Korean Lessons ᚛ Level 3 - Korean for Beginners #2 (Lessons 61 to 90) ᚛ Lesson 89 - To become in Korean [-아/어지다]
To become in Korean [-아/어지다]
In this chapter, we're going to talk about the -아/어지다 structure, a slightly particular form which will allow us to transform certain adjectives into verbs. In English, it would be translated as "to become".
To transform an adjective into a verb with -아/어지다, one simply proceeds as follows:
[Present tense casual style adjective]지다
- 비싸다 (= to be expensive) → 비싸지다 (= to become expensive)
- 중요하다 (= to be important) → 중요해지다 (= to become important)
- 예쁘다 (= to be pretty) → 예뻐지다 (= to become pretty)
- 춥다 (= to be cold) → 추워지다 (= to become cold)
The new verb composed with -아/어지다 is fully a verb and can be conjugated in all of the ways we've seen up till now.
7월이 되면 더워집니다.
→ When we arrive in July, the weather is becoming hot.
간장을 넣으니까 더 맛있어졌네요.
→ Since you added soy sauce, it became good!
기름이 비싸졌어요.
→ Gas has become expensive.
어제 비가 왔지만 오늘은 날씨가 좋아졌어요.
→ Yesterday it rained, but today the weather has become good.
나는 예뻐지고 싶어.
→ I want to become pretty.
그 노래를 들으면 마음이 따뜻해져.
→ When I hear this song, my heart warms.
Summary table of structure
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Exercises
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Traveling to South Korea can be an unforgettable experience. But when you don’t speak Korean, everything gets more complicated: ordering in a restaurant or café becomes stressful, you can’t understand signs or directions, asking for help in case of trouble is nearly impossible, and most importantly, you miss out on the very essence of a successful trip to Korea: connecting with the locals.
Since English - Korean machine translators can’t always be trusted (the two languages work in completely different ways), it’s essential to prepare yourself in advance to fully enjoy your trip to South Korea!
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