N3 · Expressions (N3)
につれて, にしたがって: as one thing changes
one change keeping pace with another
につれて and にしたがって link two changes: as the first goes on, the second goes along with it.
At a glance
- Remember
- につれて: as one thing changes, the other changes with it — both halves moving.
- Form
- 年を取るにつれてas one gets older
- Signal words
- 〜につれて
- 〜にしたがって
- だんだん
- 〜てきた
- 〜ていく
- Trap
- Wrong:夏になるにつれて、海に行きたい。Right:夏が近づくにつれて、海に行きたくなってきた。
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Japanese.
| as one gets older | 年を取るにつれて |
| as the exam approaches | 試験が近づくにつれて |
| as time passes | 時間が経つにつれて |
| as the town grew | 町が大きくなるにつれて |
| as one goes north (formal) | 北へ行くにしたがって |
| as the times change | 時代の変化につれて |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Dictionary form of a change + につれて: as it goes on.
夜が更けるにつれて、寒くなってきた。As the night wore on, it grew colder.
にしたがって means the same and sounds more formal.
高く登るにしたがって、空気が薄くなる。The higher you climb, the thinner the air becomes.
Both halves are gradual changes; the second often ends in なる, ていく or てくる.
日本語が上手になるにつれて、日本の生活が楽しくなった。As my Japanese improved, life in Japan became more fun.
A noun of change can stand before につれて.
経済の成長につれて、人々の生活も変わった。With the growth of the economy, people's lives changed too.
Example sentences
子どもが大きくなるにつれて、家が狭くなってきた。As the children grew, the house started to feel small.
試験が近づくにつれて、不安になってきた。As the exam drew nearer, I grew more anxious.
時間が経つにつれて、悲しみも薄れていった。As time passed, the sadness faded.
南へ行くにしたがって、暖かくなる。The further south you go, the warmer it gets.
人口が増えるにつれて、町もにぎやかになった。As the population grew, the town became livelier too.
話が進むにつれて、内容が難しくなっていった。As the talk went on, the content got harder.
7 more example sentences
秋が深まるにつれて、木の葉が赤くなる。As autumn deepens, the leaves turn red.
慣れるにつれて、仕事が楽になってきた。As I got used to it, the work became easier.
物価が上がるにつれて、生活が苦しくなった。As prices rose, life became harder.
山を登るにしたがって、景色がよくなった。The higher we climbed, the better the view became.
年を取るにつれて、時間が早く感じられる。As you get older, time seems to pass faster.
技術の進歩につれて、生活が便利になった。With advances in technology, life has become more convenient.
雨が強くなるにつれて、川の水が増えていった。As the rain grew heavier, the river rose.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "as summer comes, I want to go to the sea" sounds fine, and learners copy it with につれて. But the pattern links two gradual changes, and a plain wish is not a change. Turn the second half into one — 行きたくなってきた, "I have come to want to go" — and the sentence works.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
につれて after a verb or a noun of change says that a second change follows the first, step by step: 年を取るにつれて、体が弱くなる, "as you get older, your body grows weaker". The verb before it is in the dictionary form, and it is itself a change — なる, 増える, 近づく, 進む.
にしたがって works the same way in this sense and sounds a little more formal: 北へ行くにしたがって、寒くなる, "the further north you go, the colder it gets". Both can follow a noun that names a change: 時代の変化につれて.
The second half must also be a gradual change, usually with なる, ていく or てくる, or with words like だんだん. It cannot be a single event, a wish or an order: 春になるにつれて、花見に行きたい is wrong.
English uses "as" for this, and "as" also means "when" and "because". Learners therefore use とき or から, which lose the sense of two things moving together. ば〜ほど, "the more … the more", is close in meaning; につれてis more about time passingほどmore about degree
A closer look
につれて, とともに and ば〜ほど
Three patterns connect two changes. につれて is the most common in speech and puts the stress on the second change following the first. とともに is more formal and simply says the two happen together: 経済の発展とともに.
ば〜ほど is about degree rather than time: 練習すればするほど上手になる, "the more you practise, the better you get". Where the first change is something that happens on its own over time, につれて is the natural choice; where it is something you can do more or less of, ば〜ほど.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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にしたがって follows a noun for a rule, an order or a guide
it means "in accordance with": 規則にしたがって, "according to the rules".
係員の指示にしたがって、避難してください。Please evacuate following the staff's instructions.
The verb 従う means "follow" or "obey". With a change it follows the change; with a rule it obeys the rule, and につれて cannot be used there.
Worth knowing (1)
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につれ in writing
In written Japanese て is often dropped: につれ, にしたがい. The meaning does not change; the sentence simply sounds more like a report.
時代が変わるにつれ、働き方も変わってきた。As the times have changed, so have ways of working.
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