Korean grammar · Level 2 · 2급
V/A-지만
But…
-지만 joins two sentences with a contrast: “…, but…”. Add it straight to the stem. For something that already happened, the first part takes the past too: 왔지만. With a noun, use 이지만 after a consonant and 지만 after a vowel.
| When | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| any verb or adjective | -지만 | 작다 → 작지만 · 어렵다 → 어렵지만 |
| past | -았/었지만 | 왔지만 · 먹었지만 |
| nouns | 이지만 / 지만 | 학생이지만 · 친구지만 |
Examples
휴지통은 작지만 정말 예뻐요.
The bin is small, but it's really pretty.
한국어는 어렵지만 재미있어요.
Korean is difficult, but it's fun.
비가 왔지만 산에 갔어요.
It rained, but we went up the mountain.
Practise it in context · Level 2, Unit 9
A housewarming party
A dialogue with audio, practice that checks itself, Hoya’s mistakes, a reading and a writing task.
Open the unit →