A-아/어지다

become, turn into

Explanation

-아/어지다 expresses a change in state over time and means 'become' or 'turn' in English. If the stem ends in the vowel ㅏ or ㅗ, then -아지다 is used. Otherwise, -어지다 is used. As for verbs ending in 하다, the form changes to 해지다.

Details

1. This expression is always used with adjectives and cannot be used with verbs.

요코 씨가 예뻐졌습니다. ✓
Yoko had become pretty.
요코 씨가 한국말을 잘해졌습니다. ✕
→요코 씨가 한국말을 잘하게 되었습니다. ✓
Yoko has begun speaking Korean well.

(See also "V-게 되다 Expressions of State" here)

2. The past tense form -아/어졌어요 expresses a change resulting from an action performed in the past while the present tense form -아/어져요 is used to describe a change that generally occurs when a particular action is performed.

아이스크림을 많이 먹어서 뚱뚱해져요. ✕
→아이스크림을 많이 먹어서 뚱뚱해졌어요. ✓
I ate a lot of ice cream, so I have become fat.
아이스크림을 많이 먹으면 뚱뚱해져요. ✓
If you eat a lot of ice cream, you will become fat.

Kimchi Reader

Express a change in state over time. Can only be used with descriptive verbs.

Details

Spacing

Although 지다 technically is a auxiliary action verb like 아두다/어두다/해두다, 아놓다/어놓다/해놓다 etc, in practice it almost always found without spacing.

Examples
요즘 운동을 해서 살이 많이 <span class='focus'>빠졌어요</span>.
I've lost a lot of weight recently because I've been exercising.
공부를 하고 있는데 갑자기 방에 불이 <span class='focus'>꺼졌어요</span>.
I was studying when the lights suddenly went out.
풍선이 <span class='focus'>커졌어요.</span>
The balloon became bigger.

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