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TOPIK II · LEVEL 3

-(으)ㄴ/는 대신(에)

-(으)ㄴ/는 대신(에) means 'instead of' (replacement) or 'in exchange for / but on the other hand' (trade-off).

대조·양보Contrast & concession

Han: With a noun, 대신 attaches directly without 을/를.

Examples

이 집은 좁은 대신 역에서 가까워요.This house is small, but on the other hand it's close to the station.
커피 대신 차를 마실게요.I'll have tea instead of coffee.
오늘은 요리하는 대신 배달을 시켰어요.Instead of cooking today, I ordered delivery.

Don’t mix up

-(으)ㄴ/는 대신(에)vs-지만-지만 is a simple contrast; 대신 implies the good point balances the bad one: 좁지만 vs 좁은 대신 (it makes up for it).

How to build it

V+는 대신
A+(으)ㄴ 대신
N+대신

가다 → 가는 대신, 비싸다 → 비싼 대신, 커피 → 커피 대신

  1. With nouns use N 대신(에) directly: 밥 대신 빵.
  2. Past action: -(으)ㄴ 대신 (도와준 대신 'since you helped me, in return').

Classic mistake

Wrong: 밥을 대신 빵을 먹었어요.

Right: 밥 대신 빵을 먹었어요.

With a noun, 대신 attaches directly without 을/를.

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More level 3 grammar

All TOPIK grammar