Grammar
N이/가 되다
Meaning
BeginnerN i/ga doeda
Attaches to a noun to show a change of state, meaning 'to become N'. Use 이 되다 after a consonant and 가 되다 after a vowel. The same pattern also covers reaching a time or an age, as in 여섯 시가 되었습니다 ('it has turned six o'clock').
Form
Noun + 이 되다 after a final consonant (선생님이 되다, 어른이 되다), 가 되다 after a vowel (의사가 되다, 부자가 되다). The particle here is 이/가, the same shape as the subject marker — not the object marker 을/를, even though English 'become' looks like it takes an object. Common endings are 되었습니다 or its contraction 됐습니다 for a completed change, 됩니다 for a general or future one, and 되고 싶다 for a wish.
Examples
제 친구는 올해 한국어 선생님이 되었습니다.
My friend became a Korean teacher this year.
동생은 커서 의사가 되고 싶어 합니다.
My younger sibling wants to become a doctor when they grow up.
벌써 저녁 여섯 시가 되었습니다.
It has already turned six in the evening.
이 도시는 유명한 관광지가 되었습니다.
This city has become a famous tourist destination.
Common mistakes & nuance
English speakers often write 선생님을 되었습니다 because 'become' takes an object in English — Korean needs 이/가 here. In casual speech the particle is sometimes dropped (선생님 됐어요), but keep it in writing. 되었습니다 and 됐습니다 are the same form, the second simply contracted.
Similar grammar
- -게 되다
N이/가 되다 takes a noun and says what someone or something turned into. -게 되다 takes a verb and says that a situation came about: 한국어를 배우게 되었습니다 means 'I ended up learning Korean', which is a change in circumstance, not a change into a noun.
- N이다
N이다 states what something is at the moment (그는 의사입니다, 'he is a doctor'). N이/가 되다 states the change into it (그는 의사가 되었습니다, 'he became a doctor').