How to Say "The bird is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean | -지만 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bird is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean is "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." (saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.

Curious how Koreans express "The bird is tired, but keeps walking"? The answer is "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". Here you will see -지만 in action — a A2-level grammar point every learner needs.

Category: 감정

What does "The bird is tired, but keeps walking" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." translates to "The bird is tired, but keeps walking." in English. "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." is a gentle, storybook-style way of saying "the bird is tired, but keeps walking". The "-요" ending gives it a polite, everyday tone — exactly how you would speak to a friend's parent or a shopkeeper.

Pronunciation guide: saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo.

Grammar Point: But/However (-지만)

The connective -지만 joins two contrasting clauses, similar to 'but' or 'however' in English. It attaches directly to the verb/adjective stem. This sentence also uses -아/어요.

Verb stem + 지만. For example: 작지만 (small but…), 춥지만 (cold but…).

Korean Sentence Structure Breakdown

Korean follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from English (SVO). In "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 새는 (saeneun) • 피곤하지만, (pigonhajiman,) • 끝까지 (kkeutkkaji) • 걸어요 (geoleoyo)

Count the particles in this sentence. Each one (은, 를, 에, 에서, etc.) is a signpost telling you exactly how that word relates to the verb.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

English might express "The bird is tired, but keeps walking" with emphasis or exclamation marks. Korean achieves the same emotional weight through verb endings and particles — quieter tools, but equally powerful.

Cultural Insight

한국어는 감정을 직접 말하기보다 행동으로 보여주는 경우가 많아요. '사랑해'보다 '밥 먹었어?'가 더 큰 사랑의 표현일 수 있죠.

Examples

새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — The bird is tired, but keeps walking.

새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요? — saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo? — Does the bird is tired, but keeps walking?

새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 안 걸어요. — saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji an geoleoyo. — The bird is not tired, but keeps walking.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect: 작은지만 → Correct: 작지만. Do not add the modifier ending -은/-는 before -지만. Attach -지만 directly to the stem.

Incorrect: 먹아요 → Correct: 먹어요. The stem 먹- ends in a dark vowel (ㅓ), so it takes -어요 not -아요. Match the vowel harmony.

Quiz

How do you say "The bird is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". saeneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 새는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 ___

The correct ending is "걸어요". The polite -요 form is essential for everyday Korean conversation.