-게 되다 expresses a change of state or situation that happens naturally or gradually. It means "come to," "get to," "end up," or "become able to" do something.
Structure
Verb stem + -게 되다
Breakdown:
- -게: Adverbial ending
- 되다: To become/happen
- Literal meaning: "Become such that..." → "Come to [verb]"
Key concept: Change happened naturally, not by force
Basic Usage Rules
With Action Verbs
Natural progression to action:
- 알게 되다 (come to know)
- 만나게 되다 (come to meet)
- 가게 되다 (come to go)
- 먹게 되다 (come to eat)
- 살게 되다 (come to live)
- 일하게 되다 (come to work)
With Ability/State Verbs
Gradual ability development:
- 할 수 있게 되다 (become able to do)
- 이해하게 되다 (come to understand)
- 좋아하게 되다 (come to like)
- 믿게 되다 (come to believe)
Core Meaning: Natural Change
Expressing Gradual Change
Change that happened over time:
- 한국어를 할 수 있게 됐어요 (I came to be able to speak Korean)
- 그 사람을 좋아하게 됐어요 (I came to like that person)
- 서울에 살게 됐어요 (I came to live in Seoul)
- 이 일을 하게 됐어요 (I came to do this work)
Nuance: The change wasn't planned or forced
Unplanned Circumstances
How things turned out:
- 친구를 만나게 됐어요 (I ended up meeting a friend)
- 늦게 됐어요 (I ended up being late)
- 회사를 그만두게 됐어요 (I ended up quitting the company)
- 이사하게 됐어요 (I ended up moving)
Common Usage Patterns
Life Changes
Major life events:
- 결혼하게 됐어요 (I came to get married)
- 취직하게 됐어요 (I came to get a job)
- 유학 가게 됐어요 (I came to study abroad)
- 이사하게 됐어요 (I came to move)
- 아기를 갖게 됐어요 (We came to have a baby)
Relationship Development
How relationships formed:
- 친구가 되게 됐어요 (We came to become friends)
- 만나게 됐어요 (We came to meet)
- 알게 됐어요 (I came to know)
- 가까워지게 됐어요 (We came to become close)
Skills and Abilities
Learning and development:
- 한국어를 말할 수 있게 됐어요 (I became able to speak Korean)
- 요리를 잘하게 됐어요 (I came to cook well)
- 운전할 수 있게 됐어요 (I became able to drive)
- 피아노를 치게 됐어요 (I came to play piano)
Tense Conjugations
Past Tense (Most Common)
Polite: -게 됐어요
- 알게 됐어요 (came to know)
- 만나게 됐어요 (came to meet)
- 가게 됐어요 (came to go)
- 좋아하게 됐어요 (came to like)
Present Tense
Polite: -게 돼요
- 알게 돼요 (come to know)
- 만나게 돼요 (come to meet)
- 가게 돼요 (come to go)
Note: Less common, often implies habitual or general truth
Future Tense
Polite: -게 될 거예요
- 알게 될 거예요 (will come to know)
- 만나게 될 거예요 (will come to meet)
- 좋아하게 될 거예요 (will come to like)
Explaining How Things Happened
Telling a Story
Background to current situation:
- 한국 친구를 만나서 한국어를 배우게 됐어요 (I met a Korean friend, so I came to learn Korean)
- 회사가 이사해서 서울에 살게 됐어요 (The company moved, so I came to live in Seoul)
- 우연히 만나서 친구가 되게 됐어요 (We met by chance and came to become friends)
Cause and Effect
What led to the change:
- 건강 문제로 운동하게 됐어요 (Due to health issues, I came to exercise)
- 친구 추천으로 이 드라마를 보게 됐어요 (Through a friend's recommendation, I came to watch this drama)
Passive Nuance
Things That Happen to You
Not your active choice:
- 군대에 가게 됐어요 (I came to go to the military - mandatory)
- 해고되게 됐어요 (I came to be fired)
- 병원에 입원하게 됐어요 (I came to be hospitalized)
vs Active Choice:
- 군대에 갔어요 (I went to the military - just states fact)
