を (o) — Direct Object & Traversal
Primarily marks the direct object of a transitive verb (the thing being acted upon). Secondarily, it marks a space that is traversed, or the place from which one departs.
Structure
[Object] を [Transitive Verb] | [Area] を [Motion Verb]
Examples
本を読みます。
Hon o yomimasu.
I read a book.
本 (book) を (object) 読みます (read)
公園を散歩します。
Kouen o sanpo shimasu.
I take a walk through the park.
公園 (park) を (space traversed) 散歩します (walk)
電車を降ります。
Densha o orimasu.
I get off the train.
電車 (train) を (point of departure) 降ります (get off)
• Pronunciation & romaji: The kana を is written 'wo' in kana charts but pronounced 'o', and modified Hepburn romanizes it as 'o'. It is used ONLY as a grammatical particle. • Traversal: Motion verbs that pass through a space (歩く walk, 走る run, 飛ぶ fly, 通る pass, 曲がる turn) use を to show where the movement takes place. • Departure: Verbs of leaving/exiting (出る leave, 降りる get off, 卒業する graduate) use を for the place left behind.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones を is tested against.
vs で (location of action)
を with a motion verb marks the path moved ALONG or THROUGH (公園を散歩する = walk through the park); で marks the bounded location where an action takes place (公園で遊ぶ = play in the park).
vs が (with stative predicates)
English objects of liking/ability/desire do NOT take を — they take が: '日本語が分かる', '犬が好き', never を.
More particles
- が (ga) — Subject Marker & Exhaustive Listing
- に (ni) — Target, Time, and Existence Location
- で (de) — Context of Action (Location, Means, Condition)
- と (to) — And (Exhaustive), With, and Quotation
- か (ka) — Question, Or, and Uncertain Identity
- の (no) — Possession, Modification, & Nominalization
- も (mo) — Also, Too, Both/And, Emphasized Quantity
- から (kara) — Starting Point, Origin, & Reason
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