How to translate 'to become?' (hacerse, ponerse, convertirse en, etc.)

Question

I've heard several different words used for 'to become' in Spanish. Obviously sometimes there are specific verbs to use, like 'enfadarse' means to become angry, but often you need to use a verb that just means 'to become' along with a noun or adjective along with it.

Some of the more prevalent are hacerse, ponerse, convertirse en, etc. How can I learn to use these, and other words when necessary, to translate 'to become'? Are there some general rules to follow or will I need to memorize all of them on a case-by-case basis?

Answer 1

As Randolf Rincón-Fadul says, it depends. Here is a page where it shows some of the possible cases of translating 'to become'.

Edit: I found a PDF file titled 23 Ways to Translate Become in Spanish, check it out.

Answer 2

My 2 cents: Depends.

Two related examples:

to become an actor >> convertirse en actor

to become famous >> volverse famoso

It depends if its kind of a transformation (physical, educational and so on) you use "convertirse"; if it's something more light then you use "hacerse o volverse".