LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 131 JLPT N4
Stopped Being, Stopped Doing (なくなる)
なくなる attaches to a verb’s negative ない-stem, or to an adjective’s negative form, and describes something gradually stopping or fading away, “no longer does,” “isn’t anymore.” It’s built from なる, the same “become” you already know, applied to a negative state.
I don't eat much anymore these days.
I don't cry much anymore these days.
In Real Life
なくなる describes a gradual fade, not a sudden choice, closer to “I’ve stopped doing this somewhere along the way” than “I decided to quit.” ことにする, by contrast, always names a deliberate decision, a useful pair to keep distinct.
The town got brighter, and nights stopped being scary.
There got to be more cars, and the air stopped being clean.
In Real Life
These sentences chain two なる clauses together, one positive change causing a negative one, 明るくなって(became bright)、怖くなくなりました(stopped being scary), a common way to describe cause and effect unfolding over time.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| to cry | |
| bright | |
| scary | |
| air | |
| to increase | |
| safe | |
| movie theater | |
| boring | |
| river | |
| dirty | |
| to be able to swim | |
| sky | |
| star | |
| to be visible | |
| gradually | |
| before you know it | |
| to fade | |
| to disappear | |
| habit | |
| change |