지만 connective ending (but, although)

지만 is a connective ending. It lives in the middle of a sentence. You attach it to the stem of a verb or an adjective. It does not care about politeness levels yet. The politeness is decided at the very end of the sentence. The first part of the sentence sets the scene. The second part provides the twist. It is like a see-saw. One side goes up, the other goes down. It creates a clear balance between two opposing facts or feelings. You can even use it with nouns by adding a little extra piece. It is one of the most versatile tools in your Korean kit.

1. 1Find your verb or adjective base form (e.g., 먹다, 크다).
2. 2Drop the 다 to get the stem (먹, 크).
3. 3Attach 지만 directly to that stem.
4. 4For present tense: 먹다 → 먹지만 (I eat, but...).
5. 5For past tense: Add 었/았 first. 먹었다 → 먹었지만 (I ate, but...).
6. 6For nouns: Add 이지만 if there is a bottom consonant (batchim). Add 지만 if there is no batchim.
7. 7Example: 학생 (student) → 학생이지만. 의사 (doctor) → 의사지만.
8. 8Do not worry about irregulars like ㄹ or ㅂ here. They usually behave very well with 지만. Just stick it on and go!

Use 지만 when you want to show a clear contrast. It is perfect for real-world scenarios. Imagine you are ordering food. You might say, "It looks spicy, but I want to try it." 맵지만 먹고 싶어요. Or maybe you are asking for directions. "The map says it is close, but I cannot see it." 지도는 가깝지만 안 보여요. In a job interview, you could say, "I am nervous, but I will do my best." 긴장되지만 최선을 다하겠습니다. It is also great for describing people. "My brother is tall, but I am short." 형은 크지만 저는 작아요. Use it whenever the second half of your sentence surprises the listener based on the first half.

Do not use 지만 for simple "and" connections. That is what 고 is for. If you say "I like apples but I like grapes," your Korean friends will be very confused! Also, try to avoid 지만 when the second clause is a command or a suggestion. For example, "The weather is good, but let's go outside!" sounds clunky with 지만. In those cases, 는데 is usually a better fit. 지만 is for facts and strong contrasts, not for setting the mood for a favor. Keep it for those "A is true, BUT B is also true" moments.

Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes, but usually by being too lazy! A common mistake for you might be forgetting the tense. If you are talking about yesterday, you MUST use the past tense stem. Don't say 가지만 if you meant "I went, but." Say 갔지만. Another classic mix-up is adding 요 in the middle. It is never 먹어요지만. That sounds like a grammar car crash! Keep the stem clean. Lastly, do not confuse 지만 with 하지만. 하지만 starts a brand new sentence. 지만 is the glue that keeps one sentence together. Think of 하지만 as a period and 지만 as a comma.

You will eventually meet 는데. Both can translate to "but" in English. However, they have different vibes. 지만 is a hard contrast. It is like a black-and-white photo. 는데 is softer. It provides background information or a "soft but." If you want to emphasize that two things are opposites, 지만 is your winner. If you are just leading into a question or a request, 는데 is the way to go. Think of 지만 as a wall and 는데 as a sliding door. Both are useful, but you need to know which one you are walking through!