日本語道場 — Nihongo Dojo

～というより

~to iu yori

rather than

When to use it

Use ～というより when you want to reject one label for a situation and offer a more accurate one: "it's not so much X as Y." It's the standard way in reports, minutes, and negotiations to soften or reframe someone's characterisation without flatly contradicting it. Often paired with むしろ or 〜に近い for emphasis; the second half carries the point you actually want to make.

Formation

Verbs: plain form (present or past) + というより — 売れているというより / 断られたというより
い-adjectives: plain form + というより — 厳しいというより
な-adjectives: stem + というより (だ optional, more literary) — 不安というより / 不安だというより
Nouns: noun + というより — 提案というより
Frequently continues with むしろ、〜に近い、〜と言うべき; the fuller ～と言うよりも adds emphasis. Written register also allows ～というよりは.

Examples

This is less a proposal than a virtually settled matter.
It was less a negotiation than a one-sided notification.
The manager isn't so much strict as specific in what he asks for.
Rather than a failure, our projections were probably just too optimistic.
It's not that it's selling well—we simply have little stock.