Usage
i) With adjectives
어두워지는 하늘
darkening sky
ii) With intransitive verbs
잔이 잘 깨진다.
The glass breaks easily.
iii) With transitive verbs
집이 만들어졌다.
The house was built.
Conjugation
| Type | Example | Conjugation |
|---|---|---|
| 아 | 사다 | 사지다 |
| 애 | 새다 | 새지다 |
| 어 | 서다 | 서지다 |
| 에 | 세다 | 세지다 |
| 오 | 쏘다 | 쏴지다 |
| 우 | 수다 | 숴지다 |
| 으 | 쓰다 | 써지다 |
| 이 | 시다 | 셔지다 |
Contents
Introduction
i) With adjectives
ii) With intransitive verbs
iii) With transitive verbs
Comparing 지다 passives with (이,리,기,히) passives
Expanded forms
Additional details
Associated grammar
See also
Bibliography
User examples
Introduction
The auxiliary passive verb 지다 is used when there is a change in state. Unlike regular verbs which have a particular meaning, 지다 has the general meaning of ‘change of state’.
지다 is mostly used with adjectives (descriptive verbs), where it turns the adjective into a processive verb (action verb). Here it can normally be explained as meaning ‘becomes’ or ‘gets to be’.
어두워지는 하늘
darkening sky
With processive verbs, the effect depends on whether the verb can take an object (transitive verb) or not (intransitive verb). Both have the common meaning of ‘potentiality’ (explained throughout this entry).
The semantic difference between passives created by 지다 and ‘regular passives’ (이,리,기,히) is explained at towards the end of this entry.
The passive auxiliary verb 지다 follows the infinitive and creates compound verbs. Orthography requires there to be no spaces between the infinitive ending (어/여/아) and 지. When conjugated, 지다 is usually abbreviated to 져 (from 지어).
어두워져
getting dark
i) With adjectives
The auxiliary verb 지다 turns an adjective (descriptive verb) into a processive verb (action verb). The new expression indicates a change in state over some time period.
어두워지는 하늘
darkening sky
Here the original state (whatever it was) changes to become the state denoted by the 지다 marked verb.
따뜻해져
warming up
더 예뻐졌네.
You’ve got prettier.
여학생의 치마가 점점 짧아진다.
Girls’ skirts are getting shorter.
내 한국어 실력이 나빠지고 있어.
My Korean ability is getting worse.
잘 먹고 운동하면 더 건강해 질 거야.
If you eat well and exercise, you’ll get healthier.
또 하루 멀어져간다.
Another day escapes me.
보고 싶어져.
I miss you (the feeling compounds (intensifies) over time).
ii) With intransitive verbs
When 지다 is attached to intransitive verbs (verbs which do not take an object), it indicates that something which happens is either contrary to one’s expectations, is out of one’s control, or both.
잔이 잘 깨진다.
The glass breaks easily.
Two things are indicated by this sentence: firstly, that the glass has to potential to break easily, and secondly, such an occurrence isn’t one’s choice. Here we see that 지다 has meaning beyond “becomes” and “change of state”. If the glass were to become broken, that is certainly a change of state; but the speaker ultimately uses 지다 to express the potential of it occurring.
Compare:
8명이 방에서 잤다.
8 people slept in the room.
8명이 방에서 자졌다.
8 people were able to sleep in the room.
The first sentence simply says the number of people who slept in the room. The second sentence implies the room was small for the number of people, according to the speaker’s expectation. Importantly, the speaker didn’t think there was the potential to fit so many people.
Also compare:
트럭이 빙판 위로 지나갔다.
The truck went over the ice.
트럭이 빙판 위로 지나가졌다.
The truck managed to go over the ice.
The first sentence simply says what happened. The second sentence implies the ice was too thin and that such an action was unlikely, according to the speaker’s expectation.
Moreover:
힘을 빼면 몸이 물에 떠진다.
If you relax in the water, the body gets to that it floats (can float).
머리가 점점 벗겨져.
My hairline is gradually receding.
In these examples, 지다 indicates that the events (floating upwards, receding hairline) occur without the speaker’s volition.
How can intransitive verbs with 지다 create these two themes of ‘unexpectedness’ and ‘lack of choice? Well, 지다 creates passive sentences where the subject is defocused and not voluntarily involved in the action. With this, the potential for an event occurring is outside the speaker’s volition and, to some degree, unexpected.
iii) With transitive verbs
지다 can attach to all transitive verbs to make them passive. Here the object is promoted to become a subject.
Active example:
철수가 집을 만들었다.
철수 built a house.
Passive counterpart:
집이 만들어졌다.
The house was built.
With these examples, we see how the object (house) in the active counterpart becomes the subject (house) in the passive counterpart. The passive counterpart does not contain an object and the agent (doer) has been ‘defocused’. In order to specify the agent, a prepositional phrase is required.
집이 철수에 위해 만들어졌다.
The house was built by 철수.
Moreover:
영희가 음료수를 쏟았다.
영희 spilt the drink. active
음료수가 쏟아졌다.
The drink was spilt. passive
바둑이가 문을 열었다.
바둑이 opened the door. active
문이 열려져 있다.
The door was opened. passive
As seen in the above examples, 지다 creates passive forms for verbs which cannot be made ‘regular’ passive by the endings (이, 리, 기, 히). However, when the verb can become either a ‘regular’ passive or a 지다 passive, the 지다 passive is associated with additional meaning.
막다 (active)
사람들이 강물을 막았다.
