In short

Two related jobs. Proportion - “the more X, the more Y” - is the paired -(으)면 … -(으)ㄹ수록: 보면 볼수록 좋아요 (bomyeon bolsurok joayo, the more you look, the more you like it). Degree / extent - “to the point that” - is -(으)ㄹ 정도로 (배가 아플 정도로 웃었어요, baega apeul jeongdoro useosseoyo, I laughed till my stomach hurt) and the bound noun 만큼 (as much as / in proportion to). Turn the dial up with adverbs like 훨씬, 무척, 굉장히.

The rule

Step 1 - -(으)ㄹ수록 = “the more …, the more …”

Attach -(으)ㄹ수록 to a verb or adjective stem - written as one word, no space (unlike the bound nouns below). It very often pairs with a leading -(으)면 clause built on the same stem, which is optional but idiomatic:

Stem + -(으)면 + same stem + -(으)ㄹ수록 + result -> 먹으면 먹을수록 맛있어요. (meogeumyeon meogeulsurok masisseoyo) - the more you eat, the tastier it gets.

The (으) is chosen by the 받침, exactly like -(으)ㄹ 거예요: vowel stem -ㄹ수록 (가다 -> 갈수록), 받침 -을수록 (먹다 -> 먹을수록), and a ㄹ-stem merges to bare -ㄹ수록 (살다 -> 살수록, never *살을수록). On a noun, use N일수록 (from 이다): 부자일수록 걱정이 많아요 (bujailsurok geokjeongi manayo, the richer you are, the more worries you have).

Step 2 - -(으)ㄹ 정도로 / -(으)ㄹ 정도이다 = “to the point that”

정도 (degree, extent) is an ordinary noun - 표준국어대사전 files 정도(程度) as 명사, not as a bound noun like 만큼 below, which is why it also stands free in 어느 정도, 그 정도. Being a noun, it takes a space and a preceding -(으)ㄹ modifier ending. As -(으)ㄹ 정도로 it works adverbially, telling you how extreme the main verb was: 배가 아플 정도로 웃었어요 (I laughed to the point my stomach hurt). As a predicate, -(으)ㄹ 정도이다 ends the sentence: 눈물이 날 정도예요 (nunmuri nal jeongdoyeyo, it’s enough to bring tears). Think of 정도 as measuring the result: the clause before it is the yardstick you reached.

Step 3 - 만큼 = proportion, grounds, and equal degree

만큼 means as much as / to the extent of. It comes in two shapes:

• N만큼 - a particle, glued to a noun with no space, no allomorph (recap from lesson 38): 저도 형만큼 잘할 수 있어요 (jeodo hyeongmankeum jalhal su isseoyo, I can do it as well as my older brother).
• -(으)ㄴ/는/-(으)ㄹ 만큼 - a bound noun after a modifier clause, so it takes a space. Realized -(으)ㄴ/는 만큼 gives proportion, “in step with what actually happened”: 노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요 (noryeokhan mankeum gyeolgwaga nawayo, you get results in proportion to your effort). The same form also reads as grounds - given that / since - when a fitting consequence follows: 약속한 만큼 꼭 지킬게요 (yaksokhan mankeum kkok jikilgeyo, since I promised, I’ll definitely keep it). Prospective -(으)ㄹ 만큼 is potential extent, “enough to / to the point that”: 배가 터질 만큼 먹었어요 (baega teojil mankeum meogeosseoyo, I ate to the point of bursting).

Step 4 - Intensifying: exclamative degree and the adverbs

For “you have no idea how X”, wrap the quality in an embedded question and cap it with 모르다 (lesson 52): 얼마나 -(으)ㄴ지/는지 모르다. 그 소식을 듣고 얼마나 기뻤는지 몰라요 (geu sosigeul deutgo eolmana gippeonneunji mollayo, you have no idea how happy I was to hear that news). A litotes idiom does the same in formal prose: 여간 -지 않다, literally not X to an ordinary degree = extraordinarily X - it is always negative (*여간 바빠요 is impossible). Finally, the plain degree adverbs turn any predicate up or down: 훨씬 (with comparatives), 무척, 굉장히, 상당히 (very), 거의 (almost), and 전혀 (which, like 별로, demands a negative).

Forms & patterns

The shared -(으)ㄹ paradigm - same allomorph rule, but 수록 is glued and 정도·만큼 take a space:

만큼 - what precedes it decides the meaning and the spacing:

Degree adverbs at this level:

만큼 / 정도로 / 처럼 - three “as / to that degree” tools, kept apart:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 작수록 더 귀여워요 (jaksurok deo gwiyeowoyo) -> 작을수록 더 귀여워요 (jageulsurok deo gwiyeowoyo) - after a 받침 (작-), -(으)ㄹ수록 inserts 으: 작다 -> 작을수록, never bare *작수록.
• 오래 살을수록 좋아요 (orae sareulsurok joayo) -> 오래 살수록 좋아요 (orae salsurok joayo) - a ㄹ-stem merges into bare -ㄹ수록 (살다 -> 살수록); it never adds 으.
• 노력한만큼 결과가 나와요 (noryeokhanmankeum gyeolgwaga nawayo) -> 노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요 (noryeokhan mankeum gyeolgwaga nawayo) - after a modifier ending, 만큼 is a bound noun and takes a space (but the particle 형만큼 stays glued).
• 배가 아프 정도로 웃었어요 (baega apeu jeongdoro useosseoyo) -> 배가 아플 정도로 웃었어요 (baega apeul jeongdoro useosseoyo) - 정도 is a noun, so the verb must first carry the -(으)ㄹ modifier: 아프- -> 아플.
• 전혀 좋아요 (jeonhyeo joayo) -> 전혀 안 좋아요 (jeonhyeo an joayo) - 전혀 (at all) must be answered by a negative (안 / -지 않다 / 없다), just like English “at all”.

Tips

• The proportion frame. Lock in -(으)면 … -(으)ㄹ수록 as “the more …, the more …”. The 면-clause just echoes the same stem for emphasis and can be dropped: 갈수록 on its own already means increasingly, as it goes on.
• 만큼 does double duty. Same form, two readings: proportion (as much as) and grounds (given that / since). If a “you’d expect this to follow” consequence comes next - 약속한 만큼 지킬게요 - it’s the grounds sense.
• Realized vs potential 만큼. 먹은 만큼 = as much as you actually ate; 먹을 만큼 = as much as you would/could eat, enough. The modifier tense (-(으)ㄴ vs -(으)ㄹ) flips real into potential.
• 여간 is upside-down. 여간 -지 않다 looks like a negative but means extraordinarily - “not to an ordinary degree.” It is formal, always negated, and never *여간 + plain adjective.