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

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

Want to express "The prince is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean? Say "왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". The grammar point -지만 (A2) is essential for everyday Korean conversation. Read on for a full breakdown.

Category: 감정

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

The Korean sentence "왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." translates to "The prince is tired, but keeps walking." in English. Imagine a scene: the prince is tired, but keeps walking. In Korean, this moment is captured as "왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". Notice how Korean conveys emotion through word choice rather than tone of voice.

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

Korean uses postpositions (after the noun) instead of prepositions (before the noun). 'In the house' becomes '집에서' — house + at/in.

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

Korean sentences have a musical quality when the particles and endings match correctly. In this case, every piece fits together harmoniously, making it sound effortless to a native ear.

Cultural Insight

한국 동화 속 현명한 인물은 힘이 아닌 지혜로 문제를 해결해요. '꾀'를 부리는 것이 미덕으로 여겨지며, 이는 한국의 '슬기(지혜)' 문화를 반영합니다.

Examples

왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — wangjaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — The prince is tired, but keeps walking.

왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요? — wangjaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo? — Does the prince is tired, but keeps walking?

왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 안 걸어요. — wangjaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji an geoleoyo. — The prince 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 prince is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean?

The correct Korean translation is "왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요.". wangjaneun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo.

Fill in the blank: 왕자는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 ___

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