People block the river water.
막히다 (‘regular’ passive)
강물이 막혔다.
The river water was blocked.
막아지다 (지다 passive)
강물이 막아졌다.
The river water was finally blocked.
In the final example, there is an assumption that the event involved difficulties; where the river was finally blocked after a concerted effort. This relates to the ‘potentiality’ meaning associated with intransitive verbs.
Comparing 지다 passives with (이,리,기,히) passives
There is a semantic difference between ‘regular’ (morphological — 이,리,기,히) passives and 지다 passives.
Compare:
‘Regular’ passive
그 못이 뽑혔다.
The nail was removed (came off).
‘Regular’ passive
그 못이 뽐아졌다.
The nail (finally) managed to be removed.
The ‘regular’ passive denotes the process as accidental and spontaneous. It was not intended and there is no implication of a hidden agent. For the 지다 passive, there is an implied hidden agent who removed the nail after a planned or intended action. This is why 저절로 (by itself/naturally) can be used with ‘regular’ passives, but not 지다 passives.
Compare:
그 못이 저절로 뽑혔다. (O)
The nail came off (by itself).
그 못이 저절로 뽐아졌다. (X)
The nail (itself) managed to be removed.
Similarly, this is why natural processes such as geographical features and changes in weather can only be expressed by ‘regular’ passives.
Compare:
날씨가 풀렸다. (O)
The weather warmed up.
날씨가 풀어졌다. (X)
The weather warmed up.
서울은 산으로 둘러싸여있다. (O)
Seoul is surrounded by mountains.
서울은 산으로 돌러싸여졌다. (X)
Seoul is surrounded by mountains.
Similar to uncontrollable process which cannot be expressed by 지다, undesired and unintended events also cannot be expressed by 지다.
Compare:
가시가 목에 걸렸다. (O)
A fishbone was caught in the throat.
가시가 목에 걸어졌다. (X)
A fishbone was caught in the throat.
The second sentence sounds very unnatural because nobody would want a fishbone stuck in their throat.
Furthermore, consider a situation where 지다 implies the event was desired and difficult to achieve.
금매달이 철수의 목에 걸어졌다. (O)
The gold medal was (finally) hung around 철수’s neck.
In contrast to this, despite describing unintentional sensory perception, the verbs 보다 and 듣다 can take 지다 when agency (a doer) is apparent.
보다 (active)
내가 그 책을 두시간동안 봤다.
I read the book for two hours.
보아졌다 (passive)
그 책이 두시간동안 다 보아졌다.
The (whole) book was managed to be read in two hours.
Expanded forms
지다 is sometimes expanded with the following forms:
져 있다
The 어지다 construction can be combined with the existential verb 있다 to mean “being in a changed state”.
Compare:
바둑이 문을 열었다.
바둑이 opened the door.
문이 열어졌다.
The door opened.
문이 열어져 있다.
The door is open.
The difference between 졌다 and 져 있다 is important. The former denotes a changed state while the latter denotes a resultant existing state.
나무가 넘어졌다.
A tree fell.
나무가 넘어져 있다.
A tree has fallen (and is still there).
그 못이 뽐아졌다.
The nail managed to be removed.
그 못이 뽐아졌 있다.
The nail is removed
나눠졌다
divided
이 책은 9장으로 나누어져 있다.
This book is divided into nine chapters.
셔츠에서 단추 하나가 떨어졌다.
A button fell off the shirt.
셔츠에서 단추 하나가 떨어져 있다.
A button is off the shirt.
N+지다
A number of fossilised compound descriptive verbs exist where 지다 is attached to a noun a create an expression.
그늘 (shade) + 지다 = 그늘지다 (be shady)
비탈 (hill) + 지다 = 비탈지다 (be steep)
건방 (arrogance) + 지다 = 건방지다 (arrogant)
구석 (corner) + 지다 = 구석지다 (recessed)
고급 (highest level) + 지다 = 고급지다 (luxurious)
책임 (responsibility) + 지다 = 책임지다 (be responsible)
부모님이 갑자기 사고로 돌아가시자 나는 동생들을 책임져야 할 처지가 되었다.
My parents suddenly passed away due to an accident, leaving me in a position where I have to take care of my younger siblings.
Additional details
General
• 지다 is suggested to originate from two sources: a) the Middle Korean 디 meaning ‘to fall’, or b) Middle Korean 지 meaning ‘(be) come. The prototypical meaning common to the various usages is a change of state.
• To briefly compare similar forms, 어지다 is like “to become X”, while 게 되다 is focused on the end result.
Associated grammar
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See also
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Bibliography
Affiliate links help support uK.
— Choo, M., & Kwak, H. (2008). Using Korean: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. New York: Cambridge University Press.
— Ihm, H.B., Hong, K.P., & Chang, S.I. (2001). Korean Grammar for International Learners. Seoul: Yonsei University Press.
— King, R., Yeon, J., Kim, C., & Baker, D. (2015). Advanced Korean. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
— King, R., Yeon, J., & Lee, I. (2015) Continuing Korean. Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
— Lee, K. (1993). A Korean Grammar on Semantic-Pragmatic Principles. Seoul: Hanʼguk Munhwasa.
— Yeon, J. (2003). Korean Grammatical Constructions: Their form and meaning. London: Saffron Books.
— Yeon, J., & Brown, L. (2008). Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar. New York: Routledge.
— You, C., & Cho, E. (2002). Intermediate College Korean. Berkeley: University of California Press.