particle N5 essential casualpolitewritten
を — the direct-object particle
を
Meaning
- marks the direct object — the thing a transitive action is done to
Key sentence
りんごを食べる。
I eat an apple.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + を | 本を読む |
When: Written を (used only as this particle), pronounced the same as お.
Examples
毎朝コーヒーを飲む。
I drink coffee every morning.
手紙を書いた。
I wrote a letter.
窓を開けてください。
Please open the window.
When you can't use it
- A clause takes only one を. With desire (〜たい) and potential forms the object often switches to が: 水を飲みたい and 水が飲みたい are both natural — but you cannot stack two を on one verb.
Easily confused with
Notes
- を also marks the path traversed by a motion verb (公園を歩く) and the place left behind (家を出る) — covered as separate uses of を.
See を in real sentences
Jengo shows を the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.