Word
하지만 오늘은 주말이라 예약을 취소 못 해요.hajiman oneureun jumarira yeyageul chwiso mos haeyo.
Meaning
But since today is the weekend, I can’t cancel the reservation.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
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Questions & Answers about hajiman oneureun jumarira yeyageul chwiso mos haeyo.
What does 하지만 mean here, and how is it used?
하지만 means “but” or “however.” It’s a conjunction placed at the beginning of a sentence to introduce a contrast or exception to what was said before. Compared to 그런데, 하지만 sounds a bit stronger or more emphatic, but both are interchangeable in many contexts.
Why is 오늘은 marked with -은? Could it be 오늘는?
Korean has two topic markers: -은 after a consonant, -는 after a vowel. Since 오늘 ends in the consonant ㄹ, you attach -은, giving 오늘은 (“as for today”). There is no 오늘는; you must use 오늘은.
What’s the function of -이라 in 주말이라? Could I use another ending?
Here -이라 is a contraction of -이어서 or -이니까, meaning “because it’s the weekend.” It links the noun 주말 to the reason clause. Alternatives include:
• 주말이어서 예약을 취소 못 해요.
• 주말이니까 예약을 취소 못 해요.
All three convey the same “since it’s the weekend.”
Why is it 예약을 취소 못 해요 rather than 못 취소해요 or 취소를 못 해요?