-으나
-euna
but; however
A formal connective ending that shows contrast between two clauses—'but/however'—similar to -지만 but more literary; repeated ('X이나 Y이나'), it means the choice makes no difference either way.
Form
- Attaches to
- Verb, Adjective, 이다, Auxiliary
- Other shapes
- -나
Meanings
- 1
A connective ending used to indicate that the preceding content and the following content are different.
앞에 오는 말과 뒤에 오는 말의 내용이 서로 다름을 나타내는 연결 어미.
- 2
A connective ending used when one's choice does not matter despite many options.
여러 가지 중에서 어느 것을 선택해도 상관이 없음을 나타내는 연결 어미.
※ 주로 ‘-으나 -으나’로 쓴다.
Examples
연장전까지 갔으나 결국에 우리 팀이 패배하고 말았다.
It went to overtime, but in the end our team lost.
유민은 몹시 슬펐으나 부모님 앞에서 눈물을 참으려 애썼다.
Yumin was very sad, but tried hard to hold back her tears in front of her parents.
나는 아이들을 일찍 재우려고 했으나 아이들은 쉽게 자지 않았다.
I tried to put the kids to bed early, but they wouldn't fall asleep easily.
친구들에게 나눠 주려고 많은 양의 간식을 가져왔으나 금방 동이 났다.
I brought a large amount of snacks to share with friends, but it ran out right away.
시험 결과는 어떻게 되었니? 공부는 열심히 했으나 성적은 별로 잘 안 나왔어요.
How did the exam turn out? I studied hard, but my grades didn't come out very well.
좋으나 싫으나 너는 한국 사람이야.
Whether you like it or not, you're Korean.
Examples: 한국어기초사전, CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.
Don’t confuse with
Forms with a close meaning — a favourite source of wrong answers on TOPIK.
Quick check
1. What does ‘-으나’ mean?
2. Which form means “but; however”?