naneun neomu dan eumryoboda jogeum deol dan chareul deo johahae.

I prefer tea that is a little less sweet to drinks that are too sweet.

Breakdown of naneun neomu dan eumryoboda jogeum deol dan chareul deo johahae.

• ~를: object particle
• ~는: topic particle
• 나: I
• 좋아하다: to like

Questions & Answers about naneun neomu dan eumryoboda jogeum deol dan chareul deo johahae.

Why is it 단 음료 and 덜 단 차 instead of 달다 음료 or 달은 차?

The dictionary form is 달다, which means to be sweet.

In Korean, when an adjective/descriptive verb comes directly before a noun, it changes form. Here, 달다 becomes 단 before a noun:

• 단 음료 = sweet beverage
• 단 차 = sweet tea

This happens because 달다 has a stem ending in ㄹ, and when that form changes to modify a noun, the ㄹ drops before -ㄴ:

• 달다 → 단

So 달은 차 is not the correct form here. 단 차 is.

How does 보다 work in this sentence?

보다 means than in comparisons.

A very common Korean pattern is:

A보다 B를 더 좋아해
= I like B more than A
= I prefer B to A

In this sentence:

• 너무 단 음료보다 = than overly sweet drinks
• 조금 덜 단 차를 더 좋아해 = like slightly less sweet tea more

So the whole structure is:

[thing compared against] + 보다 + [thing you prefer] + 를 + 더 좋아해

Why is 더 still there if 보다 already shows a comparison?