4 · The written style
Linking in writing: -(으)며 and -고
the written “and” and “while”
-(으)며 joins clauses in writing, both as “and” and as “while”; written texts alternate it with -고.
Spoken Korean joins two facts with -고 and two simultaneous actions with -(으)면서. Written Korean has a single, more formal ending that does both: -(으)며. After a vowel or l it is -며 (가며, 만들며), after another consonant -으며 (먹으며, 깊으며). After a noun it is 이며: 의사이며.
As “and”, -(으)며 lists facts about the same thing or two events in a row: 이 도시는 역사가 깊으며 문화유산이 많다, “this city has a long history and many cultural sites”. Like -고, it can carry the past itself: 회의는 열 시에 시작되었으며 두 시에 끝났다.
As “while”, it describes two actions of the same person at the same time, exactly like -(으)면서: 아이들은 노래를 부르며 길을 걸었다, “the children walked along the road singing”. Which meaning is meant is usually clear from the verbs.
Written texts alternate -고 and -(으)며 so that the same ending does not appear three times in one sentence. Irregular verbs change before -으며 just as they do before -으면: 듣다 → 들으며, 돕다 → 도우며, 짓다 → 지으며. In speech the ending sounds like a documentary voice-over; there, -고 and -(으)면서 are the normal choices.
The form
| after a vowel | 가다 → 가며 |
| stem ending in l | 만들다 → 만들며 |
| after a consonant | 먹다 → 먹으며 |
| irregular verb | 듣다 → 들으며 |
| with the past | 시작되었으며 |
| after a noun | 의사이며 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
After a vowel or l use -며; after another consonant, -으며.
이 도시는 역사가 깊으며 문화유산이 많다.This city has a long history and many cultural sites.
As “and” it is the written counterpart of -고, and it may carry the past.
회의는 오전 열 시에 시작되었으며 오후 두 시에 끝났다.The meeting began at ten in the morning and ended at two in the afternoon.
As “while” it is the written counterpart of -(으)면서: one subject, two actions at once.
아이들은 노래를 부르며 길을 걸었다.The children walked along the road singing.
After a noun it is 이며.
그는 의사이며 작가이다.He is a doctor and a writer.
A closer look
Why writers alternate
A Korean sentence in an article may run to four or five clauses, each ending in a linking form. Repeating -고 every time sounds monotonous, so writers vary it: -고, then -(으)며, then perhaps -아/어. The meaning hardly changes; the rhythm does.
-(으)며 survives in a few spoken set phrases, where it sounds old-fashioned rather than formal. The proverb 울며 겨자 먹기, “eating mustard while crying”, describes doing something unpleasant because you have no choice.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the stem ends in l
no 으 is added and the l stays: 만들며, 살며, 놀며.
그 부부는 작은 마을에서 빵을 만들며 산다.The couple live in a small village, making bread.
Here l behaves like a vowel, as it does before -면 and -러. Unlike in 산다, it does not drop, because -며 does not begin with n.
How to spot it
- -며
- -으며
- 이며
- -고
- -았/었으며
Example sentences
그녀는 창밖을 바라보며 커피를 마셨다.She drank her coffee looking out of the window.
이 제품은 가볍고 튼튼하다.This product is light and sturdy.
한국어는 주어를 자주 생략하며 동사가 문장의 맨 뒤에 온다.Korean often leaves out the subject, and the verb comes at the end of the sentence.
그 학생은 낮에는 일하고 밤에는 공부한다.That student works by day and studies at night.
우리는 서로 도우며 살아야 한다.We must live helping one another.
그는 눈물을 흘리며 이야기를 했다.He told the story with tears running down his face.
8 more example sentences
할머니는 옛날이야기를 들려주시며 웃으셨다.Grandmother laughed as she told us old stories.
이 공원은 넓으며 산책로가 잘 만들어져 있다.This park is large and has well-made paths.
참가자는 모두 서른 명이었으며 대부분 대학생이었다.There were thirty participants, most of them university students.
이 식물은 물을 많이 필요로 하지 않으며 그늘에서도 잘 자란다.This plant does not need much water and grows well even in the shade.
그는 시골에서 집을 지으며 조용히 살고 있다.He lives quietly in the country, building houses.
바다는 맑고 모래는 희다.The sea is clear and the sand is white.
그 영화는 감동적이며 배우들의 연기도 뛰어나다.The film is moving, and the acting is excellent too.
학생들은 선생님의 설명을 들으며 열심히 메모했다.The students took careful notes as they listened to the teacher.
Worth knowing (1)
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Two titles at once: 이자
After a noun, 이자 is a close relative of 이며 that says one person or thing is two things at the same time: 의사이자 작가, “a doctor and writer”. It is common in introductions and biographies.
그는 이 회사의 대표이자 창립자이다.He is the head of this company and its founder.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
듣다 is a verb whose final consonant changes to l before a vowel, and -으며 begins with one. So it becomes 들으며, just as it becomes 들어요 and 들으면. A new ending does not switch the irregularity off.
-(eu)myeo is the written -go and the written -(eu)myeonseo in one.
Your turn
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