-지만
but, although
Sets the second clause against the first. Attaches to the plain stem with no vowel rule, and unlike -고 it does take tense in the first clause.
Build it
Pick a verb
When to use it
-지만 marks the two halves of a sentence as pulling against each other: 비가 오지만 갈 거예요 (it’s raining, but I’ll go anyway). It attaches straight to the stem — 좋지만, 가지만, 하지만 — with nothing to memorise about vowels or consonants.
Tense belongs inside the ending, not before it. “I went, but” is 갔지만, not 가지만. This differs from -고, where the first clause usually stays tenseless.
Watch out for its cousin 하지만, which looks like the same word. 하지만 is a standalone connector that begins a new sentence, closer to English “However.” Using both at once doubles the contrast and reads as a beginner’s sentence.
How to attach it
| Situation | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Any verb or adjective | -지만 | 좋다 → 좋지만 |
| Past | -았/었지만 | 가다 → 갔지만 |
| 이다 | -이지만 | 학생이지만 |
| Formal | -지만 unchanged | 어렵지만 하겠습니다 |
| Softer contrast | -(으)ㄴ/는데 | 비가 오는데 |
| New sentence | 하지만 | 비가 와요. 하지만 갈 거예요. |
In use
비가 오지만 산책할 거예요.
It’s raining, but I’m going to take a walk.
한국어는 어렵지만 재미있어요.
Korean is hard, but it’s fun.
어제 갔지만 문이 닫혀 있었어요.
I went yesterday, but the door was closed.
저는 학생이지만 일도 해요.
I’m a student, but I work as well.
그 식당은 비싸지만 맛있어요.
That restaurant is expensive, but the food is good.
죄송하지만 다시 말씀해 주시겠어요?
I’m sorry, but could you say that again?
Compared with
-(으)ㄴ/는데
Both introduce contrast, but -는데 is softer and often just sets the scene rather than opposing anything. -지만 states the opposition plainly.
비가 오지만 갈 거예요. (despite the rain) / 비가 오는데 갈 거예요? (it’s raining — are you sure?)
하지만 / 그렇지만
These stand at the head of a new sentence; -지만 lives inside one. Choosing between them is a matter of punctuation as much as grammar.
어렵지만 재미있어요. / 어려워요. 하지만 재미있어요.
-아/어도
-지만 acknowledges a fact and moves on; -아/어도 means “even if,” and works with situations that have not happened yet.
비가 오지만 갈 거예요. (it is raining) / 비가 와도 갈 거예요. (even if it rains)
Watch out
이 옷은 좋아지만 비싸요.
이 옷은 좋지만 비싸요.
-지만 attaches to the plain stem, not to the -아요/어요 form. Strip the ending back to 좋 before adding it.
어제 가지만 문이 닫혀 있었어요.
어제 갔지만 문이 닫혀 있었어요.
Unlike -고, this ending carries its own tense. Past events need -았/었지만.
어렵지만, 하지만 재미있어요.
어렵지만 재미있어요.
-지만 and 하지만 are two ways of doing the same job. Using both marks the contrast twice.
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