-지만 — clause + but + clause
-지만 is the all-purpose 'but / however' connector. Glue it onto the verb stem of the FIRST clause, then write the contrast clause as normal. 싸요 + 하지만? 싸지만 좋아요. = 'It's cheap, but (it's) good.' 이 옷은 예쁘지만 비싸요. = 'These clothes are pretty but expensive.' Two big advantages over the standalone word 하지만 ('however'): (1) you don't need to start a new sentence, and (2) -지만 attaches DIRECTLY to verbs and adjectives — including past and future forms.
How to attach: just stem + 지만
-지만 is one of the easiest endings in Korean — no vowel choice, no irregularity. Take the dictionary form, drop -다, add -지만. 싸다 (be cheap) → 싸지만. 비싸다 (be expensive) → 비싸지만. 먹다 (eat) → 먹지만. 있다 (exist) → 있지만. The same goes for 하다 verbs: 공부하다 → 공부하지만, 좋아하다 → 좋아하지만. No 아/어 choice, no irregular stem changes — just slap it on.
Past and future before -지만
Unlike -아서/어서 from the previous lesson, -지만 HAPPILY accepts tense markers before it. Past: -았/었지만. 어제 비가 왔지만 학교에 갔어요. = 'It rained yesterday, but I went to school.' Future: -(으)ㄹ 거지만 or -겠지만. 내일 갈 거지만 오래 못 있어요. = 'I'll go tomorrow, but I can't stay long.' This makes -지만 perfect for narrating a past contrast in one breath: 'X happened, but Y'.
Position and pronunciation
The pattern is: clause₁ + -지만 + clause₂. The contrast clause comes second. 저는 학생이지만 일도 해요. = 'I'm a student, but I also work.' (After a noun, 이다 + -지만 = 이지만.) In speech you can also start a NEW sentence with 하지만 ('however'): 저는 한국 음식을 좋아해요. 하지만 매운 음식은 못 먹어요. = 'I like Korean food. However, I can't eat spicy food.' 하지만 is just -지만 glued onto 하다 ('to do') — historically 'doing-but' — and now functions as a standalone connector word.
-지만 vs. -는데
Korean has a softer 'but / and-by-the-way' connector called -는데 which you'll meet in detail later. Quick contrast: -지만 sets up a clear, sharp contrast — 'X, BUT Y'. -는데 is gentler, often just providing background — 'X, and (so / by the way) Y'. 이 옷은 예쁘지만 비싸요. = 'These clothes are pretty but expensive' (sharp contrast). 이 옷은 예쁜데 비싸요. = 'These clothes are pretty, and (the thing is) expensive' (softer, more 'background then comment'). At A2 level, stick with -지만 when you mean 'but'; you'll layer in -는데 later.
Common formula sentences
Some patterns are worth memorizing as units. 미안하지만… = 'I'm sorry, but…' — the standard polite lead-in for a request: 미안하지만 좀 도와주세요. = 'I'm sorry, but please help me a bit.' 죄송하지만… is the more formal version. 좋지만 비싸요. / 맛있지만 매워요. are ready-made shopping/food reactions. Notice how naturally -지만 sits in spoken Korean: any time English would say 'X, but Y,' Korean usually attaches -지만 to X.
