Not Only... But Also in Korean

In Brief

Use -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 when one fact is not the whole story and you want to add another: 예쁠 뿐만 아니라 똑똑해요 means “She is not only pretty but also smart.” With a noun, use noun + 뿐만 아니라, often followed by 도 on the added item. Use -기도 하다 for a less emphatic “also,” for “both A and B,” or—when the context supports it—“sometimes.”

Overview

At B1, it becomes useful to do more than join two statements with -고 (“and”). Korean offers several ways to present a second fact as an addition. -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 explicitly says that the first fact is not the limit: there is another relevant fact too. It often corresponds to English “not only A but also B,” although Korean does not require a separate word matching English but.

-기도 하다 adds information more gently. Here -기 makes a verb noun-like (it treats an action or state as a “thing”), and 도 means “also” or “too.” Depending on how it is used, the result can mean “also does,” “is both A and B,” or “does sometimes.” Context—not the form alone—decides which English wording sounds best.

These patterns work with action verbs such as 먹다 (“to eat”) and Korean descriptive verbs such as 예쁘다 (“to be pretty”). A descriptive verb expresses a quality but changes form like a verb; this is why Korean does not add a separate word for “is” in 예뻐요.

How It Works

Verb or descriptive verb + -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라

Begin with the stem (the dictionary form without -다) and choose the form according to its final sound.

Stem ending	Formation	Example
Vowel	stem + -ㄹ 뿐만 아니라	가다 → 갈 뿐만 아니라
Consonant other than ㄹ	stem + -을 뿐만 아니라	먹다 → 먹을 뿐만 아니라
ㄹ	stem + -뿐만 아니라	만들다 → 만들 뿐만 아니라
하다	할 뿐만 아니라	공부하다 → 공부할 뿐만 아니라

The -(으)ㄹ here resembles the form often used for future meaning, but the construction itself does not necessarily refer to the future. In 예쁠 뿐만 아니라 친절해요, both qualities are true now. Treat -(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 as one grammar pattern rather than translating each piece separately.

The first clause normally remains unfinished, and politeness or sentence type is shown at the end of the second clause:

• 이 식당은 음식이 맛있을 뿐만 아니라 서비스도 좋아요. This restaurant not only has delicious food but also has good service.
• 그분은 한국어를 잘할 뿐만 아니라 중국어도 할 수 있어요. That person not only speaks Korean well but can also speak Chinese.

For a completed past situation, past marking may appear before the pattern:

• 그 영화는 재미있었을 뿐만 아니라 감동적이었어요. The film was not only entertaining but also moving.

Noun + 뿐만 아니라

After a noun, attach 뿐만 아니라 directly; do not add 이다 merely to build this pattern.

Structure	Example	Meaning
noun + 뿐만 아니라	한국어뿐만 아니라	not only Korean
first noun + 뿐만 아니라 + second noun + 도	한국어뿐만 아니라 일본어도	not only Korean but Japanese too
place + 뿐만 아니라 + place + particle + 도	서울뿐만 아니라 부산에도	not only in/to Seoul but in/to Busan too

The second item often carries 도. If another particle is needed, its position depends on the particle. 에 and 에서 can combine before 도: 부산에도, 학교에서도. Subject and object markers are usually replaced by 도: 친구도 rather than 친구가도, and 책도 rather than 책을도.

Verb or descriptive verb + -기도 하다

Attach -기도 하다 to the stem:

Dictionary form	Formation	Polite form
가다 (to go)	가 + 기도 하다	가기도 해요
먹다 (to eat)	먹 + 기도 하다	먹기도 해요
바쁘다 (to be busy)	바쁘 + 기도 하다	바쁘기도 해요
공부하다 (to study)	공부하 + 기도 하다	공부하기도 해요

Conjugate the final 하다, not the verb before -기:

• present: 읽기도 해요 — also reads / sometimes reads
• past: 읽기도 했어요 — also read / sometimes read
• conjecture or future: 읽기도 할 거예요 — will also read / may read sometimes

Two -기도 하다 forms: both A and B

Repeat the pattern to present two coexisting or contrasting qualities and actions:

A-기도 하고 B-기도 하다

• 슬프기도 하고 기쁘기도 해요. I feel both sad and happy.
• 주말에는 쉬기도 하고 친구를 만나기도 해요. On weekends I sometimes rest and sometimes meet friends.

