Sentence:  Tommy , of course , had never heard of a kotowaza , or Japanese proverb , which says , `` Tanin yori miuchi '' , and is literally translated as `` Relatives <WSD>are</WSD> better than strangers '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)