Key Facts
- Hangul: 나빠지다 (nappajida)
- Meaning: to get worse
- Part of speech: verb (동사)
- Level: B1
- Stem: 나빠지
- Class: regular
- Objects: intransitive
- Honorific polite: 나빠지세요
What Does 나빠지다 Mean?
나빠지다 is the 'becoming' version of the adjective 나쁘다 (bad). It describes change over time: 날씨가 나빠지다, 기분이 나빠지다, 눈이 나빠지다 for eyesight, and 사이가 나빠지다 for a relationship. The thing that changes takes 이/가. Because the subject does not choose the change, the 'want to' ending is not normally used with it.
Typical subjects are weather, eyesight, health and relationships, so it turns up in daily small talk as often as in news.
How Do You Pronounce 나빠지다?
After ㅈ, the vowel ㅕ is said as plain ㅓ, so the polite present 나빠져요 is said [나빠저요], the past 나빠졌어요 is said [나빠저써요], and in the formal present 나빠집니다 the ㅂ becomes ㅁ before ㄴ: [나빠짐니다]. The plan form 나빠질 거예요 is said [나빠질꺼예요].
How Do You Use 나빠지다 in a Sentence?
날씨가 점점 나빠져요.
The weather is getting worse.
날씨가 is the changing thing and 점점 (gradually) tells you the change is slow. 나빠져요 is the polite present.
갑자기 기분이 나빠졌어요.
My mood suddenly got worse.
갑자기 (suddenly) marks a quick change, and 기분이 is the subject. The past 나빠졌어요 is the polite past.
눈이 나빠지면 안경을 써야 해요.
If your eyesight gets worse, you have to wear glasses.
눈이 나빠지면 is a condition about eyesight, and the main clause gives advice with 안경을 써야 해요.
How Does Nappajida Conjugation Work?
나빠지다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나빠져요 | ||
| Polite past | 나빠졌어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 나빠질 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 나빠지겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 나빠집니다 | ||
| Formal past | 나빠졌습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 나빠질 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 나빠져 | ||
| Casual past | 나빠졌어 | ||
| Casual future | 나빠질 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 나빠지세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 나빠져서 | ||
| Conditional (if) | 나빠지면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 나빠지는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 나빠진 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 나빠질 | ||
| Negative with 안 (short) | 안 나빠져요 | ||
| Negative (long form) | 나빠지지 않아요 |
| Form | Korean | Sound if different |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 나빠져요 | [나빠저요] |
| Polite past | 나빠졌어요 | [나빠저써요] |
| Polite future (plan) | 나빠질 거예요 | [나빠질꺼예요] |
| Polite future (guess) | 나빠지겠어요 | [나빠지게써요] |
| Formal present | 나빠집니다 | [나빠짐니다] |
| Formal past | 나빠졌습니다 | [나빠젇씀니다] |
| Formal future | 나빠질 것입니다 | [나빠질꺼심니다] |
| Casual present | 나빠져 | [나빠저] |
| Casual past | 나빠졌어 | [나빠저써] |
| Casual future | 나빠질 거야 | [나빠질꺼야] |
| Honorific polite | 나빠지세요 | — |
| Because / and then | 나빠져서 | [나빠저서] |
| Conditional (if) | 나빠지면 | — |
| Modifier, present | 나빠지는 | — |
| Modifier, past | 나빠진 | — |
| Modifier, future | 나빠질 | — |
| Short negative | 안 나빠져요 | [안 나빠저요] |
| Long negative | 나빠지지 않아요 | [나빠지지 아나요] |
Is 나빠지다 Regular or Irregular?
나빠지다 is regular. The 나빠 part has already dropped the ㅡ from 나쁘, and the 지 of 지다 merges with the 어 of the ending into 져, which gives 나빠져요. Nothing else changes in the stem, so 나빠지면 and 나빠지는 are formed by just attaching the ending. The lesson on how to conjugate Korean verbs in the present tense explains the full pattern.
Common Mistake with 나빠지다
Wrong: ✗ 나쁘어져요
Correct: ✓ 나빠져요
Why: Learners add the verb-forming ending to the stem of 나쁘다 without dropping the ㅡ and write 나쁘어져요. The vowel ㅡ of 나쁘 drops before the 아/어 ending. The earlier ㅏ selects 아, producing 나빠; adding 지다 then gives 나빠지다.
나빠지다 Versus 나쁘다 and 좋아지다 and 악화되다
| Word | How it differs |
|---|---|
| 나쁘다 | 나쁘다 is an adjective meaning 'is bad'; 나빠지다 means 'becomes bad'. |
| 좋아지다 | 좋아지다 is the opposite: to get better. |
| 악화되다 | 악화되다 is a more formal word used for an illness or situation getting worse. |
Changing Plans as the Weather Worsens
Two friends are deciding whether to continue a picnic. They notice a change now, compare it with earlier conditions, and set a condition for leaving.
Mina
날씨가 점점 나빠져요.
