This grammar means 'the more X, the more Y'. It shows that when one thing increases, another thing also changes.
Verb [ば-form] + Verb [dictionary form] + ほどPrimary
い-Adjective [ば-form] + い-Adjective + ほど
な-Adjective + であれば + な-Adjective + な + ほど
Noun + であれば + Noun + である + ほど
This grammar means 'the more X, the more Y'. It shows that when one thing increases, another thing also changes.
この曲は聴けば聴くほど好きになります。
The more I listen to this song, the more I like it.
山は高ければ高いほど、登るのが大変になる。
The higher a mountain is, the more difficult it becomes to climb.
その問題は複雑であればあるほど、彼にとっては面白かったようだ。
It seems that for him, the more complex the problem was, the more interesting it was.
練習しなければしないほど、下手になるのは当たり前だ。
It's only natural that the less you practice, the worse you become.
CasualNon PastNegativeMid SentenceDeclarativeSports & Martial ArtsMusic & EntertainmentCore Concepts
経験を積めば積むほど、自信がついてくるものです。
The more experience you gain, the more confident you naturally become.
Imagine a seesaw. When one side goes up, the other side goes down. This grammar works like that. As one thing changes, another thing changes too. It shows a strong connection.
This grammar is different from "~ni tsurete" and "~ni shitagatte". Those show a slow, one-way change over time. This grammar can show changes that go both ways. For example, 'the less you do, the worse it gets' works with this grammar.
Don't use this when you want to use different words. For example, you can't say "If you study, the more smart you get." You must repeat the same word.
Use this when you want to say that if one thing increases, another thing also increases. It shows a clear link between two things. For example, 'the more you study, the more you learn'.
Contrasts with(7)
Less formal alternatives(7)
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