How to Say "The sea is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean | -지만 Grammar
Quick Answer: "The sea is dark, but the moon is bright" in Korean is "바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." (badaneun eodupjiman, dali balkayo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.
"바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." means "The sea is dark, but the moon is bright" 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 sea is dark, but the moon is bright" mean in Korean?
The Korean sentence "바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요." translates to "The sea is dark, but the moon is bright." in English. This line matches the English meaning, "The sea is dark, but the moon is bright", but it keeps the mood soft. The "-요" ending makes it gentle and kind.
Pronunciation guide: badaneun 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 "바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 바다는 (badaneun) • 어둡지만, (eodupjiman,) • 달이 (dali) • 밝아요 (balkayo)
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 sea is dark, but the moon is bright" sounds like a friendly whisper.
Cultural Insight
자연을 친구처럼 바라보는 시선이 한국 이야기 속에 자주 담겨 있어요.
Examples
바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요. — badaneun eodupjiman, dali balkayo. — The sea is dark, but the moon is bright.
오늘은 바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요. — oneuleun badaneun eodupjiman, dali balkayo. — Today, the sea is dark, but the moon is bright
지금 바다는 어둡지만, 달이 밝아요. — jigeum badaneun eodupjiman, dali balkayo. — Right now, the sea is 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.
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