Key Facts
- Hangul: 커지다 (keojida)
- Meaning: to grow bigger
- Level: B1
- Stem: 커지
- Conjugation class: regular
- Polite present: 커져요
- Object marking: intransitive
What Does 커지다 Mean?
커지다 builds on the adjective 크다 and adds the meaning of change. The thing that grows takes 이/가, as in 소리가 커져요 or 문제가 커지다. It is very common with 점점 (gradually), and its opposite is 작아지다.
Because the word means "become big", it pairs with nouns that can grow: a sound getting louder, a worry, a company, a gap between people. The change usually happens without anyone choosing it, so 커지다 rarely appears with -고 싶다, and the table below leaves that form out.
How Do You Pronounce 커지다?
After ㅈ, the vowel ㅕ is said as a plain ㅓ, so 커져요 is read [커저요] and 커졌어요 [커저써요]. In the formal 커집니다, ㅂ becomes ㅁ before ㄴ: [커짐니다].
How Do You Use 커지다 in a Sentence?
Music growing louder, children growing taller and a worry growing larger.
음악 소리가 점점 커져요.
The music gets louder and louder.
소리가 is the subject with 가, and 점점 shows the change is gradual.
아이들의 키가 많이 커졌어요.
The children have grown a lot taller.
The past 커졌어요 reports growth that has already happened to 키.
문제가 커지면 저에게 말해 주세요.
If the problem gets bigger, please tell me.
The conditional 커지면 sets up a request: tell me when the problem grows.
How Does Keojida Conjugation Work?
The stem is 커지, built from 크 plus 지다. The ㅡ of 크 has already dropped inside it, so the rest is regular: the stem plus 어요 contracts to 커져요. The conditional 커지면 and the modifier 커지는 follow the same plain pattern.
커지다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 커져요 | ||
| Polite past | 커졌어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 커질 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 커지겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 커집니다 | ||
| Formal past | 커졌습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 커질 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 커져 | ||
| Casual past | 커졌어 | ||
| Casual future | 커질 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 커지세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 커져서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 커지면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 커지는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 커진 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 커질 | ||
| Short negative | 안 커져요 | ||
| Long negative | 커지지 않아요 |
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 커져요 | [커저요] |
| Polite past | 커졌어요 | [커저써요] |
| Polite guess | 커지겠어요 | [커지게써요] |
| Formal past | 커졌습니다 | [커젇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 커질 것입니다 | [커질꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 커졌어 | [커저써] |
| Because | 커져서 | [커저서] |
| Long negative | 커지지 않아요 | [커지지 아나요] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 소리가 크져요
Correct: ✓ 소리가 커져요
Why: 커지다 is built from 크다 plus 지다. Learners keep the ㅡ of 크 and write 크져요, but the ㅡ drops before 어, giving 커, and only then is 지다 added: 커져요.
How It Differs from Similar Words
| Word | How to tell it from 커지다 |
|---|---|
| 크다 | An adjective meaning 'is big'; 커지다 means 'becomes big'. |
| 자라다 | Grow up, used for living things developing over time. |
| 늘다 | Increase in number, amount or ability rather than size. |
The Television Is Getting Louder
Two housemates are watching television. One notices a change in volume. The other compares it with a moment earlier, and the first predicts what the next scene will do.
Mina
소리가 점점 커져요.
Soriga jeomjeom keojyeoyo.
The sound is getting louder.
Alex
맞아요. 아까보다 커졌어요.
Majayo. Akkaboda keojyeosseoyo.
Yes. It has become louder than before.
Mina
다음 장면에서는 더 커질 거예요.
Daeum jangmyeoneseoneun deo keojil geoyeyo.
It will get even louder in the next scene.
Alex
그럼 소리를 줄여요.
Geureom sorireul juryeoyo.
Then let’s turn the sound down.
커져요 describes the developing change, 커졌어요 reports the difference already noticed, and 커질 거예요 predicts a further increase. The final line gives someone an action to take: 줄이다, “reduce”, acts on the sound.
What Commonly Gets Bigger?
