English–Japanese

“compare” in Japanese

Japanese

Also比べる (kuraberu) · 見比べる (mikuraberu)

Romajitatoeru

先生は人生を旅に例えます。sen sei wa jin sei o tabi ni tato e ma su

The teacher compares life to a journey.

“Compare” in Japanese is 例える (tatoeru). 例える can also mean “compare ___ to ___”.

Describes one thing by linking it to another that shares a relevant feature.

私は妹の笑顔を花に例えます。watashi wa imōto no e gao o hana ni tato e ma su

I compare my sister's smile to a flower.

この気持ちは、普通の言葉では例えられません。ko no ki mo chi wa fu tsū no koto ba de wa tato e ra re ma se n

This feeling cannot be put into ordinary words.

A speaker can use 例える (tatoeru) for both serious explanations and playful descriptions, so the verb appears across many conversational topics.

kuraberu

verbcompare

値段を比べます。ne dan o kura be ma su

I compare prices.

mikuraberu

verbcompare

二つの絵を見比べます。futa tsu no e o mi kura be ma su

I compare the two pictures.