English scatters the idea of proportion across half a dozen phrasings — "as much as," "to the extent that," "in proportion to how much…," "the more X, the more Y." Korean folds them all into a single template: an attributive verb or adjective + 만큼. 노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요 — "you get results to the extent that you tried." This page is about that clausal 만큼, the one that follows a clause and sets a measured limit or proportion on the main statement. It is a hallmark of natural, mid-level Korean, and the one thing you must get right is which attributive tense to put in front of it.
What clausal 만큼 does
Place 만큼 after a clause in its attributive form and it means "as much as / to the extent that / in proportion as" the clause is true. The main sentence is then scaled to that extent — no more, no less. Think of 만큼 as drawing a line and saying "the main event reaches exactly this far."
노력한 만큼 결과가 나와요.
noryeokan mankeum gyeolgwaga nawayo
You get results in proportion to how hard you tried.
아는 만큼 보여요.
aneun mankeum boyeoyo
You only see as much as you know. (a famous Korean saying)
In 노력한 만큼, the effort clause (노력하다, "make an effort") sets the yardstick; the results (결과) come out measured against it. Read literally: "by the extent [you] made an effort, results emerge." English needs "in proportion to how much"; Korean needs only the attributive + 만큼.
The tense lives in the attributive ending
Clausal 만큼 has no tense of its own; it borrows it from the attributive form of the verb ahead of it. This is the point learners most often fumble. Korean attributive endings encode tense, and 만큼 simply rides on whichever one you choose:
| Attributive | Verb example | Meaning of the 만큼 phrase |
|---|---|---|
| -(으)ㄴ (past, verb) | 노력한 만큼 | as much as [you] tried (completed effort) |
| -는 (present, verb) | 버는 만큼 | as much as [you] earn (ongoing) |
| -(으)ㄹ (prospective) | 먹을 만큼 | as much as [you] will / can eat |
| -(으)ㄴ (present, adjective) | 바쁜 만큼 | to the extent [it] is busy |
For a completed action whose results you are now measuring, use past -(으)ㄴ:
돈을 낸 만큼 대접을 받아요.
doneul naen mankeum daejeobeul badayo
You get treated according to how much you paid.
For an ongoing action, present -는:
시간이 있는 만큼 도와드릴게요.
sigani inneun mankeum dowadeurilgeyo
I'll help you to the extent that I have time.
For "as much as you want / can," the prospective -(으)ㄹ is the natural choice — it points at a not-yet-realized amount:
먹을 만큼 드세요.
meogeul mankeum deuseyo
Help yourself to as much as you'll eat.
필요한 만큼 가져가세요.
piryohan mankeum gajeogaseyo
Take as much as you need.
Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ in the present (like all Korean adjectives in attributive position), so "to the extent it is busy" is 바쁜 만큼, never ×바쁘는 만큼:
일이 힘든 만큼 보람도 커요.
iri himdeun mankeum boramdo keoyo
The harder the work is, the more rewarding it is too.
Clausal 만큼 vs nominal 만큼: don't confuse the two
There is a second 만큼 that attaches directly to a noun and means "as much as N" in a straight comparison — 나만큼 커요 ("as tall as me"), 어른만큼 먹어요 ("eats as much as an adult"). That comparative particle is a different animal with its own page. Two surface differences keep them apart:
- Nominal 만큼 attaches to a noun with no space: 나만큼, 형만큼, 예전만큼.
- Clausal 만큼 follows an attributive verb/adjective and takes a space before it: 아는 만큼, 노력한 만큼, 먹을 만큼.
동생이 저만큼 키가 커요.
dongsaeng-i jeomankeum kiga keoyo
My younger sibling is as tall as me. (nominal 만큼 — no space, comparison)
공부한 만큼 성적이 올라요.
gongbuhan mankeum seongjeogi ollayo
Your grades go up in proportion to how much you study. (clausal 만큼 — space, proportion)
The spacing is not cosmetic: 저만큼 is one word (noun + particle), while 공부한 만큼 is two (attributive clause + bound noun). For the comparison-particle use, see 만큼: as much as (comparison).
