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

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

"강아지는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." means "The puppy is tired, but keeps walking" in Korean. It features the -지만 pattern — the connective -지만 joins two contrasting clauses, similar to 'but' or 'however' in english. Practice this phrase to build your Korean fluency.

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

The Korean sentence "강아지는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요." translates to "The puppy is tired, but keeps walking." in English. This line matches the English meaning, "The puppy is tired, but keeps walking", but it keeps the mood soft. The "-요" ending makes it gentle and kind.

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

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

Why This Korean Expression Sounds Natural

English depends on voice tone for warmth. Korean bakes warmth into the sentence, so "The puppy is tired, but keeps walking" sounds like a friendly whisper.

Cultural Insight

한국어는 감정을 드러낼 때도 부드러운 말투로 마음의 온기를 전해요.

Examples

강아지는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — gangajineun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — The puppy is tired, but keeps walking.

정말 강아지는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — jeongmal gangajineun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — Really, the puppy is tired, but keeps walking

오늘은 강아지는 피곤하지만, 끝까지 걸어요. — oneuleun gangajineun pigonhajiman, kkeutkkaji geoleoyo. — Today, the puppy is 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.