-(으)ㄹ 정도로

-(으)ㄹ 정도로 shows how strong or intense something is by naming a result or situation it reaches: "so much that…".

정도·비교Degree & comparison

Han: In this pattern the modifier before 정도로 is -(으)ㄹ, not -는, even when the event is in the past.

Examples

그 식당은 한 시간씩 줄을 설 정도로 인기가 많아요.That restaurant is so popular that people wait in line for an hour.

시험 전날에는 잠을 못 잘 정도로 긴장했어요.The day before the exam I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep.

친구 이야기가 너무 재미있어서 눈물이 날 정도로 웃었어요.My friend's story was so funny that I laughed until I cried.

어제는 걷기 힘들 정도로 다리가 아팠어요.Yesterday my legs hurt so much that it was hard to walk.

Don’t mix up

-(으)ㄹ 정도로vs-(으)ㄹ 만큼For degree they are almost interchangeable, but only 만큼 also means "as much as (an amount)": 먹을 만큼 가져가세요 (not 먹을 정도로).

-(으)ㄹ 정도로vs너무 -아서/어서-아서/어서 presents cause → result; 정도로 puts the result first to describe how intense the action was: 너무 웃어서 눈물이 났어요 vs 눈물이 날 정도로 웃었어요.

How to build it

V/A+(으)ㄹ 정도로 (after a vowel or ㄹ: -ㄹ 정도로; after a consonant: -을 정도로)

나다 → 눈물이 날 정도로 웃었어요; 먹다 → 다 못 먹을 정도로 많아요

The verb before 정도로 usually stays in the -(으)ㄹ form even for past events; the tense is shown on the main verb (눈물이 날 정도로 웃었어요). -았/었을 정도로 exists but is much less common.
The main clause should describe something that can be stronger or weaker (아프다, 좋아하다, 웃다, 인기가 많다), not a neutral one-time action.
To end the sentence with the degree itself, use -(으)ㄹ 정도예요/정도이다: 피곤해서 쓰러질 정도예요.

Classic mistake

Wrong: ~~눈물이 나는 정도로 웃었어요.~~

Right: 눈물이 날 정도로 웃었어요.

In this pattern the modifier before 정도로 is -(으)ㄹ, not -는, even when the event is in the past.

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