- -게 됐어요 emphasizes circumstance
Politeness Levels
Formal (합니다체)
- 알게 됩니다 (come to know)
- 만나게 됩니다 (come to meet)
Polite (해요체)
- 알게 돼요 (come to know)
- 만나게 돼요 (come to meet)
- 알게 됐어요 (came to know)
Casual (반말)
- 알게 돼 (come to know)
- 알게 됐어 (came to know)
Common Expressions
Work and Career
- 일하게 됐어요 (came to work)
- 취직하게 됐어요 (came to get employed)
- 그만두게 됐어요 (came to quit)
- 승진하게 됐어요 (came to get promoted)
- 이직하게 됐어요 (came to change jobs)
Learning and Discovery
- 알게 됐어요 (came to know)
- 배우게 됐어요 (came to learn)
- 이해하게 됐어요 (came to understand)
- 깨닫게 됐어요 (came to realize)
- 발견하게 됐어요 (came to discover)
Feelings and Attitudes
- 좋아하게 됐어요 (came to like)
- 사랑하게 됐어요 (came to love)
- 존경하게 됐어요 (came to respect)
- 믿게 됐어요 (came to believe/trust)
Daily Life
- 살게 됐어요 (came to live)
- 다니게 됐어요 (came to attend/go to)
- 먹게 됐어요 (came to eat)
- 입게 됐어요 (came to wear)
Negative Forms
Didn't Come to
안 -게 되다:
- 안 가게 됐어요 (didn't come to go)
- 안 만나게 됐어요 (didn't come to meet)
-게 되지 않다:
- 가게 되지 않았어요 (didn't come to go)
- 만나게 되지 않았어요 (didn't come to meet)
Couldn't Come to
못 -게 되다:
- 못 가게 됐어요 (couldn't come to go)
- 못 만나게 됐어요 (couldn't come to meet)
Question Forms
How Did That Happen?
어떻게 -게 됐어요?:
- 어떻게 한국어를 배우게 됐어요? (How did you come to learn Korean?)
- 어떻게 서울에 살게 됐어요? (How did you come to live in Seoul?)
- 어떻게 알게 됐어요? (How did you come to know?)
When Did That Happen?
언제 -게 됐어요?:
- 언제 친구가 되게 됐어요? (When did you come to become friends?)
- 언제 좋아하게 됐어요? (When did you come to like it?)
-게 되다 vs Similar Patterns
-게 되다 vs Simple Past
Simple past: Just states fact
- 한국어를 배웠어요 (I learned Korean - simple fact)
-게 되다: Emphasizes process/circumstances
- 한국어를 배우게 됐어요 (I came to learn Korean - how it happened)
-게 되다 vs -아/어지다
-아/어지다: State change (often uncontrollable)
- 좋아졌어요 (became better - state improved)
-게 되다: Action/situation change (circumstances)
- 좋아하게 됐어요 (came to like - feeling developed)
Perspective and Usage
When to Use -게 되다
Use when:
- Explaining how a situation came about
- Describing gradual or natural change
- Emphasizing circumstances over choice
- Telling stories about life changes
- Being modest (it happened, rather than I made it happen)
Avoid when:
- Stating simple facts without context
- Immediate actions
- Deliberate choices you want to emphasize
Summary Table
| Verb | -게 되다 Form | Meaning | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| 알다 | 알게 되다 | Come to know | 알게 됐어요 |
| 만나다 | 만나게 되다 | Come to meet | 만나게 됐어요 |
| 살다 | 살게 되다 | Come to live | 살게 됐어요 |
| 좋아하다 | 좋아하게 되다 | Come to like | 좋아하게 됐어요 |
| 일하다 | 일하게 되다 | Come to work | 일하게 됐어요 |
Key Takeaways
- ✅ Natural progression: Change that happened gradually
- ✅ Circumstantial: Not forced or deliberate
- ✅ Past tense common: Usually describing completed change
- ✅ Storytelling: Essential for explaining backgrounds
- ✅ Modest tone: De-emphasizes your active role
- ✅ Very common: Used frequently in conversation
-게 되다 is essential for describing how situations and states came about naturally, making it one of the most important patterns for storytelling and explaining life changes in Korean.