-아/어 가다 / -아/어 오다
These directional auxiliaries add a sense of direction and continuity to an ongoing change or action. '-아/어 가다' indicates a process heading into the future. '-아/어 오다' indicates a process that has been continuing up to the present.
Summary
Equivalent
-아/어 가다: 'Keep on...' (going forward) / -아/어 오다: 'Have been...' (up to now)
Also: -아/어지다 (Become — state change, not necessarily directional)
Example
The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
날씨가 점점 더워져 가고 있어요.
Grammar rules
- Often combined with time expressions: '갈수록', '앞으로', '지금까지', '오랫동안'.
- '-아/어 오다' also frequently used to describe long habits or traditions that continue to the present.
- Key metaphor: 가다 = moving forward into future, 오다 = looking back at what has been done. Both describe ongoing or changing states.
나이가 들어 가면서 건강의 중요성을 알게 됐어요. (As I keep getting older, I've come to realize the importance of health.)
Patterns
Ongoing Change (Moving Away from Speaker's Perspective)
Present Continuous · Verb Stem + 아/어 가다
Ongoing Change (Toward Speaker's Present)
Present Continuous / Background · Verb Stem + 아/어 오다
Example sentences
The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
날씨가 점점 더워져 가고 있어요.
I have been working at this company for 10 years.
저는 10년째 이 회사에서 일해 오고 있어요.
Watching children keep on growing up, I feel how fast time passes.
아이들이 점점 자라 가는 것을 보면 세월이 빠르다는 걸 느껴요.
Conversation
A: Your Korean must have improved a lot.
한국어 실력이 많이 늘었겠어요.
B: Thank you. Having put in consistent effort over time, it has improved a lot.
감사해요. 꾸준히 노력해 오다 보니 많이 늘었어요.
Practice
Fill in the blank
Select the correct directional auxiliary for ongoing change.
Darkening sky (future direction).
Long tradition (toward present).