〜ば〜ほど
The more … the more 〜ば〜ほど
Meaning
"The more ~, the more ~" — one thing increases as another does.
Formation
[verb ば-form] + [same verb, plain] + ほど · [い-adj ければ] + [い-adj] + ほど · [na-adj なら] + [na-adj] + なほど
Notes
The same word is repeated — first in ば-form, then plain, then ほど: 読めば読むほど. With a na-adjective the second half keeps な: 便利なら便利なほど. In speech the ば half is often dropped: 考えるほど分からなくなる.
Examples
読（よ）めば読（よ）むほど面白（おもしろ）くなります。
The more you read it, the more interesting it gets.
Breakdown
練習（れんしゅう）すればするほど上手（じょうず）になります。
The more you practise, the better you get.
Breakdown
安（やす）ければ安（やす）いほどいいです。
The cheaper the better. (i-adjective)
Breakdown
考（かんが）えれば考（かんが）えるほど分（わ）からなくなりました。
The more I thought about it, the less I understood.
Breakdown
日本語（にほんご）は勉強（べんきょう）するほど好（す）きになります。
The more I study Japanese, the more I like it. (the ば half dropped)
Breakdown
⚠️ Often confused with
〜くらい / 〜ぐらい
About / to the extent 〜くらい
An approximate amount — "about ~" — or a degree — "to the extent that ~".
〜ほど / 〜ほどだ
To the extent 〜ほど
Gives a yardstick for how much — "so ~ that …", "to the extent of ~".
〜さえ / 〜でさえ
Even 〜さえ
Picks an extreme example — "even ~". If this much is true, the rest follows.
〜こそ
Precisely 〜こそ
Singles something out for emphasis — "this is the one that ~", "precisely ~".
〜てまで / 〜までして
Even going so far as 〜てまで
"Even going so far as to ~".
〜極まりない
Utterly extreme 〜極まりない
"Extremely ~", "~ in the extreme" — an emphatic, usually critical judgement.
〜といったらない
Beyond description 〜といったらない
"Indescribably ~", "~ beyond words" — an exclamation of extremity.
〜始末だ
Ending up badly 〜始末だ
"It ended up ~ (of all things)" — a bad process reaches a worse conclusion.