소리가 커지다 means a sound gets louder. Korean describes volume with “big”, so this expression does not mean that a speaker or television becomes physically larger. With 목소리, “voice”, it can describe someone speaking more loudly during an argument or trying to be heard across a room.
문제가 커지다 means a problem grows more serious. The change may concern consequences, people involved or the work needed to solve it. The expression does not identify who caused the escalation. In a workplace conversation, the existing conditional example asks the listener to report the problem if that change happens.
차이가 커지다 means a difference grows. 차이 can concern prices, scores, opinions or ability. Adding 점점 presents a gradual widening; 더 presents a further increase. Neither word is required by 커지다, but each gives the learner a more precise way to describe the change.
기대가 커지다 means expectations grow, and 걱정이 커지다 means worry increases. These uses extend the size image to degree. Translate according to the noun: expectations “rise”, a worry “grows”, and a sound “gets louder”. Keeping “bigger” in every English translation can hide the natural meaning.
Where Will You Hear 커지다?
Everyday talk uses 커졌어요 when noticing a change since the last meeting: a child’s height, a plant’s size or the lettering on a screen. The past form often points to a present result. Something has become bigger, and the speaker can see the difference now.
News reports use 커지다 for concern, expectations and disagreements. Read the subject first. A headline about a growing worry is describing a change in feeling or public concern, rather than an object’s dimensions. The verb alone does not tell you whether the change is welcome.
In device instructions, 커지다 describes what happens to the display or sound. 키우다 describes a user making it larger or louder. This distinction helps when explaining a fault: you can report that the volume increased without saying you deliberately turned it up.
How Do You Keep the Changing Thing as the Subject?
Choose 커지다 when the sentence follows the thing that changes. The pattern is a noun plus 이/가 and 커지다. Choose 키우다 when you want to name someone who makes the change; then the enlarged thing takes 을/를. A natural sentence depends on that choice before you select the ending.
Compare the three ideas using 소리: 소리가 크다 describes loud sound; 소리가 커지다 describes sound becoming louder; 소리를 키우다 describes increasing the volume. The vocabulary is close, but the first is a state, the second a change and the third an action causing a change.
Write 커지다 as one word. Its present form 커져요 comes from the stem 커지, so the ㅡ-drop rule for 크다 does not need to be applied again. Keep 지 before consonant endings such as 커지면 and 커지는. Before 어-type endings, the familiar contracted forms are 커져요 and 커져서.
| Related word | Meaning | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 크다 | to be big | Describes the size or degree already present. |
| 키우다 | to raise / enlarge | Someone causes growth or an increase. |
| 작아지다 | to become smaller | The change goes in the opposite direction. |
| 차이 | difference | A useful subject when describing a widening gap. |
See the size adjectives lesson for the size descriptions behind these changes.
Mini Drill: Describe the Change
- Put 커지다 in the polite past.
- Give its conditional form.
- Use the present modifier before a noun: 커지다 → ____.
- Choose the particle for a sound getting louder: 소리 + 이/가 or 을/를?
Show drill answers
- 커졌어요.
- 커지면.
- 커지는.
- 소리가. The sound is the changing subject.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 커지다 describe a state or a change?
- Which verb describes someone increasing the volume: 커지다 or 키우다?
- What does 차이가 커지다 mean?
Show answers
- A change toward greater size or degree.
- 키우다.
- A difference or gap grows larger.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Is 커지다 Different from 크다?
크다 says something is big; 커지다 says it is becoming big (소리가 커져요). Adding 지다 to an adjective's 어 form turns it into a verb of change.
Can I Add -고 싶다 to 커지다?
It is rare. The change usually happens by itself rather than by choice, so the -고 싶다 form is left out of the table.
What Is the Opposite of 커지다?
작아지다, to become smaller. Both take the thing that changes as the subject with 이/가.
Can 커지다 Describe a Child Growing Up?
Yes for height, as in 키가 커졌어요. For a child developing over time, 자라다 is the usual verb.
Which Words Are Related to 커지다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Read 크다 next to see the base adjective, then 자라다 for living things that grow up. The 져요 contraction is the same one shown in how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.