N5 · Particles
を: the object and the path
the object particle
を marks what an action is done to — and the space a movement passes through or leaves.
The particle を — pronounced o — follows the direct object: the thing that is eaten, read, bought or opened. パンを食べます is "I eat bread". The verb comes last, so the English order "eat bread" is turned round: first what, then the action.
Because the particle carries the role, the object does not need a fixed place. 毎朝コーヒーを飲みます and コーヒーを毎朝飲みます both mean "I drink coffee every morning". What does not move is the verb at the end.
The second use surprises English speakers. With verbs of movement — 歩く, 走る, 散歩する, 渡る, 通る, 飛ぶ — を marks the space moved through or along: 公園を散歩します, "I walk in the park". With verbs of leaving it marks the place left behind: 家を出ます, 電車を降ります, 大学を卒業します.
The trap runs the other way as well. Not every verb that has a direct object in English has one in Japanese: "I meet a friend" is 友達に会います, and "I take the bus" is バスに乗ります. Each verb has to be learned with its particle, not translated from English.
The form
| the thing acted on | パンを食べます。 |
| with a time word | 毎朝コーヒーを飲みます。 |
| the space moved through | 公園を散歩します。 |
| the road crossed | 道を渡ります。 |
| the place left | 七時に家を出ます。 |
| the vehicle got off | 駅で電車を降ります。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
を follows the direct object, and the verb comes after it at the end of the sentence.
毎晩本を読みます。I read every evening.
With verbs of movement, を marks the route or the space passed through.
この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Please go straight along this road.
With verbs of leaving, を marks the place left behind.
八時に会社を出ました。I left the office at eight.
A verb that takes に keeps に, even where English uses a direct object.
駅で友達に会いました。I met a friend at the station.
In casual speech を is often dropped; in polite speech and in writing it stays.
ご飯、食べた？Have you eaten?
A closer look
A kana kept for one job
In standard modern Japanese を and お sound the same, and outside the particle the kana を has practically disappeared. It survives because the spelling rules kept it for the particle — so on the page を is a signal in itself: the word before it is the object.
In conversation the particle is often swallowed: 宿題、やった？ for "have you done your homework?". This is normal speech, not a mistake, but it belongs to casual talk between people who know each other. In polite speech and in anything written, を stays.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb or adjective expresses liking, wanting, understanding or ability — 好き, ほしい, 分かる, できる
what English treats as the object takes が, not を.
私は日本語が少し分かります。I understand a little Japanese.
These words describe a state, not an action done to something: the thing is liked, is understood, is possible — and it is the subject of that state.
How to spot it
- を
- を食べる
- を散歩する
- を出る
- を渡る
- を降りる
Example sentences
毎朝新聞を読みます。I read the newspaper every morning.
スーパーで野菜を買いました。I bought vegetables at the supermarket.
窓を開けてもいいですか。May I open the window?
日曜日に川の近くを散歩しました。On Sunday I went for a walk near the river.
次の角を右に曲がってください。Please turn right at the next corner.
弟は去年高校を卒業しました。My younger brother finished high school last year.
8 more example sentences
昨日、映画を見ました。I saw a film yesterday.
手を洗ってください。Please wash your hands.
毎朝この橋を渡ります。I cross this bridge every morning.
鳥が空を飛んでいます。A bird is flying across the sky.
次の駅で電車を降ります。I get off the train at the next station.
友達に手紙を書きました。I wrote a letter to a friend.
部屋を掃除しましょう。Let's clean the room.
朝九時に家を出ます。I leave home at nine in the morning.
Worth knowing (1)
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One を to a verb
A する verb such as 勉強する can take its object in two ways: 日本語を勉強します or 日本語の勉強をします. What it cannot do is take two of them: 日本語を勉強をします has one を too many.
毎日日本語を勉強します。I study Japanese every day.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
会う takes に: in Japanese you meet towards someone rather than doing something to them. Several everyday verbs work like this — 乗る (get on), 電話する (phone) — and each has to be learned with its particle, not translated from the English object.
を marks what the verb acts on, the path it moves along, and the place it leaves.
Your turn
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