TOPIK II · LEVEL 3
-(으)며
-(으)며 is a formal, written 'and' (listing) or 'while' (two actions at once).
시간·순서Time & sequenceHan: Before 며, the ㄹ of a ㄹ-stem stays.
Examples
이 도시는 교통이 편리하며 물가도 싸다.This city has convenient transport, and prices are low too.
김 교수는 학자이며 작가이다.Professor Kim is a scholar and a writer.
그는 음악을 들으며 산책을 했다.He took a walk while listening to music.
Don’t mix up
-(으)며vs-고-고 is the everyday 'and'; -(으)며 has the same meaning in a formal, written style.How to build it
V/A(vowel or ㄹ)+며
V/A(consonant)+으며
N+(이)며
크다 → 크며, 넓다 → 넓으며, 만들다 → 만들며
- Common in news, essays and TOPIK reading; in speech -고 or -(으)면서 is usual.
- ㄹ-stems keep ㄹ: 살다 → 살며, 만들다 → 만들며.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 만들다 → 만드며
Right: 만들다 → 만들며
Before 며, the ㄹ of a ㄹ-stem stays.
Practise -(으)며 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)ㄴ 채(로)-(으)ㄴ 채(로) means doing something while a previous state is still kept: 'with … still on / still …ing'.
- -(으)ㄴ 다음에'After doing A, B': the second event follows the first. It means the same as -(으)ㄴ 후에 / -(으)ㄴ 뒤에 but sounds more conversational.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 김에Use it when you take the chance of doing one thing to also do another thing: 'while I'm at it, I'll also…'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 대로Shows that an action is done exactly the way something was said, done, seen or planned.
- -고 나다Marks that an action has been fully completed before what follows; used in -고 나면 'once A is done', -고 나니(까) 'after A, (I found)…' and -고 난 후/뒤/다음에.
- -고 나서-고 나서 means "after (fully) finishing A, then B" and stresses that the first action is completed before the next begins.
- -는 길에-는 길에 means 'on the way to / while going somewhere': doing B along the way.
- -는 동안-는 동안 marks the whole stretch of time an action lasts, during which something else happens or continues.
- -는 사이에-는 사이에 means 'while (A is going on), B happened' — often B happens without the subject noticing.