-(으)ㄹ망정 Grammar in Korean: Meaning and How to Use It

What you'll learn

• Attach -(으)ㄹ망정 to verbs, adjectives and 이다.
• See why the ending feels solemn and literary.
• Use the past form -았/었을망정.
• Choose between -(으)ㄹ망정, -느니 (차라리) and -(으)ㄹ지라도.

Prerequisites: the modifier ending -(으)ㄹ and the plain style -다. The sister page -느니 (차라리) is a helpful warm-up. Time: about 15 minutes.

Key facts

• -(으)ㄹ망정 admits a bad or costly option, then refuses something worse.
• The form is stem + ㄹ망정 or 을망정, like the future modifier -(으)ㄹ.
• A tense marker goes before it: 졌을망정 ("even if I lost").
• The main clause is usually a firm statement or a vow.
• It is literary. You will read it more often than you will hear it.

Listen to two model sentences.

The next section defines the pattern.

What Does -(으)ㄹ망정 Grammar Mean?

-(으)ㄹ망정 means "even if" or "even though, I would still". A connective ending is a word ending that joins one clause to the next. -(으)ㄹ망정 is a connective ending with a special job: the first clause names something unpleasant that the speaker accepts, and the second clause says what the speaker will not give up.

The grammar has a clear shape. Part one is a cost: starving, losing money, being poor. Part two is a principle: keeping a promise, staying honest, not stealing. The speaker says, "I will pay the cost. I will not give up the principle."

Both sentences end in -겠다, a plain-style ending of strong resolve. This is typical. The plain style -다 is the style of books, diaries, inner thoughts and solemn declarations, and -(으)ㄹ망정 fits that world.

The ending also has a second, softer use. It can simply admit a drawback and then show that something good remains: 가난할망정 마음만은 부자였다 means "Poor though we were, we were rich at heart." Here nothing is refused; a contrast is drawn. Both uses share one idea: the first clause is a hardship the speaker concedes.

The next section shows how to build the form.

How Do You Form -(으)ㄹ망정?

Remove 다 from the dictionary form to get the stem. The stem is the verb or adjective without its dictionary ending -다. Then use the same rule as the future modifier -(으)ㄹ: add ㄹ망정 after a vowel or after ㄹ, and 을망정 after any other consonant.

The consonant at the end of the stem moves to the next syllable in speech, so 먹을망정 sounds like [머글망정] and 굶을망정 like [굴믈망정]. Revised Romanization (RR) spells such words as they are heard, so it writes meogeulmangjeong. Nothing is tensed before 망정, so the spoken form matches the spelling apart from the moved consonant.

Stems Ending in a Vowel or ㄹ

Vowel stems take ㄹ directly: 가 + ㄹ망정 = 갈망정. A stem that already ends in ㄹ keeps it and adds nothing: 살망정, 만들망정. This is the same pattern as the future modifier 살 (as in 살 거예요).

Stems Ending in Another Consonant

Other consonants take 을: 먹을망정, 굶을망정, 좋을망정. Using the helping vowel 으 is the main way this ending differs from simple endings such as -고 or -건만.

Irregular Stems

Irregular stems change as they do before -(으)ㄹ 거예요, because ㄹ망정 starts from the same ㄹ.

Nouns with 이다

For nouns, use 이다 ("to be"). It becomes 일망정: 학생일망정 ("even if he is a student") and 부자일망정 ("even if he is rich"). The negative 아니다 becomes 아닐망정. Unlike 예요, the 이 of 이다 does not shorten after a vowel here: 의사일망정.

A Variant: -(으)ㄹ지언정

The ending -(으)ㄹ지언정 means the same. Replace 망정 with 지언정: 굶을지언정 [굴믈찌언정]. Both are literary. Pick one and you will be understood.

The next section builds a full sentence.

Worked Example: Building 비록 졌을망정 부끄러운 경기는 아니었다

Say "Even though we lost, it was not a shameful match." Follow five steps.

1. Write the concession. The loss is the accepted cost. "To lose" is 지다, and its past stem is 졌.
2. Add 을망정. The stem 졌 ends in a consonant (ㅆ), so use 을망정: 졌을망정. The word 비록 ("although") can go first to make the concession clear.
3. Write the main clause. "It was not a shameful match" is 부끄러운 경기는 아니었다. The negative 아니다 in the past is 아니었다.
4. Check the subject. Both clauses speak about the same match, so the sentence reads naturally.
5. Join. 비록 졌을망정 부끄러운 경기는 아니었다.

