ほど

See also: ほと

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
程

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Particle

ほど • (hodo) 

1. "as much as"; upper limit; degree

   彼(かれ)ほど日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)がうまくない。

   Kare hodo Nihongo ga umakunai.

   My Japanese isn't as good as his.

   速(はや)いほど良(い)い。

   Hayai hodo ii.

   The sooner, the better.

   学(まな)べば学(まな)ぶほど、何(なに)も知(し)らなかった事(こと)に気(き)づく

   Manabeba manabu hodo, nani mo shiranakatta koto ni kizuku

   The more I learned, the more I felt I didn't know anything.

   あいつを殺(ころ)したいほど嫌(きら)いだ。

   Aitsu o koroshitai hodo kirai da.

   I hate him so much that I want to kill him.

Usage notes

• When an i-adjective is marked with ほど (hodo), there should be no verb, since an adjective cannot be the agent or patient of a verb in Japanese.

Noun

ほど • (hodo) 

1. degree, bounds, extent

Usage notes

• The phrase …にもほどがある (…ni mo hodo ga aru, “even … has a limit”, literally “there is also a limit to …”) can be used to object to something.

  冗(じょう)談(だん)にも程(ほど)がある。

  Jōdan ni mo hodo ga aru.

  There is a limit to jokes (to joking around).

  失(しつ)礼(れい)にも程(ほど)がある。

  Shitsurei ni mo hodo ga aru.

  There is a limit to being rude.

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of ほど – see the following entry.

【歩度】 [noun] walking pace

(This term, ほど, is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as ほど, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ほど.)