Japanese Hodo Particle Uses: Amounts, Not As Much As, and Extent

Rough amounts: mikka hodo, sanzen-en hodo

After a number and its counter, hodo means about. Mikka hodo kakarimasu, it will take about three days, literally: it takes to the level of three days. The speaker draws the line at three and admits that the real figure may sit a little to either side.

This hodo is polite and a touch formal. It is what you hear from shop staff, on the phone to a company and in announcements, where a bare number might sound curt. Among friends, kurai or gurai does the same job.

One limit follows from the picture. Hodo measures quantity, not position. A point on the clock is not an amount, so about three o'clock is san-ji goro, never san-ji hodo. A length of time is an amount, so san-jikan hodo, about three hours, is fine. Scene: a customer has brought a watch to a repair counter.

Not as much as: A wa B hodo with a negative

The second use a beginner needs is the comparison that falls short. Kyō wa kinō hodo samukunai desu, today is not as cold as yesterday, literally: as for today, to yesterday's level it is not cold. Yesterday is the line on the door frame; today does not reach it.

The sentence must end in a negative, and there is a reason. Hodo only draws the line. To say something reaches the line exactly, Japanese has a different phrase, onaji kurai, and to say something passes it, Japanese uses yori. What is left for hodo is the case where the line is not reached. The pattern also carries a quiet message that B is high on the scale: kinō hodo samukunai implies yesterday was properly cold. Scene: two colleagues are chatting about a move from Tokyo to Fukuoka.

How hodo is built

Hodo is a noun in origin, and it behaves like one: whatever comes before it takes the form used before a noun. That means plain forms for verbs and i-adjectives, and na for na-adjectives. Polite masu forms do not go before hodo. Politeness is shown once, at the end of the sentence.

Na-adjectives are less common before hodo, but the rule holds: fushigi na hodo shizuka, strangely quiet, keeps its na.

Minimal pairs: hodo against yori, gurai and goro

Each pair changes one element and keeps the rest of the sentence as close as the grammar allows.

The first pair matters most. Hodo with a negative and yori with a positive can describe the same weather, but hodo takes yesterday's cold as given. If you tell a host that today's curry is kinō hodo karakunai, you have also said that yesterday's was hot. Choose yori when you want to compare without that background claim.

Beyond the basics: to the extent that, shinu hodo tsukareta

Here the line on the scale is an event. Shinu hodo tsukareta, literally: I got tired to the level of dying. Namida ga deru hodo waratta, I laughed until tears came. The clause before hodo describes what happens at that level, and the listener works out how high the level must be. Often the event is an exaggeration, as with shinu. Often it is quite real, as in koe ga denaku naru hodo, to the point of losing my voice.

The nai form is equally common: shinjirarenai hodo yasui, unbelievably cheap, literally: cheap to a level that cannot be believed. Scene: a friend is telling you about moving flat in the middle of August.

Nothing reaches this mark: B hodo plus wa nai

Turn the negative comparison round and you get a superlative. Kore hodo oishii rāmen wa nai, literally: ramen that is tasty to this level does not exist. Nothing else comes up to the line, so this one is the best. With people the verb is inai: kanojo hodo yasashii hito wa inai, there is nobody as kind as her.

The pattern is warmer and more personal than ichiban. Ichiban ranks. Hodo with wa nai says the speaker has looked and found no rival, which suits praise, thanks and complaints. Kore hodo, sore hodo and are hodo also stand alone as adverbs: sore hodo takakunai, not all that expensive. Scene: a farewell dinner, where people are saying what they will miss.

Neighbours: hodo versus kurai and gurai

Kurai, also pronounced gurai, overlaps with hodo in amounts and in extent, and the dedicated post on it covers its range. Three differences decide between them. First, register: for amounts, hodo is the formal choice and gurai the everyday one. Second, the negative comparison, A wa B hodo followed by a negative, belongs to hodo; standard Japanese does not use kurai there. Third, attitude: kurai can treat a level as small, as in kore kurai dekiru, I can manage this much, or aisatsu kurai shite kudasai, at least say hello. Hodo never belittles. It tends to point at high levels.

Equality is kurai territory: onaji kurai, about the same, is the fixed phrase. In extent sentences both occur, nakitai hodo and nakitai kurai, with hodo a little more written or dramatic. Preferences here vary with the speaker.

Hodo in conversation: saki hodo, nochi hodo and the ba pattern

Several everyday words are hodo in disguise. Saki hodo, a little while ago, and nochi hodo, a little later, are the polite versions of sakki and ato de, and you will hear them constantly on the phone and in shops. Naruhodo, I see, that makes sense, is written with the same kanji, though speakers no longer feel it as a particle. Be a little careful with naruhodo towards seniors: some people find that it sounds like passing judgement.

Then there is the pattern with ba and hodo: yomeba yomu hodo omoshiroi, the more I read, the more interesting it gets. The line on the door frame is now moving: as one level rises, the other rises with it. It has an article of its own, so two examples are enough here.

Common mistakes with hodo

Kono heya wa ano heya hodo hiroi desu is wrong. It is a word-for-word copy of English as big as. The hodo comparison exists only in the negative. For equality, say ano heya to onaji kurai hiroi desu.

San-ji hodo ni aimashō is wrong. English about covers both amounts and clock times; hodo covers amounts only. Say san-ji goro ni aimashō.

Shinimasu hodo tsukaremashita is wrong. Learners who want the whole sentence to be polite put masu before hodo. Hodo is noun-like and takes plain forms, so the polite sentence is shinu hodo tsukaremashita.

Kyō wa kinō yori samukunai desu is grammatical, but it is not what learners mean by it. It says today is not colder than yesterday, which leaves room for the two days being equal. For not as cold as, say kinō hodo samukunai desu.