～になる – Expressing ‘To Become’ and Change in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

• Meaning: ～になる (~ni naru) means “to become ~”, “to turn into ~”, or “to change into ~”.
• How to Use: Attach になる (ni naru) to a noun or adjective to say that something changes state.

Example:

• 兄は宇宙人になります。
• Ani wa uchuujin ni narimasu.
• My big brother will become an alien.

Overview

The grammar pattern ～になる (~ni naru) is one of the simplest and most useful ways to talk about change in Japanese. It means that something “becomes” a new state, condition, or role.

You can use it to talk about many kinds of changes:

• Changes in time or age: “It becomes 7 o’clock,” “I will become 20 years old.”
• Changes in role or job: “She became a teacher,” “My friend became the club leader.”
• Changes in feeling or situation: “The room became quiet,” “The town became lively.”
• Changes in size, speed, difficulty: “The test became easy,” “The sound became big/loud.”

In English, we often say “become,” “get,” or “turn” for this kind of idea:

• It became quiet.
• She got famous.
• The sky turned red.

In Japanese, you can usually express all of these with ～になる.

Some important points for beginners:

• になる is built from the particle に and the verb なる (naru, to become).
• The part before になる shows the result state — what it becomes.
• になる is about a natural or neutral change. It does not show someone’s will or decision strongly; it is more like “ends up becoming” or “turns into.”

Compare:

• 先生になります。
  Sensei ni narimasu.
  I will become a teacher. (Result / change)

Later you will also learn ～にする (~ni suru), which is more like “to make (something) ~” or “to choose ~”, and shows a stronger action or decision. For now, focus on ～になる as “to become ~”.

Before You Start

If becoming and choosing still feel similar, start with our guide to ～にする, for deciding or making a change. It explains how にする marks a decision or a change you make.

Structure / Formation

The core idea is:

[New state] + に + なる → “to become [new state]”

Here, に marks the result, and なる (naru) is the verb “to become.”

Basic Patterns

Here are the most common basic patterns you will use at JLPT N5 level:

• N + に + なる
• na-adj + に + なる
• i-adj-く + なる

Let’s look at each pattern in a simple way.

1. N + に + なる (Become a noun)

Use this when something or someone becomes a role, job, identity, or thing.

Pattern:

• N + に + なる

“N” can be many things, for example:

• 先生 (sensei, teacher)
• 医者 (isha, doctor)
• 社長 (shachou, company president)
• 有名人 (yuumeijin, famous person)
• ロボット (robotto, robot)

Because N + に + なる is a verb phrase, you can conjugate なる like a normal verb.

Form	Pattern	Meaning
Polite non-past	N + に なります	become / will become N
Polite past	N + に なりました	became N
Plain non-past	N + に なる	become / will become N
Plain past	N + に なった	became N

Example:

• 弟はロボットになりました。
• Otouto wa robotto ni narimashita.
• My little brother became a robot.

2. na-adj + に + なる (Become ~: na-adjectives)

For na-adjectives, you also use に before なる. Think of it as “become ~ (na-adjective)”.

Pattern:

• na-adj + に + なる

Common na-adjectives:

• きれい (kirei, pretty / clean)
• 元気 (genki, healthy / energetic)
• 有名 (yuumei, famous)
• 静か (shizuka, quiet)

When you say “become ~”, you do not add な here. You use に:

• 静かなへや (a quiet room) → description
• へやは静かになります。 (The room becomes quiet.) → change

Conjugation is the same: you change なる, not the adjective.

Form	Pattern	Meaning
Polite non-past	na-adj + に なります	become ~
Polite past	na-adj + に なりました	became ~

Example:

• 昼ごはんのあとで、クラスは静かになりました。
• Hirugohan no ato de, kurasu wa shizuka ni narimashita.
• After lunch, the class became quiet.

3. i-adj-く + なる (Become ~: i-adjectives)

For i-adjectives, the pattern is different. You do not use に. Instead, you change the ending ～い to ～く, then add なる.

Pattern:

• i-adj-く + なる

How to make i-adj-く:

• Take the i-adjective (i-adj).
• Remove the last い.
• Add く.

