日本語道場 — Nihongo Dojo

日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

～につれて

~ni tsurete

as, in proportion to

When to use it

Use ～につれて to state that as one gradual change progresses, another change follows proportionally. It suits reports, analyses and email where both sides are natural, uncontrollable trends — not deliberate actions or one-off events. In speech it can sound stiff; ～にしたがって is close but implies conformity to a standard, while ～とともに allows simultaneous events rather than proportional change.

Formation

Verb: dictionary form + につれて (e.g. 増えるにつれて). Non-volitional, change-of-state verbs only; not with 〜た or 〜ない.
Noun: noun + につれて (e.g. 時間の経過につれて). Nouns denoting change or progression (成長・増加・拡大) work best.
i-adjective / na-adjective: not used directly; nominalise instead — 高くなるにつれて, 複雑になるにつれて.
More formal variant: ～につれ (drops て, common in written reports).

Examples

As the yen weakens, our purchase costs keep rising.
As the number of clients grows, credit control becomes more important.
As the discussion deepened, the key issues became clearer.
With the expansion of the business, we need to review the organisation.
As the deadline approaches, the burden on the floor is increasing.