intermediate
Says something came about, often not by your own choice: 가게 됐어요 (gage dwaesseoyo), "I ended up going".
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- Same form after any stem.
- Usually in the past: 게 됐어요 ge dwaesseoyo, where 됐 is short for 되었 doeeot.
Build it
When to use it
Not your choice
Circumstances decided it.
A change over time
How things turned out.
Polite news
Announcing something modestly.
Watch out
됐 is 되 + 었, so it's spelled with ㅙ: 됐어요 dwaesseoyo.
돼요 is 되 + 어요. 되요 is a common misspelling.
In context
9 examples- 1
한국 회사에 취직하게 됐어요.
Hanguk hoesae chwijikage dwaesseoyo.
I've landed a job at a Korean company.
- 2
그 사람을 좋아하게 됐어요.
Geu sarameul joahage dwaesseoyo.
I've come to like him.
- 3
만나게 되어서 반갑습니다.
Mannage doeeoseo bangapseumnida.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
- 4
친구 덕분에 한국어를 공부하게 됐어요.
Chingu deokbune hangugeoreul gongbuhage dwaesseoyo.
Thanks to a friend, I got into studying Korean.
- 5
갑자기 일이 생겨서 못 가게 됐어요.
Gapjagi iri saenggyeoseo mot gage dwaesseoyo.
Something came up, so I can't go after all.
- 6
이제 혼자서도 요리할 수 있게 됐어요.
Ije honjaseodo yorihal su itge dwaesseoyo.
I can cook on my own now.
- 7
그 일 때문에 서로 더 친해지게 됐어요.
Geu il ttaemune seoro deo chinhaejige dwaesseoyo.
That actually brought us closer.
- 8
뉴스를 보고 그 사실을 알게 됐어요.
Nyuseureul bogo geu sasireul alge dwaesseoyo.
I found out about it from the news.
- 9
다음 주부터 회사에 다니게 됐어요.
Daeum jubuteo hoesae danige dwaesseoyo.
I'm starting at a company next week.
Practice
8 questions알다 + 게 되다, past
게 되다 or 기로 하다?
The same event can be told two ways. 기로 하다 says you decided it, while 게 되다 says it came about, whether because of your job, luck or someone else:
- 서울로 이사하기로 했어요. seoullo isahagiro haesseoyo "I decided to move to Seoul."
- 서울로 이사하게 됐어요. seoullo isahage dwaesseoyo "I'm moving to Seoul." It worked out that way.
Koreans often use 게 됐어요 for good news too, even when they made the decision, because it sounds modest. "I got a job" is usually 취직하게 됐어요 chwijikage dwaesseoyo.
되 or 돼?
돼 is just 되어 written as one syllable, the same way 해 comes from 하여. So 됐어요 dwaesseoyo and 돼요 dwaeyo are right, and 됬어요 and 되요 are misspellings. There's more on this in the post on Korean verb conjugation.
Look it up in the dictionary
The entry for 게 되다 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.