Examples of i-adj → i-adj-く:

i-adj (dictionary)	i-adj-く	Meaning
大きい (ookii)	大きく	big → big-ly / become big
小さい (chiisai)	小さく	small → small-ly / become small
暑い (atsui)	暑く	hot (weather) → become hot
安い (yasui)	安く	cheap → become cheap

Then add なる:

• 大きくなる (ookiku naru, to become big)
• 小さくなる (chiisaku naru, to become small)
• 暑くなる (atsuku naru, to become hot)
• 安くなる (yasuku naru, to become cheap)

Again, you conjugate なる like a normal verb:

Form	Pattern	Meaning
Polite non-past	i-adj-く なります	become ~
Polite past	i-adj-く なりました	became ~

Example:

• このドラゴンは大きくなります。
• Kono doragon wa ookiku narimasu.
• This dragon will become big.

Using なる in Different Tenses

At N5 level, you will mostly use polite forms. Here is a quick mini-chart showing how なる works with our patterns.

Type	Pattern	Polite non-past	Polite past
Noun	N + に + なる	N + に なります	N + に なりました
na-adj	na-adj + に + なる	na-adj + に なります	na-adj + に なりました
i-adj	i-adj-く + なる	i-adj-く なります	i-adj-く なりました

Example (mixing the three):

• 町は有名になりました。
• Machi wa yuumei ni narimashita.
• The town became famous.

• 先生はとても元気になりました。
• Sensei wa totemo genki ni narimashita.
• The teacher became very energetic.

• ゲームは急にむずかしくなりました。
• Geemu wa kyuu ni muzukashiku narimashita.
• The game suddenly became difficult.

Usage Tips for Beginners

To remember how to connect adjectives to なる, keep these two simple rules in mind:

• With nouns and na-adjectives: use に → N / na-adj + に + なる.
• With i-adjectives: change ～い to ～く → i-adj-く + なる.

A quick memory hint:

• na → に: na-adj want に before なる.
• i → く: i-adj change their last sound to く before なる.

With these patterns in mind, you can already describe a lot of fun “transformations” in Japanese, from your sleepy cat becoming a ninja to your boring Sunday becoming an adventure.

Common Mistakes and Contrasts

• ～になる describes becoming or changing into a state.
• Contrast ～になる (the result or change) with ～にする (someone chooses or makes the change).

Want to compare this with ～くなる and ～くする, for adjective change? That guide explains how adjectives express becoming or making something a certain way.

Example Sentences

• 妹は来年、プロゲーマーになります。
• Imouto wa rainen, purogeemaa ni narimasu.
• My little sister will become a pro gamer next year.

• おじいさんはネットアイドルになりました。
• Ojiisan wa netto aidoru ni narimashita.
• Grandpa became an online idol.

• このロボットはとても静かになりました。
• Kono robotto wa totemo shizuka ni narimashita.
• This robot became very quiet.

• うちのねこは夜になると、とても元気になります。
• Uchi no neko wa yoru ni naru to, totemo genki ni narimasu.
• My cat becomes very energetic when it becomes night.

• このパンは時間がたつと石よりかたくなります。
• Kono pan wa jikan ga tatsu to ishi yori kata ku narimasu.
• This bread becomes harder than a rock as time passes.

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the correct sentence: “Next year, my brother will become a doctor.”

• A. 来年、兄は医者と なります。(Rainen, ani wa isha to narimasu.)
• B. 来年、兄は医者や なります。(Rainen, ani wa isha ya narimasu.)
• C. 来年、兄は医者に なります。(Rainen, ani wa isha ni narimasu.)
• D. 来年、兄は医者で なります。(Rainen, ani wa isha de narimasu.)

2. Choose the best sentence to say “At night, the town becomes quiet.”

• A. 夜、町は静かと なります。(Yoru, machi wa shizuka to narimasu.)
• B. 夜、町は静かに なります。(Yoru, machi wa shizuka ni narimasu.)
• C. 夜、町は静かで なります。(Yoru, machi wa shizuka de narimasu.)
• D. 夜、町は静かな なります。(Yoru, machi wa shizuka na narimasu.)

3. Choose the correct sentence: “In summer, this room becomes hot.”

• A. 夏、このへやは暑いに なります。(Natsu, kono heya wa atsui ni narimasu.)
• B. 夏、このへやは暑く なります。(Natsu, kono heya wa atsuku narimasu.)
• C. 夏、このへやは暑くて なります。(Natsu, kono heya wa atsukute narimasu.)
• D. 夏、このへやは暑いや なります。(Natsu, kono heya wa atsui ya narimasu.)

