4 · Linking clauses, further
The more … the more: -(으)ㄹ수록
proportional change
As one thing grows, another grows or shrinks with it — English “the more … the more”.
After a consonant the ending is -을수록: 먹을수록, 많을수록, 작을수록. After a vowel only an l is added to the last syllable of the stem, followed by 수록: 갈수록, 클수록, 비쌀수록. A stem that already ends in l adds just 수록: 살수록, 멀수록. Irregular stems change as they do before any 으: 추울수록, 들을수록, 나을수록. It is written as one word.
It says that two things change together: as the first increases, so does the second, or it decreases. 산은 높이 올라갈수록 추워요, “the higher you climb, the colder it gets”. The second half often contains 더, “more”, or a verb of change with -아/어지다, because it describes something that moves.
For emphasis, the same verb comes twice, first with -(으)면: 보면 볼수록, “the more I look at it”; 생각하면 생각할수록, “the more I think about it”. And 갈수록 on its own has become an adverb, “as time goes on, increasingly”: 날씨가 갈수록 추워져요.
English builds this with two comparatives, and learners try to copy it with two 더s. Korean needs only one ending on the first verb. The other trap is spacing: 수록 is part of the ending, so there is no space before it — unlike 할 수 있어요, where 수 is a noun.
The form
| after a vowel | 갈수록, 비쌀수록 |
| after a consonant | 먹을수록, 많을수록 |
| a stem ending in l | 살수록, 멀수록 |
| stronger, with the verb twice | 보면 볼수록 |
| after a noun | 아이일수록 |
| as time goes on | 갈수록 추워져요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
After a consonant add -을수록; after a vowel the stem takes an l and then 수록. It is written as one word.
한국어는 배울수록 재미있어요.The more I learn Korean, the more fun it is.
-(으)면 before the same verb makes it stronger.
그 노래는 들으면 들을수록 좋아요.The more I listen to that song, the more I like it.
The second half often has 더 or -아/어지다, because it describes a change.
시간이 지날수록 더 보고 싶어요.The more time passes, the more I miss you.
The first clause takes no tense.
나이가 들수록 건강이 중요해져요.The older you get, the more important your health becomes.
갈수록 on its own means “as time goes on”.
물가가 갈수록 오르고 있어요.Prices keep rising as time goes on.
A closer look
Why there is no space
Korean spacing follows the parts of speech. A bound noun such as 수 in 할 수 있어요 or 것 in 하는 것 is a word, and words are separated. An ending is not a word, and -을수록 is a single ending, however long it looks. That is why 할수록 and 할 수 are spelt differently although they begin the same way.
Native writers do sometimes put a space in by mistake, precisely because 할 수 is so frequent. On this site, and in any edited text, it is written together.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
-
the stem already ends in l (살다, 멀다, 만들다)
only 수록 is added: 살수록, 멀수록, 만들수록.
회사가 집에서 멀수록 피곤해요.The further the office is from home, the more tiring it is.
The l of the stem already does the job of the l that a vowel stem takes, so nothing is doubled and no 으 is inserted.
How to spot it
- -을수록
- 갈수록
- -(으)면
- 더
Example sentences
산은 높이 올라갈수록 추워요.The higher you climb a mountain, the colder it gets.
친구는 많을수록 좋아요.The more friends, the better.
이 책은 읽으면 읽을수록 어려워요.The more I read this book, the harder it gets.
집이 역에서 가까울수록 비싸요.The closer a flat is to the station, the more expensive it is.
연습을 많이 할수록 실력이 늘어요.The more you practise, the better you get.
바쁠수록 천천히 해야 해요.The busier you are, the more slowly you should go.
7 more example sentences
그 사람은 알수록 좋은 사람이에요.The better you get to know him, the nicer he turns out to be.
밤이 깊어질수록 거리가 조용해져요.The later it gets, the quieter the streets become.
물건이 비쌀수록 품질이 좋은 건 아니에요.It is not true that the more expensive something is, the better it is.
생각하면 생각할수록 화가 나요.The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
날씨가 더울수록 아이스크림이 잘 팔려요.The hotter the weather, the better ice cream sells.
나이가 어릴수록 외국어를 빨리 배워요.The younger you are, the faster you learn a foreign language.
운동을 할수록 몸이 가벼워져요.The more I exercise, the lighter I feel.
Worth knowing (1)
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The sooner, the better
With 좋다 as the second half, the pattern makes the English formula “the …-er, the better”. It is one of the most frequent sentences built with this ending.
빠를수록 좋아요.The sooner, the better.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
수록 is not a word of its own but the second half of the ending, so nothing separates it from the verb: 할수록. The space belongs in 할 수 있어요, where 수 is a noun meaning “way, possibility”.
Surok in one word: as the first thing grows, the second follows.
Your turn
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