desks as the objects being compared.
• 記録と比較すると
  • The first と marks the previous record as the comparison standard, while the final と connects that comparison with its result.
• 比較 and 比べる
  • 比較 is used as a noun or with する, while 比べる is an ordinary verb for the same act of comparing.