particle N3 essential casualpolitewritten
〜ほど — extent / degree
〜ほど ・ ほど
Meaning
① extent / degree: to the extent that ~ / so ... that ~ — gives a vivid yardstick for how much
② not as ... as (negative comparison): not as ~ as — the standard that something falls short of
Key sentence
① extent / degree
歩けないほど疲れた。
I was so tired I couldn't walk.
② not as ... as (negative comparison)
今年は去年ほど寒くない。
This year isn't as cold as last year.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun / plain verb / i-adjective | N + ほど; V(plain) + ほど | 三日ほど / 泣きたいほど |
Examples
① extent / degree
山のように、数えきれないほど星が見えた。
There were so many stars you couldn't count them.
死ぬほど恥ずかしかった。
I was embarrassed to death.
② not as ... as (negative comparison)
彼は思ったほど背が高くない。
He isn't as tall as I expected.
テストは噂ほど難しくなかった。
The test wasn't as hard as rumored.
Easily confused with
〜より より marks what is surpassed (AはBより高い = 'A is taller'); Bほど〜ない is the mirror image — 'A is not as tall as B'. Use ほど for the 'falls short' direction. 〜くらい / ぐらい Both can mark approximate degree, and for vivid 'so ... that' they often swap (泣きたいほど / 泣きたいくらい). ほど leans a touch more formal; くらい is the more casual choice and is the usual one for rough quantities (千円くらい).
Notes
- The correlative 〜ば〜ほど ('the more ~, the more ~', e.g. 練習すればするほど上手になる) is treated as its own pattern — see ば〜ほど.
See 〜ほど in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ほど the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar. Editorial confidence: medium.