4. Choose the correct polite past sentence: “The cake became cheap in the evening.”

• A. 夕方、ケーキは安く なりました。(Yuugata, keeki wa yasuku narimashita.)
• B. 夕方、ケーキは安く なります。(Yuugata, keeki wa yasuku narimasu.)
• C. 夕方、ケーキは安くて でした。(Yuugata, keeki wa yasukute deshita.)
• D. 夕方、ケーキは安いに なりました。(Yuugata, keeki wa yasui ni narimashita.)

5. Choose the correct sentence: “My grandpa became very energetic.”

• A. おじいさんはとても元気な なりました。(Ojiisan wa totemo genki na narimashita.)
• B. おじいさんはとても元気に なりました。(Ojiisan wa totemo genki ni narimashita.)
• C. おじいさんはとても元気で なります。(Ojiisan wa totemo genki de narimasu.)
• D. おじいさんはとても元気と なりました。(Ojiisan wa totemo genki to narimashita.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One sentence has a mistake with ～になる. Which one is WRONG?

• A. ロボットはゆっくり 人間に なります。(Robotto wa yukkuri ningen ni narimasu.)
• B. 先生は有名に なりました。(Sensei wa yuumei ni narimashita.)
• C. 公園はにぎやかな に なりました。(Kouen wa nigiyaka na ni narimashita.)

7. One sentence has a mistake with ～になる. Which one is WRONG?

• A. ゲームはとてもむずかしく なりました。(Geemu wa totemo muzukashiku narimashita.)
• B. ねこは大きく なります。(Neko wa ookiku narimasu.)
• C. 明日、私は先生で なります。(Ashita, watashi wa sensei de narimasu.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese using ～になる: “The sky suddenly became red.”

9. Translate into Japanese using ～になる: “My cat will become a samurai.”

10. Translate into Japanese using ～になる: “This town became very quiet at night.”

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Answers and Explanations

1. 来年、兄は医者に なります。(Rainen, ani wa isha ni narimasu.) – With nouns, we use 「に」 before 「なる」 to show what someone becomes.
2. 夜、町は静かに なります。(Yoru, machi wa shizuka ni narimasu.) – Na-adjectives use 「に」 before 「なる」 when showing a change.
3. 夏、このへやは暑く なります。(Natsu, kono heya wa atsuku narimasu.) – I-adjectives change 「～い」 to 「～く」 before 「なる」.
4. 夕方、ケーキは安く なりました。(Yuugata, keeki wa yasuku narimashita.) – We need the polite past of 「なる」, 「なりました」, to say “became” in the past.
5. おじいさんはとても元気に なりました。(Ojiisan wa totemo genki ni narimashita.) – 「元気」 is a na-adjective, so we use 「元気に なる」 for “become energetic.”
6. 公園はにぎやかな に なりました。(Kouen wa nigiyaka na ni narimashita.) – The error is adding 「な」; na-adjectives should be 「にぎやかに なりました」 without 「な」 before 「に」.
7. 明日、私は先生で なります。(Ashita, watashi wa sensei de narimasu.) – The error is 「で」; with nouns we must say 「先生に なります」 to mean “become a teacher.”
8. 空は急に赤く なりました。(Sora wa kyuu ni akaku narimashita.) – 「赤い」 becomes 「赤く」 before 「なる」 to show “became red.”
9. 私のねこはサムライに なります。(Watashi no neko wa samurai ni narimasu.) – With a role or identity like “samurai,” we use the noun + 「に なる」 pattern.
10. この町は夜、とても静かに なりました。(Kono machi wa yoru, totemo shizuka ni narimashita.) – 「静か」 is a na-adjective, so “became quiet” is 「静かに なりました」.

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Keep going

These are useful next stops if you want to compare nearby grammar patterns:

• Still mixing up this pattern with ～にする, for deciding or making a change? Read that guide to see the difference.
• Need the basics first? Start with the lesson on ～くなる and ～くする, for adjective change.
• Ready for the next step? Continue with な-adjectives with です.

For the full beginner path, browse the JLPT N5 Japanese Grammar Guide.