Meaning & usage
It expresses a proportional relationship where a change in one condition leads to a corresponding increase or decrease in another, meaning the more one thing happens, the more or less another does. Form it by repeating the same word in a ば clause followed by ほど, such as 読めば読むほど for verbs, 高ければ高いほど for i-adjectives, 暇であればあるほど for na-adjectives and nouns, and 金持ちになればなるほど for a change into a noun. Use the same word on both sides, so to describe earliness use 早ければ早いほど rather than repeating a verb like 寝る.
Example sentences 4
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木は高ければ高いほど登りにくい。
The taller a tree is, the harder it is to climb.
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この本って、読めば読むほど分からなくなるわよ。
The more you read this book, the less you understand!
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多ければ多いほど良い。
The more, the better.
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忘れようとすればするほど元彼のこと思い出しちゃう。
The more I try to forget about my ex, the more I think about him.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 6 past exam questions.
And 2 more tests.
