ほど

The word ほど expresses degree, extent, or approximation and appears in several important patterns. Its core meaning relates to "the degree to which" or "the extent of" something.

Degree/Extent – "so much that"

When attached to a verb or adjective, ほど indicates the degree or extent of something, often translated as "so … that" or "to the point of."

Negative comparison – "not as … as"

• ほど + negative predicate is used to say something is not as … as something else. This is one of the most common uses of ほど.

Example value={とうきょう東京ほどおおきい大きいとし都市はない。} translation={There is no city as big as Tokyo.} />

Note: While より is used to say "more than," ほど with a negative is used to say "not as much as." These two are complementary.

The more … the more – ～ば～ほど

The pattern Verb[ば-form] + Verb[dictionary form] + ほど expresses that the more you do something, the more something else happens.

For い-adjectives, use ～ければ～い + ほど:

Approximate amount – "about"

When used with numbers or quantities, ほど means "about" or "approximately," similar to くらい/ぐらい. It often carries a nuance of an upper limit ("as much as" or "no more than").

Nothing as … as – ほど～ものはない

The pattern なうんNoun + ほど + adjective + ものはない means "nothing is as … as" and is used to emphasize that something is the most extreme example.