je...desto (The more..., the more...)
je...desto (जितना...उतना...)
German links two comparative forms across two clauses to say 'the more X, the more Y' — exactly like Hindi's "जितना...उतना"! But unlike English, each half here also follows its own strict word-order rule.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Word order: the je-clause is subordinate, the desto-clause forces inversion
Je mehr man lernt, desto klüger wird man. (The more one learns, the smarter one becomes.)
जितना ज़्यादा कोई सीखता है, उतना ही समझदार बनता है।
Hindi's "जितना...उतना" matches this whole idea directly, so this will be one of the more comfortable B2 topics. The je-clause is a genuine subordinate clause, so its verb goes to the end (je mehr man lernt). The desto-clause is technically the main clause, but desto + its comparative (desto klüger) together fill the entire first slot, so the verb comes immediately in second position (wird man) — the whole je-clause counts as occupying that first slot for the desto-clause's purposes.
Comparative formation still applies as usual, umlaut included
je größer, desto teurer; je älter, desto weiser
जितना बड़ा, उतना महँगा; जितना बूढ़ा, उतना बुद्धिमान
The adjectives right after je and desto are ordinary comparatives, formed exactly as learned earlier (add -er, and add an umlaut for several one-syllable adjectives: groß → größer, alt → älter). Nothing changes about building the comparative — the only new thing here is where these comparative words sit in the sentence and what that does to the surrounding word order.
umso is a swappable, slightly more formal alternative to desto
Je später es wird, umso müder werde ich.
जितनी देर होती जाती है, मैं उतना ही थका महसूस करता हूँ।
desto and umso mean exactly the same thing and follow the same word-order rule; umso appears slightly more in carefully written German, while desto is common in both speech and writing. Once you pick one for a sentence, they're freely interchangeable.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| je mehr, desto besser | yay mair, DES-toh BESS-er | जितना ज़्यादा, उतना अच्छाjitnā zyādā, utnā acchā | the more, the better |
| je früher, desto besser | yay FREW-er, DES-toh BESS-er | जितना जल्दी, उतना अच्छाjitnā jaldī, utnā acchā | the earlier, the better |
| je älter, desto weiser | yay EL-ter, DES-toh VY-zer | जितना बूढ़ा, उतना बुद्धिमानjitnā būṛhā, utnā buddhimān | the older, the wiser |
| je schneller, desto besser | yay SHNEL-er, DES-toh BESS-er | जितना तेज़, उतना अच्छाjitnā tez, utnā acchā | the faster, the better |
| je länger, desto schwieriger | yay LENG-er, DES-toh SHVEER-i-ger | जितना लंबा, उतना मुश्किलjitnā lambā, utnā muśkil | the longer, the more difficult |
| umso besser | OOM-zoh BESS-er | और भी अच्छाaur bhī acchā | all the better |
| umso mehr | OOM-zoh mair | और भी ज़्यादाaur bhī zyādā | all the more |
| klüger | KLEW-ger | ज़्यादा समझदारzyādā samajhdār | smarter/wiser |
| wichtiger | VIKH-ti-ger | ज़्यादा ज़रूरीzyādā zarūrī | more important |