만큼
as much as, to the same degree
Says two things match. Sits in the same slot as 보다, but where 보다 measures a gap, 만큼 says there is none.
Build it
Pick a standard
When to use it
With a noun it attaches directly and never changes shape: 형만큼 커요 (as tall as my brother). The noun is the yardstick, exactly as with 보다.
In the negative it becomes the standard way to say something falls short: 생각만큼 어렵지 않아요 — not as hard as I thought. This is where you will meet it most often.
It also attaches to a modifier to compare whole clauses: 노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요 (you get results in proportion to your effort). Here 만큼 takes a space, because it follows a modifier rather than a noun.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any noun | 만큼 — joined | 형만큼 커요 |
| Falling short | 만큼 + negative | 생각만큼 어렵지 않아요 |
| After a modifier | -(으)ㄴ/는 만큼 | 노력한 만큼 |
| Amount | 이만큼, 그만큼 | 이만큼 주세요 |
| Gap instead | 보다 | 형보다 커요 |
| Resemblance instead | 처럼 | 형처럼 웃어요 |
In use
동생이 벌써 형만큼 커요.
My younger brother is already as tall as the older one.
시험이 생각만큼 어렵지 않았어요.
The exam wasn’t as hard as I’d expected.
저도 그 사람만큼 한국어를 잘하고 싶어요.
I want to speak Korean as well as he does.
노력한 만큼 결과가 나올 거예요.
You’ll get results in proportion to your effort.
이만큼만 주세요.
Just this much, please.
오늘은 어제만큼 춥지 않아요.
It isn’t as cold as yesterday today.
Compared with
보다
Same slot, opposite verdict. 보다 says one exceeds the other; 만큼 says they are equal. Drilling them as a pair is the fastest way to keep them straight.
형보다 커요. (taller than) / 형만큼 커요. (as tall as)
처럼
처럼 says something resembles another; 만큼 measures degree. 가수처럼 노래해요 is about style; 가수만큼 잘해요 is about level.
가수처럼 노래해요. (sings like one) / 가수만큼 잘해요. (as good as one)
정도
정도 also expresses extent but usually follows a number or an amount, closer to English “about.”
한 시간만큼 (as much as an hour — unusual) / 한 시간 정도 (about an hour)
Watch out
시험이 생각만큼 어려웠어요. — meaning “not as hard as expected”
시험이 생각만큼 어렵지 않았어요.
Without a negative, 생각만큼 어려웠어요 says it was exactly as hard as you expected. The negative is what produces “not as… as.”
동생이 형만큼 더 커요.
동생이 형만큼 커요.
더 belongs with 보다, which measures a difference. 만큼 states equality and takes no 더.
노력한만큼 결과가 나와요.
노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요.
After a modifier, 만큼 is a separate word and takes a space. Attached to a bare noun it joins directly: 형만큼.
Next
koreangrammarmap.com