をthe object marker; through; out of
を marks what you do something to: the thing you eat, read or buy. With a verb of moving, it marks the place you pass through or leave.
what you do it to
I read the newspaper every morning.
where you pass through
I take a walk through the park in the morning.
what you leave
I leave home at seven thirty every morning.
How to form it
Noun + を + verb
Written を, pronounced "o" like お, and typed "wo". Nothing else is spelled with it, so every を you see is this particle. To ask: 何を.
Which を is it?
The verb after it tells you.
| Verb after を | を marks | Like this |
|---|---|---|
| Doing something to a thing or a person: 食べる, 読む, 買う, 待つ | What you do it to | パンを |
| Moving along: 歩く, 走る, 散歩する, 渡る, 曲がる, 通る | The place you pass through | 公園を |
| Leaving: 出る, 降りる, 卒業する | The place or vehicle you leave | バスを |
What you do something to
English puts the thing after the verb: "read a book". Japanese puts it before the verb, with を after it: 本を読む.
I watched the game on television.
I sent a photo to a friend.
The cat is eating fish.
が is on the one who eats. を is on what gets eaten.
What are you making tonight?
I'm making vegetable curry.
Asking for things: をください
In a shop or a café you name the thing, add を, and finish with ください or お願いします.
Some water, please.
A coffee, please.
Where English adds a word
English says "wait for", "listen to", "look at" and "look for". Japanese has no extra word: the person or thing takes を.
待つwait for
I am waiting for a friend at the station now.
探すlook for
What kind of room are you looking for?
勉強する or 勉強をする?
Both are said. But one verb takes only one を. When you name what you study, that takes the を, or の joins the two nouns.
I study Japanese.
I study Japanese.
Not said: 日本語を
(I study Japanese.)
When it is が or に, not を
"I like coffee", "I understand Japanese", "I met a friend", "I took the bus": in English each has a plain object. None of them takes を in Japanese.
I drink coffee.
Drinking is something you do to it.
I like coffee.
好き describes the coffee, so it takes が.
わかる, ほしい, できる and 上手 take が the same way.
Not said: バスを
(I take the bus.)
バスに乗ります. 乗る, 会う and 入る take に.
The place you pass through
With a verb of moving, を marks the ground you cover: a road, a park, a bridge, a corner. English needs "along", "through", "across" or "down". Japanese uses を for all of them.
I walked slowly along the riverside road.
The children are running down the hallway.
An airplane is flying above the clouds.
You will hear it most when someone tells you the way.
Please go straight along this road.
Please turn right at the next corner.
を for the corner you go around, に for the way you turn.
Please cross at the crosswalk.
を, で or まで?
I ran in the park.
That is where you did your running.
With a verb that isn't about moving, only で fits: 公園で遊びます, "I play in the park".
I walked along a forest path and arrived at the village.
を for the path, に for where you end up.
The place you leave
With 出る (leave), 降りる (get off) and 卒業する (graduate), を marks what you leave behind: a room, a train, a school.
I will get off the train at the next station.
The train is what you leave: を. The station is where you do it: で.
My older brother graduated from college last year.
English says "graduate from". Japanese has を here, not から.
Going in and getting on take に. Coming out and getting off take を.
| In, on: に | Out, off: を |
|---|---|
| 部屋に入る go into the room | 部屋を |
| 電車に乗る get on the train | 電車を |
| 大学に入る enter college | 大学を |
を or から?
I left Kyoto in the morning.
With a verb of leaving, を.
I came from Kyoto.
"From" with any other verb is から.
出る and 降りる can take から as well, when you mean coming out from inside something.
は and も in its place
は and も take the place of を. So a thing you set against another, or say no to, often has は where you expect を, and "too" is も alone.
I drink coffee, but I do not drink tea.
I bought bread. I bought milk too.
Close neighbours
がN5
Marks who does it. Also what you like, want or understand, where English makes を feel right.
My father likes fish.
にN5
Where you end up, and what goes with 乗る, 会う and 入る.
I will board the express train at the next station.
は・が・を…N5
Among friends を is often left out, like other particles, when it is clear what goes with what.
Want some bread?
Check yourself
1Which one takes を?
Choose an answer to see why.
2What does this mean?
古い町を
Choose an answer to see why.
3"I got out of the taxi in front of the station."
駅の
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
を出る or から出る?
を is leaving the place behind. から is coming out from inside it, and it is the one for smoke or water coming out of something.
The cat came out of the box.
Smoke is coming out of the window.
With たい
Before a verb in たい (want to), the thing can take が as well as を.
Because it's hot, I want to drink some cold water.
It can move
Because を marks it, the thing doesn't have to sit right before the verb.
Please write your name here.
More sentences
I want to buy new shoes.
I'll call the receptionist.
I put the box on the shelf.
Every morning, I take this road.
The bus passed through a long tunnel.
The tourists crossed the old stone bridge.
I went through the underground passage and arrived at the station.
The passengers got off the bus at the last stop.
I graduated from high school in March.
The ship slowly left the harbor.