How to Say "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean | -지만 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean is "다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요." (darineun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.

Want to express "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean? Say "다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요.". The grammar point -지만 (A2) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

What does "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요." translates to "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright." in English. "다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요." is a simple A1–A2 sentence that paints a clear scene. It ends with "-요" so it feels polite and warm. It is perfect for fairy-tale style narration.

Pronunciation guide: darineun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo.

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 "다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 다리는 (darineun) • 어둡지만, (eodupjiman,) • 별빛이 (byeolbiti) • 밝아요 (balkayo)

Korean sentences always end with the verb. Get comfortable with putting the action word last.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

In English, we often say "The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright" directly. Korean keeps the same idea but adds softness through the ending, so the line feels caring rather than flat.

Cultural Insight

자연을 친구처럼 바라보는 시선이 한국 이야기 속에 자주 담겨 있어요.

Examples

다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — darineun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — The bridge is dark, but starlight is bright.

지금 다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — jigeum darineun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — Right now, the bridge is dark, but starlight is bright

정말 다리는 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — jeongmal darineun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — Really, the bridge is dark, but starlight is bright

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.

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