You'll know it worked when the first verb ends in 을망정 with nothing after it, and the plain ending -다 appears once, at the end. Try the same steps with "Even if we are poor, we are honest": 가난하다 gives 가난할망정, and the main clause is simply 정직하다: 가난할망정 정직하다.

The next section covers tense and sentence types.

Which Tenses and Sentence Types Work with -(으)ㄹ망정?

Korean puts the tense marker between the stem and the ending. For -(으)ㄹ망정, a past marker is possible, because the ending looks at a finished event as a cost the speaker accepted.

The most natural main clauses are firm statements and vows. Commands and suggestions are very rare after -(으)ㄹ망정. The reason is the feeling: the ending reports what the speaker will do, not what the listener should do.

For a finished event, put 았/었 before the ending. 실패했을망정 후회는 없다 means "Even if I failed, I have no regrets." The speaker does not hide the failure. Failure is the accepted cost.

The subject can differ between the two clauses, but in practice most sentences share one subject, because a vow is personal.

The next section compares -(으)ㄹ망정 with its neighbours.

How Is -(으)ㄹ망정 Different from -느니 (차라리) and -(으)ㄹ지라도?

All three can be translated with "rather" or "even if". The difference is which option the sentence stresses.

Look at the first two rows. They describe one idea from two sides. With -(으)ㄹ망정 the speaker starts with the cost: 굶을망정 ... The refusal comes second. With -느니 (차라리) the speaker starts with the rejected action: 남의 것을 먹느니 ... The chosen action comes second. The word 차라리 ("rather") belongs to -느니 and points to the better option.

The ending -(으)ㄹ지라도 is a close cousin. It is a broad, formal "even if" that can follow any imagined case, and it needs no sense of a cost or a refusal. In ordinary conversation, the everyday "even if" is -아/어도, as in -아/어도. The firm, determined version is -더라도. Compare 힘들어도 끝까지 해 볼게요 (plain "even if it is hard") with 굶을망정 ... (a solemn vow).

The next section covers helper words and edge cases.

Variations and Edge Cases of -(으)ㄹ망정

Helper Words: 비록, 설령, 차라리

Writers like to put a helper word before the ending. 비록 ("although") makes the concession clear: 비록 가난할망정 마음만은 부자였다. 설령 and 설사 ("even supposing") mark an imagined cost. These words are optional, but they make the sentence sound more complete.

A Topic Marker in the Main Clause

The main clause often contains 은/는 to mark a contrast: 약속은 지키겠다, 남의 것은 안 먹겠다. The particle 은/는 sets "the promise" or "someone else's property" against everything else the speaker is willing to give up.

Plain Style, Not Polite

Because the ending is literary, the sentence usually closes in the plain style -다 (먹겠다, 아니었다) or the formal -ㅂ니다 style (지키겠습니다). You can add 요 for a softer sound, but the result feels stiff.

Reading Tip

When you see 망정 in a text, look for the pair of ideas: a cost and a refusal, or a hardship and a surviving good. Then read the main clause as the speaker's real point. Often the first clause is the less important one.

The next section lists the mistakes that appear most often.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with -(으)ㄹ망정?

Learners make six predictable mistakes. Each has a reason and a fix.

Learners often use -(으)ㄹ망정 for an ordinary reason. Actually the ending needs a cost and a contrast. Wrong: 맛있을망정 많이 먹었어요. Right: 맛있어서 많이 먹었어요. Fix: if the first clause is simply the reason, use -아/어서.

Learners often forget the ㄹ. Actually the ending is built on the modifier -(으)ㄹ. Wrong: 먹는망정 and 먹은망정. Right: 먹을망정. Fix: always use ㄹ or 을, never -는 or -(으)ㄴ.

Learners often leave a space before 망정. Actually 망정 is a part of the ending, not a separate noun. Wrong: 굶을 망정. Right: 굶을망정. Fix: write it as one word.

Learners often use it in chat. Actually it is literary. A friend who hears 굶을망정 will smile at how solemn it sounds. Fix: use -아/어도 or -지만 in daily speech.

Learners often mix it with -느니 (차라리). Actually the order of ideas is reversed. Wrong: 굶을망정 차라리 남의 것을 먹겠다. Right: 굶을망정 남의 것은 안 먹겠다, or 남의 것을 먹느니 차라리 굶겠다. Fix: use 차라리 with -느니 only.

Learners often put 요 inside the ending. Wrong: 굶어요망정. Right: 굶을망정. Fix: attach the ending to the bare stem, and use the polite 요 only on the final verb, if at all.

