How do you say "The square is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean?

광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. The correct Korean translation is "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요.". gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo.

Fill in the blank: 광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 ___

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

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

Quick Answer: "The square is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean is "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요." (gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo.). It uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)). Level: A2.

Learn how to say "The square is dark, but starlight is bright" in Korean: "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요.". This sentence uses the -지만 grammar pattern (But/However (-지만)), a key building block for Korean learners at the A2 level.

What does "The square is dark, but starlight is bright" mean in Korean?

The Korean sentence "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요." translates to "The square is dark, but starlight is bright." in English. "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 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: gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti 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 "광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요.", the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Here is the word-by-word breakdown: • 광장은 (gwangjangeun) • 어둡지만, (eodupjiman,) • 별빛이 (byeolbiti) • 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 square is dark, but starlight 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

광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — The square is dark, but starlight is bright.

지금 광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — jigeum gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — Right now, the square is dark, but starlight is bright

정말 광장은 어둡지만, 별빛이 밝아요. — jeongmal gwangjangeun eodupjiman, byeolbiti balkayo. — Really, the square is dark, but starlight 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.