Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
times higher than vs. times as high as
English answer:
300% vs. 400%
Added to glossary by
Dan Dascalescu
Nov 17, 2003 18:09
20 yrs ago
23 viewers *
English term
United States
As specialized as IT gets
Native in: Romanian 
Works in: Romanian to English, Moldavian to English, English
times higher than vs. times as high as
English
Art/Literary
Linguistics
grammar
Which is the correct way to phrase comparisons:
"My speed is three times higher than his speed?" OR
"My speed is three times as high as his speed?"
"My speed is three times higher than his speed?" OR
"My speed is three times as high as his speed?"
Responses
+9
6 mins
David Knowles
Native in English
&
English
Specialist in Civil Law & Contracts
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, English, Ukrainian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
40
Selected
depends what you mean!
If your speed is 300 kph and his is 100 kph, your speed is three times as high as his speed or 200% higher than his speed.
If you say your speed is three times higher than his speed, you're going at 400 kph!
Mind you, lots of people get very confused about this.
If you say your speed is three times higher than his speed, you're going at 400 kph!
Mind you, lots of people get very confused about this.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Marian Greenfield
4 mins
|
| agree |
Cilian O'Tuama
: lots and lots of people...
13 mins
|
| agree |
Mario Marcolin
1 hr
|
| agree |
jerrie
: I am..very confused (Dan's about to capsize, too..needs some propulsion to resume a horizontal position!)
1 hr
|
| agree |
Gayle Wallimann
: Exactly, but shouldn't it be three times as fast, or three times faster than when referring to speed? (this is a general comment on the question, not your answer which is good)
1 hr
|
|
I don't care about the word - I care about the arithmetic!
|
|
| agree |
Kardi Kho
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Heidi Stone-Schaller
: yes, good point, but I think lots of people use "higher than" when they mean "3 times as high as"--it's a tad more colloquial don't you think?
16 hrs
|
| agree |
Empty Whiskey Glass
17 hrs
|
| neutral |
Montefiore
: Maybe I am confused, but three times his speed and three times higher than his speed would still be 100 X 3
1 day 10 hrs
|
| agree |
senin
3 days 21 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Great answer, David! Thanks!"
+1
3 mins
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
32
either
"My speed is three times higher than his speed?" OR
"My speed is three times as high as his speed?"
"My speed is three times as high as his speed?"
+1
6 hrs
My speed is three times higher than his speed.
Declined
What is the problem? Or you could go for " I am three times faster than he is"....?????
Explanation: yeah, right.
Explanation: yeah, right.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
David Knowles
: The problem is that three times higher/faster = four times as high/fast
7 hrs
|
| neutral |
Cilian O'Tuama
: great 'explanation'
8 hrs
|
| agree |
Montefiore
: I completely agree, and there is not much need for an explanation, contrary to the previous comments:)
1 day 4 hrs
|
Comment: "Obviously "once faster" does NOT mean that my_speed is equal to his_speed.
Once faster => my_speed = his_speed +100% * his_speed = 200% * his_speed ("inca o data pe atat" in Romanian).
Therefore, "three times faster" => my_speed = his_speed + 300% * his_speed = 400% * his_speed."
+1
10 hrs
chica nueva
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
http://youtube/iraVWQu3Zf8
Native in: English (Variants: New Zealand, British)
Works in: Chinese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
I am three times as fast as he is/My speed is three times his.
This is how I would say it...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Montefiore
: three times as fast is a good version, if only a little broad, not too specific, unless the text doesn't call for a specific speed at all
1 day 21 mins
|
1 day 11 hrs
Montefiore
United States
United States
Works in field
United States
Experienced, knowledgeable, prompt
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Ukrainian to Russian, Russian, and 3 more.
my speed is N times greater than his
This is a commonly used version in this case, especially in a technical context.
Otherwise, if you wish to use the word "higher", then both of the versions proposed by you are fine. If you ask for a preference, I would look at the overall text, and see how it fits. The version "my speed is three times as high as his" is a more "casual," a slightly more colloquial version, so to speak. And if your text is also more colloquial, then this version will do. If not, then the other version is fine, or the one I have proposed above.
Otherwise, if you wish to use the word "higher", then both of the versions proposed by you are fine. If you ask for a preference, I would look at the overall text, and see how it fits. The version "my speed is three times as high as his" is a more "casual," a slightly more colloquial version, so to speak. And if your text is also more colloquial, then this version will do. If not, then the other version is fine, or the one I have proposed above.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Cilian O'Tuama
: there are lots of correct versions, but not all have the same meaning
4 hrs
|
Discussion
http://www.google.com/search?q="times higher" site:proz.com
No search results for the "as" version:
http://www.google.com/search?q="times as high" site:proz.com
What do you think?