Lesson 72: As much as: ~만큼, 정도

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Vocabulary
Introduction

As much as: ~만큼
Degree: 정도

어느 정도/만큼

 

Vocabulary

Click on the English word to see information and examples of that word in use. Use these sentences to give yourself a feel for how each word can be used, and maybe even to expose yourself to the grammar that you will be learning shortly.

A PDF file neatly presenting these words and extra information can be found here.

Nouns:
편의점 = convenience store

학생회 = student council

여배우 = actress

간 = liver

옆구리 = the side of one’s body

배꼽 = belly button

영양 = nutrition

영양소 = nutrients

영양사 = nutritionist

식료품 = groceries

반찬 = side dish

눈곱 = sleep (little things in your eyes)

연 = kite

풍선= balloon

Verbs:
Conjugate 저리다 = for a body part to go numb

Conjugate 날리다 = to make fly

Conjugate 탑승하다 = to board, to embark

Conjugate 이식하다 = to transplant

Conjugate 투표하다 = to vote

Conjugate 닿다 = to brush against, to touch

Adverbs and Other Words:
깜짝 = an adverb used to show surprise

대충 = roughly, “half-assed”

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Introduction

In this lesson, you will learn how to use 만큼 and 정도, which can be used to create the translation “as much as…” Let’s get started.

 

As much as: ~만큼

First and foremost, ~만큼 can be attached directly to a noun to describe that something is done to the extent as that noun. The typical translation for 만큼 in these cases is “as much as (that noun).” For example:

나만큼 = as much as me
밥만큼 = as much as rice
남자 배우만큼 = as much as actors
한국 사람만큼 = as much as a Korean person
너만큼 = as much as you

In Lesson 67, you learned how ~처럼 can be attached to nouns to indicate that something is done “like” a noun. ~만큼 is similar, but it more describes that something is done to a certain level – that is, the level of the noun that it is attached to.

The constructions we made earlier can now go in sentences where appropriate, for example:

그는 나만큼 축구를 잘해 = He plays soccer as well as me
과일은 밥만큼 건강에 좋아요 = Fruit is as healthy as rice is
여배우들은 남자 배우만큼 돈을 못 벌어요 = Actresses don’t make as much as actors do
저는 한국 사람만큼 한국말을 할 수 있어요 = I can speak Korean as much as a Korean person can
내 키가 너만큼 컸으면 그것에 손이 닿았을 거야 = If my height were as big as yours, I could have reached (touched) that

Of course, because ~만큼 can be attached directly to nouns, it can also be attached directly to nouns being described by a verb or adjective. The same translation of “as much as” can usually be used in these situations as well. For example:

고기를 먹는 것만큼 야채를 먹어야 한다
= One should eat vegetables as much as they eat meat

게임을 하는 것만큼 일을 열심히 하면 성공할 수 있다
= If you work as much as you play games, you can succeed

저는 한국 사람들이 한국어를 말하는 것만큼 한국어를 말하고 싶어요
= I want to speak Korean as (much/) well as a Korean person speaks

바람이 많이 부는 날에 연을 날리는 것만큼 재미있는 게 없어요
= On really windy days, there is nothing (as fun as) flying a kite

대학생들이 나이가 많은 사람들이 하는 것만큼 투표를 했으면 좋겠어요
= I wish/hope that university students vote as much as older people

저 비행기에 탑승하는 사람만큼 우리 비행기에 탑승하면 우리 비행기가 못 떠요
= If the amount of people who boarded that plane got on our plane, we wouldn’t be able to take off

만큼 can also act as the noun being described by a clause conjugated using ~는 것 (that is, as ~는 만큼 and not necessarily as ~는 것만큼). The clause before 만큼 can be conjugated to the past, present and future tenses. For example here are examples of this being done in the past or present tenses:

우리가 이 파티를 즐긴 만큼 너도 즐겼으면 좋겠어
우리가 이 파티를 즐긴 것만큼 너도 즐겼으면 좋겠어
= I hope you enjoyed the party to the extent that we enjoyed it

저는 어제 돈을 번 만큼 오늘 쓸 거예요
저는 어제 돈을 번 것만큼 오늘 쓸 거예요
= I am going to use money to the extent that I earned yesterday

(A very common way to see 만큼 described by a clause in the present tense is when the previous clause ends with “원하다” to make constructions like “as much as one wants.”)

