Key Facts
- Hangul: 작아지다 (jagajida)
- Meaning: to get smaller
- Level: B1
- Stem: 작아지
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The thing that becomes smaller takes 이/가 (소리가 작아져요).
- Spoken as: [자가지다]
What Does 작아지다 Mean?
작아지다 describes change, not a state. What gets smaller takes 이/가, as in 소리가 작아지다 (the sound gets quieter) or 신발이 작아지다 (the shoes become too small). It is used for size, volume and sometimes feelings, though 자신감이 작아지다 is less common than 없어지다. 작아지다 reports a change without naming anyone who causes it. Its opposite is 커지다, and the adjective it comes from is 작다.
How Do You Pronounce 작아지다?
The dictionary form has 4 syllables and is spoken [자가지다]. The ㄱ in 작 is carried over to the next syllable, so the written 작아 sounds like 자가. Revised Romanization writes jagajida. The polite form 작아져요 is pronounced [자가저요], with the same linking and with 져 sounding like 저 after ㅈ.
How Do You Use 작아지다 in a Sentence?
음악 소리가 점점 작아져요.
The music is getting quieter.
점점 means gradually, so the sound fades over time. 소리가 takes 이/가 because the sound is what changes.
TV 소리가 작아졌어요.
The TV volume got lower.
The past form 작아졌어요 reports that the volume went down. TV 소리가 is the thing that changed.
아이 발이 커서 신발이 작아져서 새로 샀어요.
The child's feet grew and the shoes got too small, so I bought new ones.
The reason 작아져서 sets up the purchase. The sentence says that the child's feet grew, the shoes became too small, and so they bought new ones.
How Does Jagajida Conjugation Work?
작아지다 is regular. The stem 작아지 ends in 지, and 지 plus 어 contracts to 져, which gives 작아져요, 작아졌어요 and 작아져서. Consonant endings attach directly: 작아지면, 작아지는, 작아질 거예요.
작아지다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 작아져요 | ||
| Polite past | 작아졌어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 작아질 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 작아지겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 작아집니다 | ||
| Formal past | 작아졌습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 작아질 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 작아져 | ||
| Casual past | 작아졌어 | ||
| Casual future | 작아질 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 작아지세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 작아져서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 작아지면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 작아지는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 작아진 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 작아질 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 작아져요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 작아지지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 작아져요 | [자가저요] |
| Polite past | 작아졌어요 | [자가저써요] |
| Plan future | 작아질 거예요 | [자가질꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 작아지겠어요 | [자가지게써요] |
| Formal present | 작아집니다 | [자가짐니다] |
| Formal past | 작아졌습니다 | [자가젇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 작아질 것입니다 | [자가질꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 작아져 | [자가저] |
| Casual past | 작아졌어 | [자가저써] |
| Casual future | 작아질 거야 | [자가질꺼야] |
| Honorific | 작아지세요 | [자가지세요] |
| Because | 작아져서 | [자가저서] |
| If | 작아지면 | [자가지면] |
| Present modifier | 작아지는 | [자가지는] |
| Past modifier | 작아진 | [자가진] |
| Future modifier | 작아질 | [자가질] |
| Short negative | 안 작아져요 | [안 자가저요] |
| Long negative | 작아지지 않아요 | [자가지지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 작아지어요 (in everyday speech)
Correct: ✓ 작아져요
Why: 작아지어요 is the full, uncontracted form. Spelling rules accept it, but in speech and everyday writing 지 + 어 contracts to 져, so the form you say is 작아져요.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 작다 | 작다 is an adjective meaning small. 작아지다 means to become small, so it needs a change over time. |
| 줄다 | 줄다 is to decrease or shrink. It is especially useful for decreasing amounts and numbers, while 작아지다 focuses on becoming smaller. |
| 커지다 | 커지다 is the opposite, to get bigger. |
After Washing a Sweater
Two housemates compare a sweater before and after washing. The past reports the result; the conditional discusses what could happen next.
Mina
스웨터가 작아졌어요.
Seuweteoga jagajyeosseoyo.
The sweater got smaller.
Alex
뜨거운 물로 빨았어요?
Tteugeoun mullo pparasseoyo?
Did you wash it in hot water?
Mina
네. 더 작아지면 못 입어요.
Ne. Deo jagajimyeon mot ibeoyo.
