Key Facts
- Hangul: 자라다 (jarada)
- Meaning: to grow up
- Level: B1
- Stem: 자라
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The one that grows takes 이/가 (아이가 자라요); to raise someone use 키우다.
What Does 자라다 Mean?
자라다 has two senses. The first is growth, as in 아이가 자라다 or 나무가 자라다. The second is being raised in a place, as in 서울에서 자라다. It is intransitive: the one that grows takes 이/가, and to raise someone you use 키우다 instead. Growth over time is the core idea, so the verb suits children, animals and plants. An object that simply becomes larger is better described with 커지다. A natural question and answer pair is 어디에서 자랐어요? followed by 저는 서울에서 자랐어요.
It often comes with 어디에서 or 어릴 때 when people talk about where and how they grew up.
How Do You Pronounce 자라다?
The dictionary form has 3 syllables and is read as written. The polite present 자라요 is said as written, the past 자랐어요 is [자라써요] and the formal 자랍니다 is [자람니다].
How Do You Use 자라다 in a Sentence?
아이가 빨리 자라요.
The child grows up quickly.
아이가 takes 이/가 because the child is the one who grows. 빨리 says it happens fast.
저는 서울에서 자랐어요.
I grew up in Seoul.
저는 서울에서 자랐어요 uses 에서 to name the place. The past form tells where you were raised.
아이들이 자라서 옷이 작아요.
The children have grown, so the clothes are small.
The reason 자라서 leads to 옷이 작아요. The clothes are too small because the children grew.
How Does Jarada Conjugation Work?
자라다 is regular. 아 + 아 collapses to a single 아, so you get 자라요, 자랐어요 and 자라서. Consonant endings attach to the stem: 자라면, 자라는, 자랄.
자라다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 자라요 | ||
| Polite past | 자랐어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 자랄 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 자라겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 자랍니다 | ||
| Formal past | 자랐습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 자랄 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 자라 | ||
| Casual past | 자랐어 | ||
| Casual future | 자랄 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 자라고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 자라세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 자라서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 자라면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 자라는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 자란 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 자랄 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 자라요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 자라지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite past | 자랐어요 | [자라써요] |
| Plan future | 자랄 거예요 | [자랄꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 자라겠어요 | [자라게써요] |
| Formal present | 자랍니다 | [자람니다] |
| Formal past | 자랐습니다 | [자랃씀니다] |
| Formal future | 자랄 것입니다 | [자랄꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 자랐어 | [자라써] |
| Casual future | 자랄 거야 | [자랄꺼야] |
| Want to | 자라고 싶어요 | [자라고 시퍼요] |
| Long negative | 자라지 않아요 | [자라지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 아이를 자라요
Correct: ✓ 아이가 자라요
Why: Putting 를 on the child makes 자라다 sound transitive. Because it is intransitive, the child takes 이/가. If you mean to raise a child, the verb is 키우다.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 크다 | 크다 is also used in speech for children growing up, in phrases like 많이 컸네. |
| 키우다 | 키우다 is transitive: to raise a child, a pet or a plant. |
| 커지다 | 커지다 means to get bigger in size, while 자라다 means to develop and mature. |
Checking a Plant on the Windowsill
Two housemates look at a plant they bought recently. They discuss its growth so far, its usual growth, and what may happen next.
Mina
식물이 많이 자랐어요.
Singmuri mani jarasseoyo.
The plant has grown a lot.
Alex
여기서 잘 자라요.
Yeogiseo jal jarayo.
It grows well here.
Mina
더 자라면 큰 화분이 필요해요.
Deo jaramyeon keun hwabuni piryohaeyo.
If it grows more, we’ll need a big flowerpot.
잘 자라요 means “grows well”; 잘 is separate from the verb. 여기서 is the shortened everyday form of 여기에서. The conditional 자라면 introduces a possible later stage, while 자랐어요 points to growth the speakers can already see.
