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

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

Struggling with how to say "The gardener is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean? Here is the natural way: "정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". We will unpack the -지만 grammar and show you exactly how it works.

Category: 감정

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

The Korean sentence "정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." translates to "The gardener is tired, but keeps walking." in English. The phrase "정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." translates as "the gardener is tired, but keeps walking". What makes it stand out is how Korean packages the entire idea: the subject comes first, the context follows, and the action wraps it up at the end.

Pronunciation guide: jeongwonsaneun 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 "정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 정원사는 (jeongwonsaneun) • 피곤하지만, (pigonhajiman,) • 끝까지 (kkeutkkaji) • 걸어요 (geoleoyo)

Listen for the rhythm: Korean syllables tend to be evenly timed, unlike English which stresses certain syllables. This gives Korean its distinctive flowing sound.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

This expression sounds like something from a classic adventure tale — and that is exactly the register Korean uses for warm, everyday communication.

Cultural Insight

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

Examples

정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — jeongwonsaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — The gardener is tired, but keeps walking.

정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요? — jeongwonsaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo? — Does the gardener is tired, but keeps walking?

정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 안 걸어요. — jeongwonsaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji an geoleoyo. — The gardener 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 gardener is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". jeongwonsaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 정원사는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 ___

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