How to Say "The path is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean | -지만 Grammar

Quick Answer: "The path is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean is "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." (gileun eodupjiman, dali balkayo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.

Struggling with how to say "The path is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean? Here is the natural way: "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요.". We will unpack the -지만 grammar and show you exactly how it works.

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What does "The path is dark, but the moon is bright" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." translates to "The path is dark, but the moon is bright." in English. The phrase "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." translates as "the path is dark, but the moon is bright". 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: gileun eodupjiman, dali 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 "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 길은 (gileun) • 어둡지만, (eodupjiman,) • 달이 (dali) • 밝아요 (balkayo)

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

한국의 사계절은 문학과 일상 표현에 깊이 녹아 있어요. '봄바람', '가을 하늘' 같은 계절 표현이 일상 대화에서도 자주 등장합니다.

Examples

길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요. — gileun eodupjiman, dali balkayo. — The path is dark, but the moon is bright.

길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요? — gileun eodupjiman, dali balkayo? — Does the path is dark, but the moon is bright?

길은 어둡지만, 달이 안 밝아요. — gileun eodupjiman, dali an balkayo. — The path is not dark, but the moon 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.

Quiz

How do you say "The path is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "길은 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요.". gileun eodupjiman, dali balkayo.

Fill in the blank: 길은 어둡지만, 달이 ___

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