The connector is normally 하고 after the first -기도 하다 form. Only the final 하다 needs the full polite ending.

“Also” or “sometimes”?

A single -기도 하다 does not automatically mean “sometimes.” It highlights an action or state as one possibility or one additional fact.

• 민수는 작가이지만 번역을 하기도 해요. — Minsu is a writer, but he also does translation.
• 비가 오는 날에는 택시를 타기도 해요. — On rainy days, I sometimes take a taxi.

In the second sentence, the limited situation 비가 오는 날에는 makes an occasional reading natural. Adverbs such as 가끔 (“sometimes”) make it explicit: 가끔 요리하기도 해요.

Examples in Context

Korean	English	Note
예쁠 뿐만 아니라 똑똑해요.	She is not only pretty but also smart.	Two present qualities
한국어뿐만 아니라 일본어도 해요.	I speak not only Korean but also Japanese.	Nouns; 도 marks the addition
이 가방은 가벼울 뿐만 아니라 튼튼해요.	This bag is not only light but also sturdy.	Descriptive verbs
형은 요리를 잘할 뿐만 아니라 설거지도 자주 해요.	My older brother not only cooks well but also often does the dishes.	Two related actions
가격뿐만 아니라 위치도 중요해요.	Not only the price but also the location is important.	Noun pattern
서울뿐만 아니라 부산에도 갔어요.	I went not only to Seoul but also to Busan.	에 + 도 becomes 에도
그 강의는 유익했을 뿐만 아니라 재미있었어요.	The lecture was not only useful but also interesting.	Completed past situation
이 앱은 사용하기 쉬울 뿐만 아니라 무료예요.	This app is not only easy to use but also free.	Clause followed by a noun predicate
슬프기도 하고 기쁘기도 해요.	I feel both sad and happy.	Coexisting contrasting emotions
이 동네는 조용하기도 하고 교통도 편리해요.	This neighborhood is quiet, and its transport is convenient too.	-기도 하다 plus a 도 phrase
저는 아침에 커피를 마시기도 하고 차를 마시기도 해요.	In the morning, I drink both coffee and tea / sometimes coffee and sometimes tea.	Context decides between range and alternation
가끔 요리하기도 해요.	I also cook sometimes.	가끔 makes frequency explicit
일이 많으면 주말에도 일하기도 해요.	When there is a lot of work, I sometimes work on weekends too.	An occasional action
제주도에서는 바다를 보기도 하고 산에 오르기도 했어요.	On Jeju, we saw the sea and also climbed a mountain.	Two past activities

Common Mistakes

Adding -(으)ㄹ to a noun

• Wrong: 한국어를 할 뿐만 아니라 일본어도 해요. (if you mean “not only Korean” as a noun pair)
• Right: 한국어뿐만 아니라 일본어도 해요.
• Why: A noun takes 뿐만 아니라 directly. The wrong sentence can be grammatical under a different analysis—“not only do Korean”—but it is not the clean noun-to-noun structure intended here.

Using the wrong stem form

• Wrong: 먹ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 많이 자요.
• Right: 먹을 뿐만 아니라 많이 자요.
• Why: A consonant-final stem such as 먹- needs -을. A vowel-final stem takes -ㄹ, as in 가다 → 갈.

Conjugating the verb before -기도 하다

• Wrong: 먹었기도 해요.
• Right: 먹기도 했어요.
• Why: In the standard past form, tense appears on the final 하다: -기도 했어요. More advanced constructions can contain tense inside a quoted or specially contrasted expression, but they are not the basic pattern.

Assuming -기도 하다 always means “sometimes”

• Unclear: 운동을 하기도 해요.
• Clear for “sometimes”: 시간이 있으면 가끔 운동을 하기도 해요.
• Why: The shorter sentence may mean “I exercise too” or “I do exercise on occasion.” Add a frequency word or a limiting situation when occasional frequency matters.

Forgetting the added item

• Incomplete: 이 호텔은 깨끗할 뿐만 아니라...
• Complete: 이 호텔은 깨끗할 뿐만 아니라 조용해요.
• Why: 뿐만 아니라 points forward to more information. In conversation, a speaker may trail off deliberately, but a neutral sentence should supply the addition.

Overusing English-style “but” logic

• Awkward: 맛있을 뿐만 아니라 하지만 건강에도 좋아요.
• Natural: 맛있을 뿐만 아니라 건강에도 좋아요.
• Why: 뿐만 아니라 already builds the “not only... but also” relationship. Korean does not need 하지만 (“but”) before the second fact.

