You probably know the adjective 길다, right? Many people only know 길다 as an adjective, but it can also function as a verb meaning “to grow longer.”
- 수염이 많이 길었네요. (Your beard has grown a lot.)
- 머리 많이 길었다. 언제부터 기른 거야? (Your hair grew a lot. Since when have you been growing it out?)
This brings us to the verb 기르다. This verb originally started from the concept of “making something longer,” and evolved to mean “to breed,” “to grow,” or “to cultivate.” It actually shares a very similar meaning with the verb 키우다, which I introduced in a previous video. In most cases, they are interchangeable:
- 저 고양이 길러요.
저 고양이 키워요. (I raise a cat.) - 아이 기르는 거 힘드시죠?
아이 키우는 거 힘드시죠? (Raising a child is tough, isn’t it?) - 말하기 실력을 기르고 싶어요.
말하기 실력을 키우고 싶어요. (I want to improve/grow my speaking skills.) - 요즘 머리 기르는 중이에요.
요즘 머리 키우는 중이에요. (I’m growing my hair out these days.)
Did you notice the one situation where they are not interchangeable? 키우다 is related to making the volume or physical size of something bigger. 기르다 is about making the length of something longer.
So, remember: use ‘기르다’ for length, and ‘키우다’ for volume!