なる

Japanese

Alternative spellings
成る 為る

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) な​る [náꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [na̠ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

• 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	[náꜜrù]
Imperative (命令形)	なれ	な​れ	[náꜜrè]
Key constructions
Passive	なられる	なられ​る	[nàráréꜜrù]
Causative	ならせる	ならせ​る	[nàráséꜜrù]
Potential	なれる	なれ​る	[nàréꜜrù]
Volitional	なろう	なろ​ー	[nàróꜜò]
Negative	ならない	なら​ない	[nàráꜜnàì]
Negative perfective	ならなかった	なら​なかった	[nàráꜜnàkàttà]
Formal	なります	なりま​す	[nàrímáꜜsù]
Perfective	なった	な​った	[náꜜttà]
Conjunctive	なって	な​って	[náꜜttè]
Hypothetical conditional	なれば	な​れば	[náꜜrèbà]

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】 [verb] to ring, to sound, to roar, to chime, to honk

【生る】 [verb] 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.)