Key Facts
- Hangul: 좋아지다 (joajida)
- Meaning: to get better
- Level: B1
- Stem: 좋아지
- Conjugation class: regular
- Particles: The thing that improves takes 이/가 (건강이 좋아져요).
- Spoken as: [조아지다]
What Does 좋아지다 Mean?
좋아지다 has two senses. The first is improvement of conditions, health or situations, such as 건강이 좋아지다 or 날씨가 좋아지다. The second is a change of feeling, as in 그 사람이 좋아졌어요, meaning you started to like that person. The second sense belongs to conversation. The thing that improves takes 이/가. Its opposite is 나빠지다, and 낫다 is another option for illness getting less bad.
How Do You Pronounce 좋아지다?
The dictionary form has 4 syllables and is spoken [조아지다]. The ㅎ in 좋 falls silent before a vowel, so you hear 조아 and the h never reaches the ear. That is why Revised Romanization shows joajida with no h.
How Do You Use 좋아지다 in a Sentence?
내일부터 날씨가 좋아져요.
The weather will get better from tomorrow.
내일부터 sets the starting point, and 날씨가 takes 이/가. The polite present 좋아져요 states a change.
운동한 후에 건강이 좋아졌어요.
My health got better after I exercised.
The past 좋아졌어요 follows 운동한 후에, which gives the cause: after exercise, health improved.
날씨가 좋아져서 소풍을 가요.
The weather has improved, so we are going on a picnic.
The reason 좋아져서 leads to 소풍을 가요. The weather has improved and so a picnic follows.
How Does Joajida Conjugation Work?
좋아지다 is regular. The final 지 plus 어 contracts to 져: 좋아져요, 좋아졌어요, 좋아져서. The consonant endings stay simple: 좋아지면, 좋아지는, 좋아질.
좋아지다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 좋아져요 | ||
| Polite past | 좋아졌어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 좋아질 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 좋아지겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 좋아집니다 | ||
| Formal past | 좋아졌습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 좋아질 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 좋아져 | ||
| Casual past | 좋아졌어 | ||
| Casual future | 좋아질 거야 | ||
| Want to (polite) | 좋아지고 싶어요 | ||
| Honorific polite | 좋아지세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 좋아져서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 좋아지면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 좋아지는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 좋아진 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 좋아질 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 좋아져요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 좋아지지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 좋아져요 | [조아저요] |
| Polite past | 좋아졌어요 | [조아저써요] |
| Plan future | 좋아질 거예요 | [조아질꺼예요] |
| Guess future | 좋아지겠어요 | [조아지게써요] |
| Formal present | 좋아집니다 | [조아짐니다] |
| Formal past | 좋아졌습니다 | [조아젇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 좋아질 것입니다 | [조아질꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 좋아져 | [조아저] |
| Casual past | 좋아졌어 | [조아저써] |
| Casual future | 좋아질 거야 | [조아질꺼야] |
| Want to | 좋아지고 싶어요 | [조아지고 시퍼요] |
| Honorific | 좋아지세요 | [조아지세요] |
| Because | 좋아져서 | [조아저서] |
| If | 좋아지면 | [조아지면] |
| Present modifier | 좋아지는 | [조아지는] |
| Past modifier | 좋아진 | [조아진] |
| Future modifier | 좋아질 | [조아질] |
| Short negative | 안 좋아져요 | [안 조아저요] |
| Long negative | 좋아지지 않아요 | [조아지지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 저는 커피를 좋아져요
Correct: ✓ 저는 커피를 좋아해요
Why: Because 좋아지다 looks like 좋아하다, learners use it for liking things. Liking an object is 좋아하다 and takes 을/를. 좋아지다 never takes 을/를: in the 'come to like' sense, the person or thing you start to like takes 이/가, as in 그 사람이 좋아졌어요.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it apart |
|---|---|
| 좋아하다 | 좋아하다 means to like and takes 을/를. 좋아지다 means to become better. |
| 좋다 | 좋다 is the adjective for good. 좋아지다 adds the idea of a change. |
| 나아지다 | 나아지다 means to improve, especially a condition or illness getting less bad. |
Checking in after a Difficult Week
Two coworkers meet after one has taken a break. They discuss a change in mood, then the listener offers reassurance about the coming days.
Mina
기분이 좋아졌어요?
Gibuni joajyeosseoyo?
Has your mood improved?
Jun
네. 쉬면 좋아져요.
Ne. Swimyeon joajyeoyo.
Yes. It gets better when I rest.
Mina
앞으로 더 좋아질 거예요.
Apeuro deo joajil geoyeyo.
Things will get even better from now on.