네가 원하는 만큼 먹어
네가 원하는 것만큼 먹어
= Eat to the extent that you want

Korean people can’t notice a difference between the two sets usages above – that is, using 것 or not. For example, below are examples showing 만큼 used as a noun (as shown directly above), and as a particle attached to a noun (as shown earlier). Korean people can’t distinguish the difference between the two:

고기를 먹는 만큼 야채를 먹어야 한다
고기를 먹는 것만큼 야채를 먹어야 한다
= One should eat vegetables as much as they eat meat

게임을 하는 만큼 일을 열심히 하면 성공할 수 있다
게임을 하는 것만큼 일을 열심히 하면 성공할 수 있다
= If you work as much as you play games, you can succeed

저는 한국 사람들이 한국어를 말하는 만큼 한국어를 말하고 싶어요
저는 한국 사람들이 한국어를 말하는 것만큼 한국어를 말하고 싶어요
= I want to speak Korean as (much/) well as a Korean person speaks

바람이 많이 부는 날에 연을 날리는 만큼 재미있는 게 없어요
바람이 많이 부는 날에 연을 날리는 것만큼 재미있는 게 없어요
= On really windy days, there is nothing (as fun as) flying a kite

대학생들이 나이가 많은 사람들이 하는 만큼 투표를 했으면 좋겠어요
대학생들이 나이가 많은 사람들이 하는 것만큼 투표를 했으면 좋겠어요
= I wish/hope that university students vote as much as older people

However, ~는 만큼 cannot be exchanged with  ~는 것만큼 when the describing clause is conjugated into the future tense. For example, while these are natural:

그는 학교에 갈 수 없을 만큼 아파요 = He is sick to the point that he won’t go to school
그것은 제가 볼 수 없을 만큼 무서워요 = That thing is scary to the point that I can’t look
우리가 차에 다 들어갈 만큼 공간이 있어요? = Is there space for all of us to go into the car?

The following would all sound unnatural in Korean:

그는 학교에 갈 수 없을 것만큼 아파요
그것은 제가 볼 수 없을 것만큼 무서워요
우리가 차에 다 들어갈 것만큼 공간이 있어요?

만큼 is also often described by a clause that is ridiculous that will not actually happen. The speaker often uses these types of sentences as a metaphor to describe to what extent something is happening. Here is a simple example of this:

나는 죽을 만큼 너를 사랑해 = I love you to the point that I am going to die

In this case, obviously the speaker won’t die from loving the person too much. However, the speaker wants to express a hyperbole in describing “how much” something is being done. In these cases, the clause describing “만큼” is often in the future tense. Below are some more examples:

밥도 못 살 만큼 가난해요
= He is so poor he can’t even buy rice

길에서 넘어질 만큼 깜짝 놀랐어요
= I was so surprised that I could have fallen

배꼽이 빠질 만큼 웃었어요
= I laughed so much my belly button could have exploded

죽을 때까지 믿을 수 없을 만큼 저를 배신했어요
= He betrayed me to the point that I can’t trust him for the rest of my life

오늘 밤에 간 이식을 받아야 될 만큼 술을 마실 거예요
= Tonight, I’m going to drink so much alcohol that I’m going to need a liver transplant

제가 표현할 수 없을 만큼 학생들에게 감동을 받았어요
= I can’t express how much I was impressed from the students

이 케이크는 제가 매일매일 먹을 수 있을 만큼 맛있어요
= This cake is delicious to the point that I could eat it everyday

Before I go any further, I want to introduce two common idiomatic ways that 만큼 is used.

First, the word “눈곱” is a noun that refers to the bits of crust that people get in their eyes. I guess the common word for them is “sleep,” but I’ve also heard people call them “eye boogers.” In addition to this, 눈곱 is often used to describe something very small. The particle ~만큼 is often attached to 눈곱, and is used in sentences to mean “not in the slightest bit.” For example:

나는 너를 눈곱만큼도 좋아하지 않아
= I don’t like you in the slightest bit

그런 식료품에 영양소가 눈곱만큼도 없어요
= There isn’t the slightest bit of nutrients/nutrition in that type of food product

Another idiom that you will hear is “하늘만큼 땅만큼.” The words 하늘 and 땅 mean “sky” and “land” respectively, but when you want to express how much you love somebody, it is a cute way of saying that you love somebody “thiiiiiiiiiiiiis much.” The literal meaning is something like “I love you from the earth to the sky” or something like that. If you happen to have a Korean significant other, he or she would be very impressed (and happy!) if you told him/her something like “나는 너를 하늘만큼 땅만큼 사랑해.”

Let’s move on and about the word “정도,” which can sometimes be similar to 만큼.

 

Degree: 정도

In its most literal sense, “정도” means “degree”; and can be used in a variety of situations. One common way it can be used is by replacing “만큼” in the cases where it is not attached directly to a noun. That is, it can replace 만큼 in sentences where it is being described by a preceding verb or adjective. In the following examples, 정도 is incorrectly attached to the nouns:

나정도 = doesn’t make sense
밥정도 = doesn’t make sense

However, when described by a verb or adjective (like 만큼), it can be appropriate. For example:

죽을 정도 = to the degree/level/point that one will die
학교에 안 갈 정도 = to the degree/level/point that one won’t go to school

~로 is often added to 정도 so that the whole construction can act as an adverb indicating “to what degree” or “extent” something occurs. In practice, these can be seen as the same as examples using 만큼 For example:

