When you want to express that two things are directly proportional—like saying "you get out what you put in" or "the more you practice, the more you learn"—Croatian uses correlative clauses.
Koliko..., toliko... (As much as..., that much...)
To connect two proportional outcomes, use the pair koliko (how much / as much) and toliko (that much). The first clause establishes the baseline condition or effort with koliko, and the second clause shows the matching result with toliko.
| However much this car costs, that is how much it is worth. | Koliko ovaj auto košta, toliko i vrijedi. |
Balancing Investments and Outcomes
This structure is extremely common in professional, economic, or motivational contexts to talk about balancing effort, risk, and reward. It frequently appears alongside business vocabulary like dobit (profit), gubitak (loss), or verbs like ostvariti (to achieve).
| However much we invest, that is how much our profit will amount to. | Koliko ulažemo, toliko će iznositi naša dobit. |
| However much you try, that is how much you will achieve. | Koliko se trudiš, toliko ćeš ostvariti. |
It is also the standard way to describe market dynamics, such as the relationship between price and potražnja (demand).
| However much demand grows, that is how much the price grows. | Koliko raste potražnja, toliko raste cijena. |
You can easily use this same pairing for personal boundaries and relationships, matching what you give with what you expect zauzvrat (in return).
| However much I give, that is how much I expect in return. | Koliko dajem, toliko očekujem zauzvrat. |
Using Nouns with Koliko and Toliko
Just like when you ask "how much" of something, you can pair koliko and toliko directly with nouns to mean "as much [noun]..., that much [noun]...".
When you do this, the noun must take the genitive case because it expresses a quantity. Notice how zalaganje (commitment) and korist (benefit) change their endings in the example below.
| As much effort as you invest, that much benefit you have. | Koliko zalaganja ulažeš, toliko koristi imaš. |