なる

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Japanese

Alternative spellings
成る
為る

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "なる"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形) 		なる な​る
Imperative (命令形) なれ な​れ
Key constructions
Passive なられる なられ​る
Causative ならせる ならせ​る
Potential なれる なれ​る
Volitional なろう なろ​ー
Negative ならない なら​ない
Negative perfective ならなかった なら​なかった
Formal なります なりま​す
Perfective なった な​った
Conjunctive なって な​って
Hypothetical conditional なれば な​れば

Etymology 1

Verb

なる • (naru) intransitive godan (stem なり (nari), past なった (natta))

Japanese verb pair
active なす
mediopassive なる
  1. to be achieved; to be completed
    ついに五(ご)連(れん)覇(ぱ)がなる
    tsui ni go renpa ga naru
    Finally they are winning their fifth consecutive championship.
    念(ねん)願(がん)なって一(ひと)人(り)立(だ)ちする
    nengan natte hitoridachi suru
    He realized his wish to live his own life.
    メンタルがなってない
    mentaru ga nattenai
    not mentally resilient enough
    その後(あと)はどうなったんですか？
    Sonoato wa dō natta n desu ka?
    What happened afterwards?
    (literally, “After that, what was achieved?”)
  2. to become; to change into; to turn
    氷(こおり)が水(みず)になる
    kōri ga mizu ni naru
    The ice becomes water.
    血(ち)となり肉(にく)となる
    chi to nari niku to naru
    It becomes blood and flesh.
    私(わたし)は先(せん)生(せい)になります。
    Watashi wa sensei ni narimasu.
    I will become a teacher.
    コーヒーが冷(つめ)たくなりました。
    Kōhī ga tsumetaku narimashita.
    The coffee got cold.
  3. (impersonal) to reach a time; to get to a timepoint
    八(はち)時(じ)になった
    hachiji ni natta
    It has reached eight o'clock.
  4. to reach an amount/quantity
    積(つ)み上(あ)げると三(さん)メートルにもなる
    tsumiageru to san mētoru ni mo naru
    It can pile up to 3 metres high.
    全(ぜん)部(ぶ)で千(せん)円(えん)になる
    zenbu de sen'en ni naru
    One thousand yen in total.
  5. (with negative) to be acceptable; to be tolerable
    負(ま)けてなるものか
    makete naru mono ka
    Failure is not an option.
    勘(かん)弁(べん)ならない
    kanben naranai
    It is unforgivable.
  6. (in some set phrases) to be made; to be produced; to be created
    名(めい)工(こう)の手(て)になる茶(ちゃ)碗(わん)
    meikō no te ni naru chawan
    a teacup manufactured by a famous craftsman
    空(くう)海(かい)の筆(ふで)になる書(しょ)
    Kūkai no fude ni naru sho
    calligraphy by Kūkai
  7. (shogi) to promote
  8. (honorific) In the form of "御(お)/御(ご) + verbal noun + になる", an honorific form of the verb.
    Antonym: する
    Synonym: なさる
    休(やす)む (yasumu, “to rest”) - お休(やす)みになる (o-yasumi ni naru, “to rest”, honorific)
    訪(ほう)問(もん)する (hōmon suru, “to visit”) - ご訪(ほう)問(もん)になる (go-hōmon ni naru, “to visit”, honorific)
Usage notes
  • This term is often spelled in hiragana.
  • Sense "to become":
    • When a noun or an adjectival noun (na-adjective) precedes なる it is followed by に.
      車(くるま)になる ― kuruma ni naru ― become a car
      綺(き)麗(れい)になる ― kirei ni naru ― become beautiful
    • When an adjective (i-adjective) precedes なる it appears in its -く form.
      優(やさ)しくなる ― yasashiku naru ― become kind
    • The causative is suppleted by する (suru).
      部(へ)屋(や)がきれいになる ― heya ga kirei ni naru ― The room becomes tidy.
      私(わたし)が部(へ)屋(や)をきれいにする ― watashi ga heya o kirei ni suru ― I make the room tidy.

Conjugation
Conjugation of "なる" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") なら nara
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") なり nari
Shūshikei ("terminal") なる naru
Rentaikei ("attributive") なる naru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") なれ nare
Meireikei ("imperative") なれ nare
Key constructions
Passive なられる narareru
Causative ならせる
ならす 		naraseru
narasu
Potential なれる nareru
Volitional なろう narō
Negative ならない naranai
Negative continuative ならず narazu
Formal なります narimasu
Perfective なった natta
Conjunctive なって natte
Hypothetical conditional なれば nareba
Classical conjugation of "なる" (ラ行四段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) なら nara
Continuative (連用形) なり nari
Terminal (終止形) なる naru
Attributive (連体形) なる naru
Realis (已然形) なれ nare
Imperative (命令形) なれ nare
Key constructions
Negative ならず narazu
Contrasting conjunction なれど naredo
Causal conjunction なれば nareba
Conditional conjunction ならば naraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) なりき nariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) なりけり narikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action) なりつ naritu
Perfect tense (natural event) なりぬ narinu
Perfect-continuative tense なれり
なりたり		 nareri
naritari
Volitional ならむ naramu

Etymology 2

Verb

なる • (naru) 

  1. adnominal of なり (nari, “to be”)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of なる – see the following entries.
【鳴る】
to ring, to sound, to roar, to chime, to honk
【生る】
to bear fruit
(This term, なる, is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as なる, see Category:Japanese kanji read as なる.)

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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