나는 죽을 정도로 너를 사랑해 = I love you to the degree that I will die
그는 학교에 못 갈 정도로 아파요 = He is sick to the degree that he won’t go to school

When used like this, 정도 is most often used (like 만큼) to indicate some sort of hyperbole. Therefore, (aside from the examples that I will discuss later), you will most commonly see 정도(로) being described by a clause conjugated in the future tense. Below are more examples:

밥도 못 살 정도로 가난해요
= He is so poor to the degree that he can’t even buy rice

길에서 넘어질 정도로 깜짝 놀랐어요
= I was so surprised that I could have fallen on the street

배꼽이 빠질 정도로 웃었어요
= I laughed so much my belly button could have exploded

죽을 때까지 믿을 수 없을 정도로 저를 배신했어요
= He betrayed me to the degree that I can’t trust him for the rest of my life

오늘 밤에 간 이식을 받아야 될 정도로 술을 마실 거예요
= Tonight, I’m going to drink so much alcohol that I’m going to need a liver transplant

제가 표현할 수 없을 정도로 학생들에게 감동을 받았어요
= I can’t express how much I was impressed from the students

이 케이크는 제가 매일매일 먹을 수 있을 정도로 맛있어요
= This cake is delicious to the degree that I could eat it everyday

It is common to attach ~로 to 정도 in these types of sentences where it is described by a preceding verb or adjective, but other particles can be attached as well. Once the noun “정도” is described, that noun can have other functions within a sentence. For example:

Using ~의 to describe another noun (you might want to check out Lesson 23)
돈이 부족해서 밥도 못 살 정도의 사람들이 불쌍해요
= People who don’t even have enough money to buy rice are pathetic

Using ~까지 to indicate until which point something occurred
지금 월세도 못 낼 정도까지 돈이 없어요
= I don’t have any money to the point that I can’t even pay my rent

Using 이다 or 아니다 to indicate that something “is” or “is not” a particular level or degree:
우리가 이 일이 이미 끝났다고 할 수 있는 정도가 아니에요
= This work isn’t at the point (degree) that we can call it finished already

이 병이 나빠지는 것에 대해 많이 걱정해야 하는 정도가 아니지만 오늘부터 치료를 시작해야 됩니다
= The disease/sickness getting worse isn’t (to the extent that it is) something you need to worry about it, but we need to start treatment (from) today

정도 is also often placed after some sort of number or counter to give a rough estimate of a number. For example:

우리는 아직 40분 정도 가야 돼요 = We still have to go about 40 minutes
사람 열 명 정도가 수업을 들을 거예요 = About 10 people will take the class
그 책은 만 원 정도입니다 = That book is about 10,000 won
하늘에 풍선 천 개 정도가 있었어요 = There were about a thousand balloons in the sky

 

 

 

 

어느 정도/만큼

In Lesson 22, Lesson 25 and Lesson 33 you learned about the word 어느. 어느 can also be used in sentences with 정도 and 만큼.

When used with 정도 or 만큼 to form a question, the speaker is asking “to what extent” something happened. For example:

옆구리가 어느 정도 아파요? = How sore (to what extent) is your side?
옆구리가 어느 만큼 아파요? = How sore (to what extent) is your side?

Note that “얼마만큼” is often used instead of “어느 만큼” For example:
옆구리가 얼마만큼 아파요? = How sore (to what extent) is your side?

영양사를 어느 정도 믿어요? = How much (to what extent) do you believe the nutritionist?
영양사를 어느 만큼 믿어요? = How much (to what extent) do you believe the nutritionist?
영양사를 얼마만큼 믿어요? = How much (to what extent) do you believe the nutritionist?

When used as a statement, the speaker is indicating that something is done “to some extent.” For example:

In the examples below, “얼마만큼” and “어느 만큼” are possible, but they would be more likely to be used when asking a question as in the examples above. In the examples below, my wife prefers to say the sentences with “어느 정도,” but submits to the fact that the sentences with “얼마만큰” and “어느 만큼” are understandable.

반찬을 어느 정도 만들 수 있어요 = I can make 반찬 to some extent
반찬을 어느 만큼 만들 수 있어요 = I can make 반찬 to some extent
반찬을 얼마만큼 만들 수 있어요 = I can make 반찬 to some extent

그 사람이 무슨 말을 하고 있는지 어느 정도 이해해요 = I understand what he is trying to say to some extent
그 사람이 무슨 말을 하고 있는지 어느 만큼 이해해요 = I understand what he is trying to say to some extent
그 사람이 무슨 말을 하고 있는지 얼마만큼 이해해요 = I understand what he is trying to say to some extent

그 학생은 영어를 어느 정도 잘 할 수 있어요 = That student can speak English to a certain degree
그 학생은 영어를 어느 만큼 잘 할 수 있어요 = That student can speak English to a certain degree
그 학생은 영어를 얼마만큼 잘 할 수 있어요 = That student can speak English to a certain degree

That’s it for this lesson!

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All entries are linked to an audio file. You can download all of these files in one package here.

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