haru Korean › Grammar › Level 2B › A-아/어지다

A-아/어지다 — to become … · to get … — how a state changes

To become … · to get … — how a state changes. Korean grammar for upper beginner learners — Level 2B, lesson 1: 이제 매운 것도 잘 먹게 됐어요 (I can even eat spicy food now — how things changed).

What it means

-아/어지다 turns an adjective into a change: 'to become …, to get …'. 따뜻하다 'to be warm' describes a state; 따뜻해지다 'to get warm' says that the state has changed. Build it the way you build -아요/어요: after ㅏ or ㅗ add 아지다 (좋다 → 좋아지다, 많다 → 많아지다), after any other vowel add 어지다 (길다 → 길어지다, 늦다 → 늦어지다), and 하다 becomes 해지다 (따뜻하다 → 따뜻해지다, 친하다 → 친해지다). Irregular adjectives change just as they do before -아요/어요: 춥다 → 추워지다, 쉽다 → 쉬워지다 (ㅂ), 바쁘다 → 바빠지다, 크다 → 커지다 (ㅡ), 다르다 → 달라지다 (르). The result works like a verb, so it takes -았/었-, -(으)ㄹ 거예요 and -고 있다: 한국어가 쉬워졌어요, 내일은 더 추워질 거예요, 해가 점점 길어지고 있어요. 점점 'little by little' and 많이 'a lot' often go with it. You met two such words in Level 2A: 나아지다 'to get better' and 나빠지다 'to get worse'. For verbs, use -게 되다 (Grammar 2).

Forms

Key points

• A-아/어지다 = to become …, to get …: ㅏ · ㅗ → 아져요 (좋아져요 · 많아져요) · other vowels → 어져요 (길어져요 · 추워져요) · 하다 → 해져요 (따뜻해져요)
• An adjective is a state; with -아/어지다 it becomes a change: 날씨가 따뜻해요 → 날씨가 따뜻해졌어요. The tense goes on 지다: 따뜻해졌어요 · 따뜻해질 거예요.

Examples

• 좋다 → 좋아져요. 많다 → 많아져요. 작다 → 작아져요.
• 길다 → 길어져요. 늦다 → 늦어져요. 춥다 → 추워져요.
• 따뜻하다 → 따뜻해져요. 친하다 → 친해져요.
• 날씨가 따뜻해요. → 날씨가 따뜻해졌어요.
• 바쁘다 → 바빠졌어요. 다르다 → 달라졌어요.

Where university textbooks teach it

This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 2B, lesson 15; Yonsei University Korean 2-1, lesson 1; Sogang University Korean 2B, lesson 5; Ewha Womans University Korean 2-2, lesson 15; Hongik University Korean 2A, lesson 6; Hanyang University Korean 2-2, lesson 9.

Also in this lesson

• V-게 되다 — to come to … · to end up … — a change that came about
• V-기 전에 (1B 복습·확장) — before …ing
• V-(으)ㄴ 후에 (1B 복습·확장) — after …ing

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