좋아졌어요 asks whether an improvement has already happened. 좋아져요 states what tends to happen after rest. 좋아질 거예요 looks ahead and offers reassurance, rather than reporting a completed change. In the last line the situation is understood, so Mina does not repeat a subject.
Phrases for Changes You Can Notice
기분이 좋아지다 means “one’s mood improves.” 기분 is the feeling or mood that changes. This is useful after hearing good news, taking a break or spending time with someone. It describes the change itself; 기분이 좋다 simply describes the pleasant mood at that moment.
사이가 좋아지다 means “a relationship improves” or “people become closer.” 사이 refers to the relationship between people. The phrase can describe coworkers who get along better or family members who have become less distant. It does not mean that the physical space between them becomes better.
점점 좋아지다 means “to get better gradually.” 점점 presents improvement as a developing process, while 더 좋아지다 says “to get better still” or “to become better than before.” Neither phrase promises complete recovery or perfection. They tell the listener the direction of the change.
그 사람이 좋아졌어요 can mean “I have come to like that person.” The person takes 이/가, just as the thing that improves does. In a drama, the surrounding conversation may make this a confession of changing feelings. Without that context, it could also concern the person becoming nicer or better in some respect.
Where Will You Hear 좋아지다?
Weather forecasts and plans for an outing use 좋아지다 when conditions improve. A forecast with 좋아질 거예요 predicts a change; a report with 좋아졌어요 describes one that has happened. This distinction matters if you are deciding whether the weather is already suitable for going out.
People also use 좋아지다 when discussing health, sound quality, working conditions or relationships. The subject tells you which quality is changing. 건강이 좋아졌어요 is a broad report of improved health, not the name of a treatment or a claim that an illness has completely disappeared.
In polite conversation, 좋아졌어요 is a natural answer when someone asks how things are going. 좋아졌습니다 suits a formal report. Adding a formal ending changes the manner of speaking, but it does not make the improvement larger or more certain. Words such as 점점 and 더 supply that extra detail.
Words for Talking about Improvement
| Related word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 기분 | mood / feeling | Useful for a change in how someone feels. |
| 상태 | condition / state | Names the condition being assessed. |
| 사이 | relationship / between | In 사이가 좋아지다, it concerns getting along. |
| 나빠지다 | to get worse | Describes a change in the opposite direction. |
The feelings and emotion adjectives lesson gives more precise words for the feelings behind a change.
How Do You Separate State, Change and Liking?
좋다 describes a state, 좋아지다 describes a change, and 좋아하다 describes liking. For a learner, the useful decision is whether something is good now, has become better, or is liked by someone. That decision chooses the verb before you choose the tense.
좋아지다 is written as one word. The change pattern -아/어지다 attaches to the descriptive base here, so do not insert a space inside 좋아져요 or 좋아졌어요. The future 좋아질 거예요 does have a space before 거예요, because that part is separate.
The table includes 좋아지고 싶어요, but the form needs a subject that can naturally express a personal wish to improve. For the weather, 좋아질 거예요 is a prediction; the weather itself cannot want anything. A possible grammatical form is not equally useful with every noun.
For the “come to like” sense, preserve the subject pattern even when English translates it with “like.” The change from 을/를 to 이/가 is a grammar difference, not a way to make 좋아하다 more polite. Compare the verbs by meaning and particle together.
Mini Drill: Practice the Forms
- Change 좋아져요 to polite past.
- Give the conditional “if it gets better.”
- Put 좋아지다 before 거예요 for a future prediction.
- Choose the particle: 기분____ 좋아졌어요.
Show drill answers
- 좋아졌어요. The past marks a change that has happened.
- 좋아지면. 면 attaches to 좋아지.
- 좋아질 거예요. Keep the space before 거예요.
- 기분이 좋아졌어요. 기분 is the subject.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word describes a good state without saying it changed?
- Does 점점 좋아지다 necessarily mean full recovery?
- What does 사이가 좋아지다 describe?
Show answers
- 좋다. 좋아지다 adds the change.
- No. It says things are improving gradually.
- A relationship improving or people getting along better.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say the Weather Gets Better?
Say 날씨가 좋아져요.
What Is the Opposite?
나빠지다 is the opposite.
Is the 'Come to Like' Sense Casual?
It is conversational. 그 사람이 좋아졌어요 is natural in speech; formal writing rarely uses this sense.
Why Is the ㅎ Not Pronounced?
The ㅎ falls silent before a vowel, so 좋아 is spoken [조아].
Which Words Are Related to 좋아지다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare 좋아하다 and 좋다, then learn 나빠지다 for the opposite change and 낫다 for recovering. The pattern behind 좋아지다 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.