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

Quick Answer: "The meadow is dark, but rainbow is bright" in Korean is "초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요." (chowoneun eodupjiman, mujigaega balkayo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.

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

What does "The meadow is dark, but rainbow is bright" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요." translates to "The meadow is dark, but rainbow is bright." in English. "초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 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: chowoneun eodupjiman, mujigaega 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 "초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 초원은 (chowoneun) • 어둡지만, (eodupjiman,) • 무지개가 (mujigaega) • 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 meadow is dark, but rainbow 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

초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요. — chowoneun eodupjiman, mujigaega balkayo. — The meadow is dark, but rainbow is bright.

지금 초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요. — jigeum chowoneun eodupjiman, mujigaega balkayo. — Right now, the meadow is dark, but rainbow is bright

정말 초원은 어둡지만, 무지개가 밝아요. — jeongmal chowoneun eodupjiman, mujigaega balkayo. — Really, the meadow is dark, but rainbow 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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