Connecting Contrasting Ideas with -지만

-지만 is a connecting ending that links two short sentences. It is used when the second part of the sentence is opposite to, or unexpected from, the first part.

It works similarly to "but" or "although" in English.

Example:

가방이 비싸지만 좋아요. (The bag is expensive, but it is good.)

한국어는 어렵지만 재미있어요. (Korean is difficult, but it is fun.)

If you speak in separate sentences, you can use the word 하지만 (But) to start the second sentence.

To sound more fluent and natural, you can combine them into one connected sentence by replacing the first sentence's ending with -지만 .

Two Sentences · One Connected Sentence

비싸요. 하지만 좋아요. · 비싸지만 좋아요.

너무 피곤해요. 하지만 매일 운동해요. · 너무 피곤하지만 매일 운동해요.

이 식당은 작아요. 하지만 손님이 많아요. · 이 식당은 작지만 손님이 많아요.

Attaching -지만 is very simple. Just take the dictionary form of a verb or adjective, drop -다 , and attach -지만 .

Dictionary Form · Stem + -지만

비싸다 · 비싸지만

피곤하다 · 피곤하지만

작다 · 작지만

Because -지만 starts with a consonant, it typically does not cause irregular stem changes. For example, 맵다 (to be spicy) simply becomes 맵지만 , without the ㅂ changing to 우 like it does in other conjugations.

When you want to talk about contrasting events in the past, attach -지만 directly to the past tense stem ( -았/었- ).

Past Tense Form · Past Stem + -지만

비가 왔다 · 비가 왔지만

약을 먹었다 · 약을 먹었지만