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Reading through several learning resources, questions of comparison are always shown of the following type:
XとYと どちら・・・
and statements of comparison are always shown of the following type:
Xより Yのほう・・・
None of the resources I can find however specifically state that the latter type (using より) is or is not grammatical for questions. Eg
＊中国は 日本より 大きいですか。
Is this construction rare or outright unacceptable?
Both constructions are correct but they are asking different questions.
中国と日本とどちらが大きいですか means "Which is bigger between China and Japan?"
中国は日本より大きいですか means "Is China bigger than Japan?"