Common Phrases for Growth and Childhood
잘 자라다 means to grow well or thrive. You can use it for a healthy child, an animal, or a plant. 빨리 자라다 focuses on speed, and 많이 자라다 on how much growth has happened. A plant can grow quickly without growing well, so these adverbs add different information.
머리카락이 자라다 means hair grows, and 손톱이 자라다 means nails grow. The subject does not have to be a whole living creature. These combinations are useful when explaining that it is time for a haircut or a trim. 자라다 describes the growth; 자르다 describes the action that cuts the hair or nails.
서울에서 자라다 tells where someone grew up. 에서 marks the place where childhood unfolded. A birthplace and a place of upbringing can differ, so this phrase does not establish where someone was born. Use 태어나다 when the question concerns birth itself.
Where Will You Hear 자라다?
자라다 appears in introductions, family conversations, biographies, gardening advice, and accounts of childhood. An interview may use 자란 곳 for “the place where someone grew up”. The modifier 자란 connects the earlier experience to the noun 곳, “place”, without a separate relative pronoun such as “where”.
In family talk, 아이가 자라요 reports a child’s development. The present can describe an ongoing process even without an extra expression meaning “is currently”. 자라는 아이 focuses on a child who is growing; 자란 아이 looks at a child who has grown. Context supplies how far along the process is.
A plant label or gardening explanation may describe where something grows well. The location with 에서 belongs to the growth process. If you are only pointing out where a plant is standing, a location sentence with 있다 answers that different question more directly.
Why Is 자라요 Different from 잘라요?
자라다 ends in 라, so it is regular. It is not a 르-irregular verb merely because it contains ㄹ. 자르다, “to cut”, has 르 and becomes 잘라요. Wrong: 머리카락이 잘라요, for “My hair grows”. Correct: 머리카락이 자라요. That extra ㄹ changes the verb and the meaning.
Keep the person doing the growing separate from the person providing care. 아이가 자라요 describes the child’s growth. 아이를 키워요 describes raising the child. The change from 이/가 to 을/를 goes with a different verb and a different viewpoint, rather than being a free choice of particle.
The short negative 안 자라요 describes a lack of growth. It does not normally suggest that a plant refuses to grow on purpose. Likewise, 자랄 거예요 is usually a prediction about development, even if a table groups it under a general future “plan” label.
자라서 can give either a reason or a later stage, depending on the sentence. In the existing clothes example, growth explains why the clothes are small. In a childhood story, the same form can connect growing up with what comes afterward. The ending alone does not force every sentence into a cause-and-effect reading.
Words for the Growth Story
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 식물 | plant | A natural subject of 자라다. |
| 화분 | flowerpot | The container a growing plant may outgrow. |
| 머리카락 | hair | Can grow even though it is only part of the body. |
| 키우다 | raise / grow | Focuses on the person caring for a child, animal, or plant. |
Use the plants vocabulary lesson for the gardening set. For a personal introduction, combine a place name with 자랐어요 to describe your upbringing.
Mini Drill
- Give the polite past of 자라다.
- Make “if it grows”.
- Put 자라다 before 식물 for a plant that is growing.
- Choose the verb for raising a child: 자라다 or 키우다.
Show drill answers
- 자랐어요.
- 자라면.
- 자라는 식물.
- 키우다.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 서울에서 자랐어요 necessarily name a birthplace?
- Which means “grows”: 자라요 or 잘라요?
- In 잘 자라요, is 잘 part of the verb’s spelling?
Show answers
- No. It names the place of upbringing.
- 자라요.
- No. It is a separate adverb meaning “well”.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say I Grew up in Seoul?
Say 저는 서울에서 자랐어요.
How Do I Say I Raised a Child?
Use 키우다, not 자라다.
Does It Work for Plants?
Yes, 나무가 자라다 is a standard example.
What Particle Marks What Grows?
Use 이/가, as in 아이가 자라요.
Which Words Are Related to 자라다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Study 키우다 next, then 커지다 and 태어나다 for the other stages of growing up. The pattern behind 자라다 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.