Usage Notes

-(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 is explicit and emphatic. It works in conversation, presentations, reviews, and formal writing, but repeated use can sound heavy. If you merely want a neutral list, -고 may be enough: 싸고 편해요 simply means “It is cheap and convenient,” while 쌀 뿐만 아니라 편해요 presents convenience as an extra advantage.

The added fact commonly includes 도, but 도 is not an absolute requirement. It is especially natural when two nouns, places, or objects are set in parallel. With two full predicates, the second predicate can stand without it: 예쁠 뿐만 아니라 똑똑해요. Add 도 where there is a suitable constituent to mark: 머리도 좋아요 (“is intelligent too”).

English strongly favors the balanced pair “not only ... but also.” Korean balance comes from the relationship between the clauses and often from 도, not from copying every English word. Korean may also omit a subject that is clear from context, so translations often need “I,” “she,” or “it” even when no pronoun appears in the Korean sentence.

-기도 하다 is softer and can suggest that the statement is one side of a more varied picture. For that reason, it is useful when avoiding an overgeneralization: 그 사람도 실수하기도 해요 means that person makes mistakes too or does make mistakes sometimes. In speech, emphasis may fall on 도 or 하기도.

Spacing follows the standard written forms shown here: 갈 뿐만 아니라 has a space before the dependent noun 뿐, while 한국어뿐만 아니라 attaches 뿐 to the noun. In 가기도 하다, -기 and 도 attach to the stem, and 하다 is conventionally spaced as shown.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

뿐만 아니라 with larger phrases

The material before 뿐만 아니라 can be more than one word. It may contrast whole situations:

• 시간이 많이 들 뿐만 아니라 비용도 많이 들어요. It not only takes a lot of time but also costs a lot.
• 그는 사과하지 않았을 뿐만 아니라 오히려 화를 냈어요. Not only did he not apologize; he actually got angry.

Words such as 심지어 (“even”) or 오히려 (“rather; actually, contrary to expectation”) can make the escalation stronger. They are useful when the second fact is surprising, but they are not required by the grammar.

Different shades of 뿐

The noun 뿐 has a broader meaning of “only” or “nothing more than.” Compare:

• 기다릴 뿐이에요. — All I can do is wait / I am only waiting.
• 기다릴 뿐만 아니라 직접 찾아갈 거예요. — I will not only wait but go there myself.

The first construction ends the thought with 뿐이다. The second adds 아니라 (“not being”) and requires an addition. Recognizing this shared core makes the “not only” meaning easier to remember.

-기도 하다 as affirmation or concession

In the right context, -기는 하다 and -기도 하다 are not interchangeable. -기는 하다 commonly concedes or confirms a point—“it is true that...” or “I do, but...”:

• 맛있기는 해요. — It is tasty, admittedly (but...).
• 맛있기도 해요. — It is also tasty / it can be tasty too.

The contrast is between topic-like 는 and additive 도. Learners often hear both patterns in conversation, so listen for the particle rather than treating them as pronunciation variants.

Parallelism and scope

Clear writing puts comparable elements on both sides: noun with noun, quality with quality, or action with action. Mixed structures are possible, but the intended scope (exactly what “not only” applies to) must remain clear. 민수뿐만 아니라 지수도 왔어요 contrasts people; 민수는 오기만 한 게 아니라 발표도 했어요 contrasts actions. Advanced Korean also uses -기만 한 것이 아니라 as a longer “not merely...” construction, often with a corrective or argumentative tone.

Practice Tips

1. Build three matched pairs. Write one noun pair, one quality pair, and one action pair: A뿐만 아니라 B도, A-(으)ㄹ 뿐만 아니라 B, and A-기도 하고 B-기도 하다. Keeping the elements parallel trains both form and meaning.
2. Make frequency explicit first. When practicing the occasional meaning of -기도 하다, include 가끔, 때때로, or a condition such as 시간이 있으면. Remove the clue later and ask whether the context still supports “sometimes.”
3. Compare emphasis aloud. Say 싸고 편해요, then 쌀 뿐만 아니라 편해요. The facts are similar, but the second version deliberately presents the final quality as an added benefit.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Polite Ending -아/어요 — use this ending on the final predicate to make everyday polite sentences such as 가기도 해요.