NL = hoe meer, hoe beter. "Hoe" -> "how"
There is also a variant used with more complete sentences:
"Hoe ouder ik word, des te sneller de tijd lijkt te gaan." -> "The older I get, the faster the time seems to go."
Looks like "desto" may be a contraction. "des" is a genitive. It has been on the phase-out track since the Middle Ages (tenacious little bugger...) The current meaning corresponds roughly to "of the" (e.g. "de procureur des Konings" - "the prosecutor of the King"*, so the use above is pretty much as you expressed it...)
(Warning: dialect speaker here - there's a ton more of those hiding in the closet that I do not even know are there...)
* No, (s)he is not prosecuting the King. (S)he works for him.
"Hoe ouder ik word, des te sneller de tijd lijkt te gaan." -> "The older I get, the faster the time seems to go."
Looks like "desto" may be a contraction. "des" is a genitive. It has been on the phase-out track since the Middle Ages (tenacious little bugger...) The current meaning corresponds roughly to "of the" (e.g. "de procureur des Konings" - "the prosecutor of the King"*, so the use above is pretty much as you expressed it...)
(Warning: dialect speaker here - there's a ton more of those hiding in the closet that I do not even know are there...)
* No, (s)he is not prosecuting the King. (S)he works for him.
