8

From the anime Noir, Episode 2.

Context: The husband comes home and his wife and son greet him outside.
Wife: おかえりなさい。今日は早いのね？
Husband: ああ、思ったより早く仕事が終わってね。

The wife's line, I get. The husband's line.....(????). Is he saying that "from thinking, my job is finished."...? I really don't understand what role より is playing in the sentence. Or even what it means.

dotnetN00b
  • 6,686
  • 7
  • 52
  • 94
  • "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" seems to indicate that the way the verb 思う combines with より is an exception: "Either a noun phrase or a sentence precedes yori. When verbs precede yori, they are usually nonpast. However, there are a few cases where past tense verbs are used, as in その試験は思ったよりやさしかった。" – Axe Mar 06 '12 at 03:10
  • @ogicu8abruok: Please change your comment to an answer. Thank you. – dotnetN00b Mar 06 '12 at 03:13

2 Answers2

13

I think it means:

"Yeah, I finish(ed) [work/my job/the job] earlier than (I) expected."

思ったより早く = "earlier than one expected" or "more early than one expected"

See also 思ったより at Space ALC for more examples.

cypher
  • 13,509
  • 6
  • 55
  • 126
6

"A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" seems to indicate that the way the verb 思う combines with より is an exception:

Either a noun phrase or a sentence precedes yori. When verbs precede yori, they are usually nonpast. However, there are a few cases where past tense verbs are used, as in その試験は思ったよりやさしかった。 (The exam was easier than I thought.)

Axe
  • 3,296
  • 18
  • 35
  • I don't know if it's an exception, but I think it's a notable case. If you change [思ったより](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%80%9D%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A) to [思うより](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%80%9D%E3%81%86%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A) it has a different meaning, in this case `その試験は思うよりやさしい`　would be "that exam is easier than one would think" or similar I believe. – cypher Mar 06 '12 at 04:44
  • That doesn't seem much different to その試験は思ったよりやさしい = that exam is easier than one expected. – dotnetN00b Mar 06 '12 at 13:24
  • @cypher, see above. – dotnetN00b Mar 06 '12 at 15:17
  • @dotnetN00b hmm... I asked some people about this, and they said that `思うより` is rarely used compared to `思ったより`, so maybe there is something more to this. One person said `思うより` might be used when telling friends that the test is easier than you'd expect, e.g. `明日の試験はあなたが思うよりやさしいと思うよ`, but that `思っているより` may be better than `思うより` there. `試験は思ったよりやさしい`-> you're currently taking an exam that's easier than you expected; `試験は思ったよりやさしかった` -> the exam is finished and was easier than you expected. I think "I [expected/thought...]" and "would [expect/think]" may often be interchangeable. – cypher Mar 07 '12 at 02:58
  • 1
    思ったより would imply a clear subject, e.g., 'easier than *I* thought' or 'easier than *you* thought', etc. It's specific because it's referring to an actual 'event' (the 'event' being that you thought it would be hard). On the other hand, 思うより is a general statement. It could mean 'easier than *you* think', but it could be interpreted as 'easier than *people* think'. It's more hypothetical than actual. – Bathrobe Mar 08 '12 at 13:21