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Vocabulary
Nouns:
조류 = bird species
어류 = fish species
순위 = ranking
요건 = requirement
수중 = underwater
요점 = main point
방역 = disease prevention
중책 = heavy responsibility
방책 = way to do something
세부 = fine details
사항 = matter, item, point, issue
가산점 = additional points
Verbs:
수반하다 = to accompany
소진하다 = to burn down
정박하다 = to anchor
집착하다 = to obsess over, to cling to mentally
떠내려가다 = to be carried/drifted away by water
뒷받침하다 = to support, to back up
Adjectives:
밋밋하다 = to be bland
뜨끈하다 = to be fairly hot
Introduction
In this lesson, and the next few, we will take a deep dive into ~나 and its more complex uses. In this lesson, you will see how ~나 can have a similar meaning to that of ~지만. Let’s get started.
~(으)나: Even Though
Throughout our lessons, you have seen a lot of things that ~나 attaches to. We’re going to take a deep dive into ~나 in the next few lessons, so let’s review the various ways we’ve seen it used so far.
In Lesson 21, you saw that ~나 is used at the end of a sentence to ask a question:
그렇게 중요한 중책을 그 사람에게 맡겨도 되나요?
= Can we really entrust such an important responsibility to that person?
In Lesson 25, you saw that ~(이)나 can be added to certain words and particles to indicate refer to “any” of those nouns:
요건만 맞으면 아무 거나 선택해도 가산점이 주어져요
= As long as the requirements are met, you’ll receive bonus points no matter what you choose
In Lesson 58, you saw how ~(이)나 can be added to nouns to refer to a noun “or” another noun:
방역이나 방책 중 하나는 제대로 뒷받침되어야 해요
= Either disease prevention or a proper strategy must be backed up properly
In Lesson 109, you saw how ~나 보다 can be used to indicate a guess:
수중에서 정박하려던 배가 조류 때문에 계속 떠내려가나 봐요
= It looks like the ship trying to anchor underwater is drifting because of the current
In Lesson 173, you saw how ~나 싶다 can also be used to indicate a wonder:
요점보다는 세부에 너무 집착하고 있나 싶다
= I wonder if we’re focusing too much on the fine details rather than the main point
As you can see, the second and third examples use ~(이)나, while the others use ~나. Surprisingly, none of these grammatical principles are ~(으)나, where ~으나 is added to things ending in a consonant (except ㄹ) and ~나 is added to things ending in a vowel (and ㄹ).
This lesson is about ~(으)나. ~(으)나 is added to verbs, adjectives and 이다 to indicate the content of the first clause and the content in the second clause are different from each other. For example:
배가 고프나 먹을 게 없어요
= Even though I’m hungry, there’s nothing to eat
You can also add ~(으)나 to ~았/었 to indicate that the first clause is in the past tense. For example:
열심히 공부했으나 시험을 망쳤어요
= Even though I studied hard, I failed the exam
Here, you can see that the expectation based on the first clause is contradicted, and that the second clause occurs. This often translates to “even though” and is very similar to adding ~지만 (Lesson 47). For example:
배가 고프지만 먹을 게 없어요
= Even though I’m hungry, there’s nothing to eat
열심히 공부했지만 시험을 망쳤어요
= Even though I studied hard, I failed the exam
~(으)나 isn’t as common as ~지만. ~(으)나 is often used in literature and has a bit of a philosophical feel. It is also common to see ~(으)나 in news sources like a newspaper or news television broadcasts. ~지만 is more conversational and neutral, whereas ~(으)나 often feels reflective, formal, or subdued, and is common in written narration or analysis.
Below are many more examples:
국이 뜨끈하나 맛은 밋밋해요
= The soup is hot, but the taste is bland
요점을 말하나 전달이 잘 안 돼요
= The main point is stated, but it isn’t communicated well
자료는 뒷받침하나 믿기 어려워요
= The data supports it, but it’s hard to believe
위험을 수반하나 포기할 수는 없어요
= It involves risk, but we can’t give up
세부사항은 다르나 전체 흐름은 같아요
= The details differ, but the overall flow is the same
요건은 갖췄으나 결과는 좋지 않았어요
= The requirements were met, but the result wasn’t good
가산점을 받았으나 순위는 변하지 않았어요
= Extra points were given, but the ranking didn’t change
That’s it for this lesson!