The reframe for English speakers
Where English switches phrasings depending on the flavor of proportion, Korean keeps one template and lets the attributive tense carry the fine print:
- "as much as you tried" → 노력한 만큼 (past)
- "as much as you earn" → 버는 만큼 (present)
- "as much as you want" → 원하는 만큼 / 먹을 만큼 (present or prospective)
- "to the extent it is difficult" → 어려운 만큼 (adjective, present)
Once you stop translating the English phrasing and instead ask "is this clause completed, ongoing, or prospective?", the correct 만큼 form chooses itself.
Common Mistakes
1. Wrong attributive tense — present where a completed action is meant. If you are measuring the result of something already done, use past -(으)ㄴ.
❌ 준비하는 만큼 잘했어요.
Tense mismatch — the preparation is finished, so it must be the past attributive 준비한.
✅ 준비한 만큼 잘했어요.
junbihan mankeum jalhaesseoyo
You did as well as you had prepared.
2. Using -는 on an adjective. Adjectives take -(으)ㄴ in the present; only verbs take -는.
❌ 바쁘는 만큼 돈도 많이 벌어요.
Wrong — 바쁘다 is an adjective, so present attributive is 바쁜, not 바쁘는.
✅ 바쁜 만큼 돈도 많이 벌어요.
bappeun mankeum dondo mani beoreoyo
The busier you are, the more money you make too.
3. Spacing: writing clausal 만큼 attached, or nominal 만큼 with a space. Clause + 만큼 takes a space; noun + 만큼 does not.
❌ 아는만큼 보여요. ／ 나 만큼 커요.
Spacing errors — a clause needs a space (아는 만큼); a noun needs none (나만큼).
✅ 아는 만큼 보여요. ／ 나만큼 커요.
aneun mankeum boyeoyo / namankeum keoyo
You see as much as you know. / As tall as me.
4. Confusing clausal 만큼 (proportion) with the comparison particle 만큼 (as much as N). After a clause, 만큼 means "to the extent that"; on a bare noun it means "the same amount as."
✅ 형만큼 먹었어요.
hyeongmankeum meogeosseoyo
I ate as much as my older brother. (comparison — noun + 만큼)
✅ 먹은 만큼 살이 쪄요.
meogeun mankeum sari jjeoyo
You gain weight in proportion to how much you eat. (proportion — clause + 만큼)
Key Takeaways
- Clausal 만큼 = attributive verb/adjective + 만큼 = "to the extent that / as much as / in proportion as." The main clause is scaled to exactly that extent.
- Tense rides on the attributive ending: past -(으)ㄴ (노력한 만큼), present -는 for verbs (버는 만큼), prospective -(으)ㄹ (먹을 만큼), present -(으)ㄴ for adjectives (바쁜 만큼).
- Spacing distinguishes the two 만큼s: clause + 만큼 takes a space (아는 만큼); noun + 만큼 (comparison) does not (나만큼).
- Adjectives never take -는 here — it is 바쁜 만큼, not ×바쁘는 만큼.
- For the bare-noun comparison "as much as N," see 만큼: as much as; for a related "just like," see 처럼 / 같이.
Now practice Korean
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- 만큼: As Much As (Equal Degree)TOPIK 3 — The particle 만큼 attaches to a noun to mean 'as much as, to the same extent as' — it marks EQUAL degree, the exact counterpart to 보다's 'more/less than', and never changes shape.
- 처럼 / 같이: Like, As (Similarity)TOPIK 2 — 처럼 and the particle 같이 both mean 'like, as, similar to', clipped onto the noun you're comparing to (새처럼 'like a bird', 얼음같이 'like ice'). The catch: 같이 is a homograph — attached to a noun it's 'like', but standing alone it's the adverb 'together'.
- -자마자: As Soon AsTOPIK 2 — The connective -자마자 attaches to any verb stem to mean 'the instant that X, Y' — with no tense marker of its own and no requirement that the two clauses share a subject.
- Past Verb Relative Clauses: -(으)ㄴTOPIK 2 — The past attributive -(으)ㄴ turns a verb into a modifier for a completed action (간 사람 'the person who went', 먹은 밥 'the rice I ate') — and the same shape that means PAST on a verb means PRESENT on an adjective, so you must read the word's class first.