TOPIK II · LEVEL 4
-(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해
-(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해 contrasts two facts: 'whereas / while A, B'.
대조·양보Contrast & concessionHan: The pattern needs a real contrast; 'many men… also many women' isn't one.
Examples
이 제품은 가격이 싼 데 반해 품질이 좋다.This product is cheap, yet its quality is good.
형은 활발한 데 반해 동생은 조용한 편이다.Whereas the older brother is outgoing, the younger one is rather quiet.
도시 인구는 증가하는 데 반해 농촌 인구는 감소하고 있다.Whereas the urban population is growing, the rural population is shrinking.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해vs-지만-지만 is a general 'but'; -는 데 반해 is a formal side-by-side comparison, typical of reports.How to build it
V+는 데 반해
A+(으)ㄴ 데 반해
N+인 데 반해
늘다 → 느는 데 반해, 비싸다 → 비싼 데 반해
- Formal and written; common in TOPIK reading and writing (graph descriptions).
- Both clauses describe comparable facts, not cause and effect.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 남자는 많은 데 반해서 여자도 많다.
Right: 남자는 많은 데 반해 여자는 적다.
The pattern needs a real contrast; 'many men… also many women' isn't one.
Practise -(으)ㄴ/는 데 반해 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -(으)나-(으)나 is a formal written 'but / however', linking two contrasting clauses.
- -(으)되-(으)되 states or allows a first action and then adds a condition or limit to it, in a formal or written style.
- -(으)ㄹ 게 아니라Use it to say that doing X is not the right move, so you should do Y instead: "rather than doing X, do Y."
- -(으)ㄴ/는 데 비해Says that the second fact is more or less than what the first fact would lead you to expect: 'considering that…', 'compared with the fact that…'.
- -(으)ㄴ/는 데도 불구하고Use it to say that something happened or is true despite a real fact that should have prevented it, which makes the result surprising.
- -(으)ㄴ들-(으)ㄴ들 means "even if (it happens), it changes nothing," and it usually leads into a negative statement or a rhetorical question.
- -(느)ㄴ다고 해도-(느)ㄴ다고 해도 means 'even if (it is the case that) …', conceding a point before saying it doesn't change things.
- -(으)ㅁ에도 불구하고-(으)ㅁ에도 불구하고 states a real fact and says the result happened despite it, against what you would expect.
- -는 한편-는 한편 links two parallel actions or two sides of one situation: 'while doing X, (the subject) also does Y' or 'X is true; on the other hand, Y is true too'.