In Korean, even the word “old” depends on life.
Whether something is alive or not actually changes the word itself.
Strange? But that’s what makes Korean fascinating.
Today, we’re learning how to say “old” differently.
Just by changing one vowel, you get two different words. For living things, 늙다 [늑따]. For non-living things, change the vowel /ㅡ/ to /ㅏ/, and you get 낡다 [낙따].
Both 늙다 and 낡다 are verbs! So “old” in Korean should be 늙었어요 and 낡았어요.
The house is old. → 집이 낡았어요
I’m old. → 늙었어요.
You can also say “나이가 들었어요” to say “I got older.” Here, 나이 means ‘age,’ and 들다 literally means ‘to enter.’ In this case, it means ‘to get’ or ‘to become.’
In Korean thinking, age isn’t something you gain. It happens to you naturally. So we say “나이가 들었어요,” not as something we did, but as something that came to us.
Koreans also say “나이를 먹었어요,” which literally means “I ate age.” But it’s not always a light or funny phrase.
When someone says “나이를 먹었어요,” it usually shows an awareness of age, a sense that you’ve reached a certain stage in life. It can sound a bit strong or blunt, because it often implies, “You got older. You should act your age.”
That’s why people don’t usually use it in formal settings, unless they’re joking, being ironic, or trying to make a point.
In contrast, 나이가 들다 is the neutral way to say ‘to get older.’ You’d say “나이가 들었어요” when you simply mean ‘I’ve aged’ without implying any judgement or tone.