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Grammar / Level 2 / Lesson 49

~(으)면서: at the same time

By Daniel Buckley · 10 minute read · TOPIK 2

Vocabulary

  1. 이야기하다 - to talk
  2. 웃다 - to laugh, to smile
  3. 운전하다 - to drive
  4. 다니다 - to attend, to go to regularly
  5. 싸다 - to be cheap
  6. 작가 - writer
  7. 알다 - to know
  8. 맑다 - to be clear (weather)
  9. 청소하다 - to clean
  10. 신문 - newspaper

Lunch in one hand, phone in the other. 밥을 먹으면서 휴대폰을 봐요 says exactly that, and it's the first thing this ending does: one person, two things, the same stretch of time.

~(으)면서 hangs the first activity on the second. The clause at the end is the main one, and it holds the tense and any command. From there the ending spreads to two facts that are both true, and with 도 added, to two facts that shouldn't both be true.

Building the form

This has the same 으 slot as (으)면, so if you can build one you can build the other. Consonant stems take 으, and vowel stems and ㄹ stems don't. ㄷ and ㅂ irregulars change as they always do before 으.

Making the ~(으)면서 form

  • After a vowel or ㄹ: add 면서.가다 → 가면서살다 → 살면서
  • After a consonant: add 으면서.먹다 → 먹으면서듣다 → 들으면서
  • Nouns: add 이면서. After a vowel, the 이 is often dropped.학생 → 학생이면서가수 → 가수면서

Pick a verb

먹다먹먹으면서

Two things at once

  1. 음악을 들으면서 공부해요.

    (I) study while listening to music.

  2. 커피를 마시면서 이야기했어요.

    (We) talked while drinking coffee.

  3. 밥을 먹으면서 신문을 읽어요.

    (I) read newspaper while eating.

  4. 친구가 웃으면서 말했어요.

    Friend said (it) while smiling.

  5. 회사에 다니면서 한국어를 배워요.

    (I) learn Korean while working at company.

  6. 운전하면서 전화하지 마세요.

    While driving, don't phone.

Example 2 is in the past, but 마시면서 has no 았/었 in it. For two things at the same time, 았/었 stays off 면서. The end of the sentence sets the tense, and it covers both clauses.

Example 5 shows that the two things don't need to happen in the same moment. Having a job and learning Korean run alongside each other for months, and that's enough. The same goes for two changes that move together.

  1. 봄이 되면서 날씨가 따뜻해졌어요.

    As spring came, weather got warm.

  2. 날씨가 더워지면서 손님이 많아졌어요.

    As weather got hot, customers became many.

When two actions run together, one person has to be doing both. If two people are doing different things, 면서 can't join them, and you need 는 동안. The spring example is no exception, since nobody is doing anything there: it's two changes.

  1. 저는 요리하면서 음악을 들었어요.

    I listened to music while cooking.

  2. 제가 요리하는 동안 친구가 청소했어요.

    While I cooked, friend cleaned.

※ Here are three ways to connect two actions side by side. ~고 puts one after the other, ~다가 switches from one to the other, and ~(으)면서 keeps both going.

  1. 음악을 ___ 공부해요.

    I study with music on.

  2. 아침을 ___ 학교에 가요.

    I have breakfast, then I go to school.

  3. 밥을 ___ 전화를 받았어요.

    I broke off eating to answer the phone.

  4. 제가 ___ 친구가 청소했어요.

    While I cooked, my friend cleaned.

Two facts at once

On adjectives and nouns, nothing is happening, so 면서 says that two things are true of the same person or thing at the same time. English says "and", or "both". To me, 면서 stresses that you get the two together in a way ~고 doesn't.

  1. 이 식당은 싸면서 맛있어요.

    This restaurant is cheap and at the same time delicious.

  2. 이 책은 쉬우면서 재미있어요.

    This book is easy and at the same time fun.

  3. 제 친구는 선생님이면서 작가예요.

    My friend is teacher and at the same time writer.

~면서도: and yet

Add 도, the "even" from ~아/어도, and the two things no longer sit comfortably together. You'd expect the first to rule out the second, and yet both are true. English needs "even though".

  1. 알면서도 말을 안 했어요.

    Even though (I) knew, (I) didn't say.

  2. 이 식당은 비싸면서도 맛이 없어요.

    This restaurant, even though expensive, isn't tasty.

  3. 돈이 없으면서도 비싼 옷을 사요.

    Even though (they) have no money, (they) buy expensive clothes.

  4. 미안하면서도 고마워요.

    (I) feel sorry, and yet (I) feel grateful.

Plain 면서 can do this too, usually to complain. Here the past is allowed, because it no longer means "at the same time". 알면서 왜 물어봐요?, why ask when you know? 아까 먹었으면서 또 먹어요?, you ate a while ago and you're eating again?

Sort these by what ~면서 is doing.

  1. 밥을 먹으면서 신문을 읽어요.

  2. 이 책은 쉬우면서 재미있어요.

  3. 알면서도 말을 안 했어요.

  4. 운전하면서 음악을 들어요.

  5. 제 친구는 선생님이면서 작가예요.

  6. 비싸면서도 맛이 없어요.

Listen and type

1 / 3

Play it as often as you like.

~(으)며: the written version

(으)며 is built the same way, and it's mostly what you'll read in newspapers and hear on the news. It has the same "at the same time" job as 면서. It also has a second job as a formal "and", listing facts much as ~고 does, and here the subjects can differ.

  1. 아이들이 노래를 부르며 걸어갑니다.

    Children walk along while singing songs.

  2. 이 식당은 음식이 맛있으며 가격도 쌉니다.

    This restaurant's food is delicious, and price is also cheap.

  3. 형은 의사이며 동생은 교사입니다.

    Older brother is doctor, and younger brother is teacher.

  4. 오늘은 날씨가 맑겠으며 낮에는 따뜻하겠습니다.

    Today weather will be clear, and in daytime will be warm.

Example 4 sounds like a weather forecast, and it shows 겠 sitting before 며. You'll need to recognise it more than use it for now. In conversation, I'd stick to 면서 for "while" and ~고 for "and".

Common mistakes

  1. 커피를 마셨으면서 이야기했어요.

    커피를 마시면서 이야기했어요.

    For two things at the same time, 았/었 stays off 면서. 이야기했어요 sets the tense for both.

  2. 제가 요리하면서 친구가 청소했어요.

    제가 요리하는 동안 친구가 청소했어요.

    면서 joins two actions by one person. Two people need 는 동안.

  3. 음악을 듣으면서 공부해요.

    음악을 들으면서 공부해요.

    듣다 is ㄷ irregular, so ㄷ becomes ㄹ before 으.

Check yourself

Quick check

1 / 6

음악을 ___ 공부해요. (듣다) I study while listening to music.

듣다 is ㄷ irregular.

Summary

~(으)면서 forms
DictionaryStem~(으)면서
먹다먹먹으면서
가다가가면서
살다살살면서
듣다듣들으면서
춥다춥추우면서
하다하하면서

The rest of the family

  • ~면서도: even though, with a clash between the two.알면서도비싸면서도
  • ~(으)며: written Korean, for "while" or a formal "and".부르며맛있으며

Now you can say

  1. 음악을 들으면서 공부해요.

    (I) study while listening to music.

  2. 이 식당은 싸면서 맛있어요.

    This restaurant is cheap and at the same time delicious.

  3. 알면서도 말을 안 했어요.

    Even though (I) knew, (I) didn't say.

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