Nalssiga jeomjeom nappajeoyo.
The weather is gradually getting worse.
Alex
아까보다 더 나빠졌어요.
Akkaboda deo nappajeosseoyo.
It has got worse than it was earlier.
Mina
더 나빠지면 집에 가요.
Deo nappajimyeon jibe gayo.
If it gets any worse, let’s go home.
The first line observes a developing change. The past 나빠졌어요 in the second line reports a change that has already happened, while 아까보다 gives the comparison point. 나빠지면 in the final line sets a future condition. The friends have not yet said they are going home; leaving depends on further deterioration.
Which Things Commonly Get Worse?
| Combination | Natural meaning | What changes? |
|---|---|---|
| 날씨가 나빠지다 | the weather worsens | Conditions for being outside. |
| 시력이 나빠지다 | eyesight deteriorates | The ability to see clearly. |
| 건강이 나빠지다 | health worsens | A person's general health. |
| 사이가 나빠지다 | a relationship deteriorates | How people get along. |
These are ordinary collocations rather than hidden idioms. Their usefulness comes from matching the changing thing to the right noun. 눈이 나빠지다 is an everyday way to describe worsening eyesight, not a claim that someone's eyes are morally bad. 시력 gives the more specific name for visual ability.
사이가 나빠지다 describes a relationship between people. In a drama, a disagreement may explain why two characters no longer get along. The phrase says their relationship has deteriorated; it does not by itself tell you whether they have separated, stopped talking, or simply argued more often. Those details need their own context.
How Do Time Words Sharpen the Meaning?
점점 means progressively, while 갑자기 means suddenly. Both combine naturally with 나빠지다 because the verb already expresses a change. 점점 나빠져요 presents deterioration as unfolding. 갑자기 나빠졌어요 reports a sudden change that the speaker noticed. Choose the time word according to the pace you mean.
더 means further or more. 더 나빠지다 compares a later condition with an earlier one, which may already have been bad. 나빠지다 does not require a good starting point. A poor relationship can become worse, just as already unpleasant weather can deteriorate before a picnic ends.
The past ending also does not guarantee that deterioration is over forever. 날씨가 나빠졌어요 says the weather has changed for the worse by now. More change may follow. That is why the dialogue can pair the past report with a conditional about further worsening without contradicting itself.
Where Will You Hear 나빠지다?
Weather conversations use 나빠지다 when plans depend on changing conditions. Health conversations use it to describe a change in someone's condition. News reports may use the more formal 악화되다 for a worsening situation. The everyday 나빠지다 is still useful when you want to explain the change in plain language.
나쁘다 gives a state; 나빠지다 gives a direction of change. In a complaint about a room, “bad” evaluates it now. In a report about eyesight, “getting worse” compares it across time. This difference matters even when English translations use “bad” in both places.
The future 나빠질 거예요 usually predicts an unwanted result. Although a table may group this under “plan”, weather and eyesight do not make plans. Here the expression means that the speaker expects deterioration. Likewise, the grammatical honorific 나빠지세요 is not a useful command asking someone to get worse.
Related Words for Describing Conditions
| Korean | Meaning | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| 시력 | eyesight | More precise than 눈 when discussing vision. |
| 건강 | health | Use for a person's overall condition. |
| 사이 | relationship / space between | With people, identifies how they get along. |
| 기분 | mood / feeling | Names the emotional state that changes. |
The emotions vocabulary lesson gives words for describing the feeling itself. Pair them with 나빠지다 when your point is how that feeling changed, rather than merely naming the present state.
Mini Drill: State or Change?
- Choose “gets worse”: 나빠요 or 나빠져요?
- Put 나빠지다 in the polite past.
- Give the conditional form for “if it gets worse”.
- Complete “a relationship that has deteriorated”: ____ 사이.
Show drill answers
- 나빠져요. 나빠요 describes a bad state.
- 나빠졌어요.
- 나빠지면.
- 나빠진 사이. 나빠진 describes the result of a change.
Quick Self-Test
- Must the starting condition be good for 나빠지다 to fit?
- What does 점점 add to a sentence about worsening weather?
- Does 나빠질 거예요 normally express the weather's intention?
Show answers
- No. Something already bad can become worse.
- It presents the change as gradual or progressive.
- No. It predicts a future condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Add 지다 to 나쁘다?
나쁘다 states a quality ('is bad'), while 나빠지다 says something becomes bad over time.
Can I Add the 'Want to' Ending to 나빠지다?
It is not normally used, since the subject does not control this kind of change.
What Can Be the Subject of 나빠지다?
Common subjects are weather, eyesight, health, a mood or a relationship, such as 사이가 나빠지다.
What Is the Opposite Verb?
좋아지다, to get better.
Which Words Are Related to 나빠지다?
What Should You Learn Next?
Learn 나빠지다 together with 좋아지다, then compare the formal 악화되다. 나쁘다 is the base word to review. You can check other forms in the Korean verb conjugator or browse the Korean verb dictionary.