Yes. If it gets any smaller, I won’t be able to wear it.
The sweater is the subject in both target lines. 작아졌어요 describes a completed change; 작아지면 leaves that change as a possibility. 더 means “more”, so the last line means smaller than it is now, rather than simply small.
What Changes: Size, Fit, or Loudness?
옷이 작아지다 means clothes become smaller or too small. After washing, the fabric may actually have shrunk. In a conversation about a growing child, the same wording can describe a change in fit: the garment stays the same size while the child grows. The original shoe example uses this relative sense. The surrounding explanation tells you which change happened.
소리가 작아지다 means sound becomes quieter. English often calls this “the volume going down”, but Korean can describe the sound itself becoming small. The verb does not tell you whether someone turned a dial, the speaker walked away, or the recording faded. It reports the audible result.
점점 작아지다 describes a gradual change. 더 작아지다 compares the result with an earlier size or level. These are ordinary combinations, rather than idioms with hidden meanings. They help specify the direction and pace of the change without naming its cause.
Where Will You Hear 작아지다?
You will hear 작아지다 when people discuss laundry, children outgrowing shoes, shrinking images, or fading sound. In a photo-editing explanation, an image getting smaller concerns its displayed dimensions. A file taking up less storage is more naturally described through its file size decreasing; keep the distinction between a picture’s appearance and the amount of data.
작아져요 can describe what regularly happens under certain conditions, while 작아졌어요 reports a result you can already observe. The future 작아질 거예요 predicts a change. Calling that form a “plan” in a conjugation chart does not mean the object intends to shrink.
What Makes the Spelling Tricky?
Write 작아지다 as one word, and keep that unit in 작아져요. The 아 belongs to the connection with 작다; 지 is the part that combines with 어 to make 져. Wrong: 작어져요. Correct: 작아져요. Changing both vowels loses the original adjective’s 아 ending.
The modifier also changes the time picture. 작아지는 describes something getting smaller; 작아진 describes something that has become smaller. Before 소리, the first follows a fading sound, while the second points to the quieter result. Neither simply means “a quiet sound”; that description uses 작은.
The table’s honorific form is not the normal way to discuss a sweater or a television. 작아져요 already speaks politely to the listener. There is no reason to honor the object that shrinks.
When you want someone to lower the volume, name the action with 줄이다, “reduce”, rather than commanding the sound to become smaller. 작아지다 gives the result; 줄이다 can give the action that causes it. This difference matters when you move from observing a quiet television to asking someone to adjust it.
Words for Describing the Change
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 크기 | size | Names the dimension being compared. |
| 소리 | sound | The subject when something becomes quieter. |
| 옷 | clothes | The item that can shrink or become too small. |
| 줄다 | decrease | Useful when discussing a falling amount or number. |
The size adjectives lesson gives the describing words behind these changes. Choose the adjective for the current state and 작아지다 when your sentence needs a before-and-after difference.
Mini Drill
- Give the polite past of 작아지다.
- Complete the conditional: 작아지다 → ____.
- Choose the modifier for a sound that has already become quieter: 작아지는 or 작아진.
- Make the short negative of 작아져요.
Show drill answers
- 작아졌어요.
- 작아지면.
- 작아진.
- 안 작아져요, with a space after 안.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 신발이 작아지다 always mean the shoes physically shrank?
- Which describes a state: 작다 or 작아지다?
- What does 점점 add to 작아져요?
Show answers
- No. They may have become too small because the wearer grew.
- 작다 describes the state; 작아지다 describes a change.
- It says the change happens gradually.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say the Volume Got Lower?
Say 소리가 작아졌어요.
Why Does the Polite Form End in 져요?
Because 지 plus 어 contracts to 져 in a regular verb.
How Is the Lemma Pronounced?
Say [자가지다], with the ㄱ moving to the next syllable.
Can I Say I Want to Get Smaller?
Yes, when the speaker wishes to become smaller. Lack of control does not make a wish impossible. For everyday descriptions of shrinking objects, the present and past forms are more useful.
Which Words Are Related to 작아지다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Pair 작아지다 with 커지다, then review the adjective 작다. Learn 줄다 for amounts. The pattern behind 작아지다 is covered in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense; to check any other form, open the Korean verb conjugator, or browse the Korean verb dictionary.