The next section gives you practice.

Practice and Answers

Do the four tasks, then compare with the key.

Task 1: join the sentences with -(으)ㄹ망정. Write one sentence for each pair.

1. 가난해요. / 정직하게 살겠다.
2. 손해를 봐요. / 약속은 지키겠다.
3. 몸이 고달파요. / 마음은 편하다.
4. 죽어요. / 거짓말은 하지 않겠다.

Task 2: fix the error. Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. 굶는망정 남의 것은 안 먹겠다.
2. 굶을 망정 도둑질은 하지 않겠다.
3. 맛있을망정 많이 먹었어요.

Task 3: translate. Write in Korean: "Even if I fail, I will try again." and "Even if we lost, we have no regrets."

Task 4: write your own. Write one vow with 비록 and -(으)ㄹ망정, and one sentence that contrasts hardship with something good.

Answer key

1. (1) 가난할망정 정직하게 살겠다. (2) 손해를 볼망정 약속은 지키겠다. (3) 몸이 고달플망정 마음은 편하다. (4) 죽을망정 거짓말은 하지 않겠다.
2. (1) 굶을망정 남의 것은 안 먹겠다. (2) 굶을망정 도둑질은 하지 않겠다. (3) 맛있어서 많이 먹었어요.
3. 실패할망정 다시 해 보겠다. 졌을망정 후회는 없다. Other correct versions exist, for example 실패하더라도 다시 해 볼게요 in a spoken setting.
4. Sample answers: 비록 가난할망정 정직하게 살겠다. 몸은 힘들망정 마음은 즐겁다. Any pair is correct if the first verb ends in (으)ㄹ망정 and the rest follows.

If task 1 was correct, you have the formation rule. If task 2 was hard, check whether you used -는, left a space or used the ending for a plain reason. The next section points you to what comes after this lesson.

What Should You Learn after -(으)ㄹ망정 Grammar?

After -(으)ㄹ망정, learn -느니 (차라리) for the "rather than" idea, then -더라도 for a firm everyday "even if". If you have not yet studied the neutral partner, go back to -아/어도. For a similar written contrast, see -건만.

For a wider view, the parent page Contrast and Concession lists every connector in this group. To plan by level, use Advanced Grammar.

A note on level. This site places -(으)ㄹ망정 at C1. That is an editorial estimate based on how advanced textbooks usually order grammar, not an official list. For official exam information, check topik.go.kr.

This lesson covers -(으)ㄹ망정 in the plain and formal styles. It does not cover every written variation. About this page. Last updated 2026-10-09. Revised Romanization follows the national rules and is shown only as a learning aid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does -(으)ㄹ망정 Mean?

-(으)ㄹ망정 means 'even if' or 'I may do X, but I will not do Y'. The speaker admits a bad option and then refuses something worse. 굶을망정 남의 것은 안 먹겠다 means 'I may starve, but I will not eat what belongs to someone else.' It sounds firm, serious and literary.

How Do You Attach -(으)ㄹ망정?

Remove 다 to get the stem and add ㄹ망정 after a vowel or ㄹ, or 을망정 after another consonant. 가다 becomes 갈망정, 먹다 becomes 먹을망정 and 살다 becomes 살망정. Irregular verbs follow the same rule as -(으)ㄹ 거예요: 춥다 becomes 추울망정 and 듣다 becomes 들을망정. 이다 becomes 일망정.

Is -(으)ㄹ망정 the Same as -(으)ㄹ지라도?

They overlap, but the feeling differs. -(으)ㄹ지라도 is a general, emphatic 'even if' for any imagined case. -(으)ㄹ망정 usually admits a real cost or a bad option and then states what the speaker will not give up. 굶을망정 fits that pattern; -(으)ㄹ지언정 is another variant of the same ending.

Can -(으)ㄹ망정 Be Used in Everyday Conversation?

Rarely. Korean readers meet it mostly in novels, essays, speeches, news commentary and drama lines with a solemn tone. In daily talk people use -아/어도 for a plain 'even if' and -지만 for 'but'. Learn -(으)ㄹ망정 for reading and for a strong vow, not for chat.

What Is the Difference between -(으)ㄹ망정 and -느니 (차라리)?

-느니 (차라리) picks the second option as the better one: 남의 것을 먹느니 차라리 굶겠다, 'rather than eat what is not mine, I would starve.' -(으)ㄹ망정 accepts the bad option first and then refuses the other: 굶을망정 남의 것은 안 먹겠다. The meaning is close, but the word order and focus differ.

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