되다
doe-da
되다 is not something you do — it is something filling up
The picture Water rising in a glass until it touches the mark. Nobody is pouring — it simply reaches. 되다 is the level rising by itself to a line; 하다 is you putting your hand on it and turning it.
Where the picture shows up in 되다
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the mark on the clock
이제 곧 다섯 시가 돼요.
i-je got da-seot si-ga dwae-yo
It'll be five o'clock soon.
The clock hand pushing through its last notch toward the five o'clock mark
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filled up to the mark
한국에 온 지 3년 됐어요.
han-gu-ge on ji sam-nyeon dwae-sseo-yo
It's been three years since I came to Korea.
Calendar pages piling up one by one until the water inside has risen to the three-year mark
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a line you may cross
여기서 사진 찍어도 돼요?
yeo-gi-seo sa-jin jji-geo-do dwae-yo
Is it okay to take photos here?
You put your toe up to the white line on the floor and check whether you may step over it
The spelling is 돼요. 되요 is simply wrong.
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never reaches the line
인터넷이 안 돼요.
in-teo-ne-si an dwae-yo
The internet isn't working.
The signal bars lie flat at the bottom, not one of them filling up
안 돼요 covers both 'it's broken' and 'you may not'. Context decides.
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that mark is enough
두 명이면 돼요.
du myeong-i-myeon dwae-yo
Two people will do.
Chairs being set out, and the hand stopping at the second one, adding no more
All of it in one picture
되다 is never someone pushing; it is the level rising on its own until it touches a line. The clock hand touches the five mark and it becomes five; the days in Korea fill up to the three-year mark; your toe stands at a line you are allowed to cross, and that is 해도 돼요. The signal never reaches its notch, and that is 안 돼요; two chairs fill the line and that is enough, so 두 명이면 돼요. Wherever 되다 shows up, picture a line and something arriving at it.