other N3 common politewritten
となる — to become
となる
Meaning
- to become ~ / come to be ~ — formal, presenting a change as a notable result or final state
Key sentence
長年の努力が実り、彼は社長となった。
After years of effort, he became company president.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + となる | 問題となる / 中止となる |
When: Formal and written — announcements, news, and formal narration. In everyday speech, になる is the normal choice.
Examples
大会は雨のため中止となった。
The tournament was cancelled due to rain.
この発見は医学の転機となった。
This discovery became a turning point in medicine.
Easily confused with
〜になる になる is the neutral everyday 'become' (先生になる). となる is more formal and frames the outcome as a significant culmination or official result (中止となる reads more weightily than 中止になる). なる となる is なる with the quotative-flavoured と instead of に, lending a formal, conclusive tone. Use plain なる/になる in conversation; となる in writing and formal settings.
See となる in real sentences
Jengo shows となる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.