Becoming: くなる・になる
Adj-い → くなります／Adj-な, noun → になります
い-adjective: く なります; な-adjective and noun: に なります. For “to make”: く／に します.
In short
なる means “to become”. With an い-adjective: さむく なります (it's getting cold). With a な-adjective or a noun: げんきに なります (to get better), 先生に なります (to become a teacher).
- だんだん さむく なりました。dandan samuku narimashitaIt's been getting colder and colder.
- 日本語が 上手に なりました。nihongo ga jōzu ni narimashitaMy Japanese has improved.
- わたしは 先生に なりたいです。watashi wa sensei ni naritai desuI want to become a teacher.
The basics
なります means “to become”. You combine it with the adverb form: く for い-adjectives, に for な-adjectives and nouns. “It's becoming cold”, “I became a teacher”.
| Type | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | い → く なります | さむく なります (it's getting cold) |
| な-adjective | ＋ に なります | げんきに なりました (I got better) |
| noun | ＋ に なります | 先生に なりたいです (I want to become a teacher) |
In practice
You use it for changes: the weather, age, a job, a state. In the past, なりました describes a change that has already happened.
- だんだん さむく なりました。dandan samuku narimashitaIt's been getting colder and colder.
- 来年 二十さいに なります。rainen nijussai ni narimasuNext year, I'll turn twenty.
- 日本語が じょうずに なりましたね。nihongo ga jōzu ni narimashita neYour Japanese has really improved!
Making: する
With する instead of なる, you say that you make something a certain way: しずかに します (I'll be quiet, I make it quiet), へやを きれいに します (I tidy the room).
Common mistakes
- Saying さむいに なります: for an い-adjective, it's さむく なります.
- Forgetting に with a noun: 先生 なりたい is wrong, it's 先生に.
- Mixing up なる (to become, change by itself) and する (to make, cause a change).
5 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N5 point is on the Mita Line (Positions and sizes) of the Tokyo subway.