으며 Korean grammar - eumyeo Korean grammar

~(으)나 = But, however

(This is the same as ~지만, but more often used in formal writing.)

가고 싶으나 시간이 없다 = I should like to go, but I have no time.
나는 그녀를 보았으나, 무시하고 지나갔다 = I saw her but I just ignored her and walked past. 
밥을 많이 먹었으나 여전히 배가 고팠다 = I ate a lot but I was just as hungry as before. 
내일 날씨는 대체로 맑겠으나, 경남지역은 한때 비가 오겠다 = The weather will be clear tomorrow, but it will rain once in the Gyeongnam area. 
나폴레옹은 비록 전투에서 승리했으나 보상은 보잘 것 없었다 = Napolean won the battle, but the rewards were poor. 

안녕하세요 여러분! Today we’re going to be learning about a structure that’s used very often in Korean – -(으)면서 and -(으)며, which look similar but are actually quite different. 시작해 볼게요! Let’s start!

-(으)면서: While…

Let’s start with -(으)면서 by looking at this formula:

• [verb / adjective stem 1] + (으)면서 + [clause 2] = While [verb 1] happens, [verb 2] happens. / As something is [adjective 1], it is also [clause 2]
• Attach -으면서 to verbs ending in a consonant
• Attach -면서 to verbs ending in a vowel

You can use this structure to connect two clauses – as whatever the first clause says is happening, the second clause also happens. Let’s see some examples!

• 공부하면서 음악을 들어요. = As I study, I listen to music. / I listen to music while I study.
• Here, we see that the verb 공부하다 has -(으)면서 attached to explain that while the subject is doing the studying, the subject does something else simultaneously. 
• (from funkorean4u.com) 운전하면서 핸드폰을 보지 마세요. 정말 위험해요. = Do not look at your phone while you are driving. It is dangerous. 
  
• 책 읽으면서 걸면 안돼요. = You can’t walk while you are reading a book.
• 이어폰 끼고 있으면서 누가 얘기하면 들리지 안을 거예요. = If someone talks to you when you have earphones in, you won’t be able to hear them.
• 숙제를 하면서 TV를 보지마. 집중하지 못 할 거예요. = Don’t watch TV while doing your homework. You won’t be able to focus.

-(으)면서 is also useful for showing a contrast of some sort or by pointing out a discrepancy between two clauses. For instance, here’s a sentence inspired by funkorean4u.com‘s lesson:

•  그 사람은 돈이 많이 없으면서 미치게 써요. = He doesn’t have a lot of money, yet he spends it like crazy. / He spends money like crazy when he doesn’t even have that much of it.
• Notice how -(으)면서 essentially means “yet” in this context.

Here’s some more!

• 배고프지 않으면서 왜 먹어요? = Why are you eating even though you’re not hungry? / You’re not hungry, yet why are you eating? / Why eat when you’re not hungry?
• 공부해야 하면서 비디오 게임을 해요. = You have to study, yet you’re playing video games.
• 그 노래 싫어하면서 계속 들어요. = I don’t like that song, but I keep listening to it.
• 눈이 아프면서 화면을 계속 봐요. = My eyes hurt, yet I keep staring at a screen.

-(으)며

Before we jump into how to use -(으)며, let’s look at this formula:

• [verb stem 1] + (으)며 + [clause 2]
• Attach -으며 to verbs ending in a consonant
• Attach -며 to verbs ending in a vowel
  

-(으)며 is supposed to be pretty similar to -(으)면서, but it’s not quite. According to howtostudykorean.com, -(으)며 and -(으)면서 can be used interchangeably, but it is much more common to use  -(으)면서 if you want to say “while I do something, I also do something else.” Therefore, you typically use -(으)며 a little differently. -(으)며 is essentially used to simply link two clauses together – it’s pretty similar to attaching -고 to a verb stem, which means “and.” Let’s see some examples!

• 서울 대학교는 1946년에 설립되었으며 한국에서 최고 명문 대학교이예요. = Seoul University was established in 1946 and is the most prestigious university in Korea.
• (from howtostudykorean.com) 저쪽으로 가면 앞문이 나오며 이쪽으로 가면 뒷문이 나와요. = If you go that way, you will see the front door, and if you go that way, you will see the back door.
• 이 이어폰이 퀄리티 아주 좋으며 5만원이예요. = These headphones are very high quality and cost 50,000 won.

Ok, that was a long one! I hope that it wasn’t too complicated though – feel free to ask any questions you have!

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