Meaning & Usage
Written in hiragana and romanized as wo — though pronounced simply o in modern Japanese — を marks the direct object of a verb. Put simply: it points to the noun receiving the action.
In English, word order tells us who is doing what to whom. We say "I eat sushi" rather than "sushi I eat" because the position of "sushi" after the verb signals that it is the object. Japanese works differently. The verb almost always comes last, and particles like を attach to nouns to show their grammatical role — wherever those nouns happen to appear in the sentence.
Think of を as an invisible arrow pointing from the noun to the verb, saying: "This noun is what the verb is happening to." When you see 魚を食べる, the を tells you that 魚 (fish) is the thing being eaten. Without を, the sentence is incomplete or ambiguous.
を only works with action verbs — specifically transitive verbs, which take a direct object. It never appears with adjectives or state verbs like ある (to exist) or いる (to be, for living things). Transitive vs. intransitive is one of the more important distinctions in Japanese, and を is your clearest marker that a verb takes an object.
Casual spoken Japanese often drops を — you'll hear 映画見た？ instead of 映画を見た？. At N5, though, always include it. Your sentences will be clearer, your written Japanese correct, and you'll build habits that matter on the JLPT.
を has one more function worth knowing: it marks the place through which movement passes, or a point of departure. 公園を歩く means "to walk through the park." 駅を出る means "to leave the station." At N5, the direct object use comes up far more often — but tuck this one away for later.
Structure & Formation
The pattern itself is simple:
| Component | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Direct object (the thing acted upon) | 水 (water) |
| を | Object marker particle | を |
| Verb | The action being performed | 飲む (to drink) |
Japanese follows Subject + Object + Verb order (SOV) — the reverse of English Subject + Verb + Object (SVO):
- English (SVO): I drink water.
- Japanese (SOV): 私は水を飲む。
Note that the subject marker は (wa) or が (ga) comes before the object marker を. The verb always closes the sentence. Here are the key formation patterns:
- Basic: [Subject は/が] + [Object を] + [Verb]
- Negative: [Object を] + [Verb stem] + ません / ない
- Past tense: [Object を] + [Verb] + ました / た
- te-form continuation: [Object を] + [Verb て-form] + [next verb]
を attaches directly to the noun with no space. It can't follow another particle or attach to adjectives. To specify an object — "this book," "that coffee" — put the demonstrative before the noun: この本を読む.
Example Sentences
Eating & Drinking
私は朝ごはんを食べます。
Watashi wa asagohan wo tabemasu.
I eat breakfast.
彼女はコーヒーを飲みます。
Kanojo wa koohii wo nomimasu.
She drinks coffee.
子供たちはアイスクリームを食べたいです。
Kodomotachi wa aisukuriimu wo tabetai desu.
The children want to eat ice cream.
Studying & Reading
田中さんは日本語を勉強します。
Tanaka-san wa nihongo wo benkyou shimasu.
Mr. Tanaka studies Japanese.
私は毎日本を読みます。
Watashi wa mainichi hon wo yomimasu.
I read books every day.
学生たちは宿題をしています。
Gakuseitachi wa shukudai wo shite imasu.
The students are doing their homework.
Seeing, Hearing & Watching
私たちは映画を見ました。
Watashitachi wa eiga wo mimashita.
We watched a movie.
彼は音楽を聞いています。
Kare wa ongaku wo kiite imasu.
He is listening to music.
Buying & Using
母は新しいバッグを買いました。
Haha wa atarashii baggu wo kaimashita.
My mother bought a new bag.
私はスマホを使います。
Watashi wa sumaho wo tsukaimasu.
I use a smartphone.
Movement Through a Place (Secondary Use)
犬が公園を走っています。
Inu ga kouen wo hashitte imasu.
The dog is running through the park.
彼女は橋を渡りました。
Kanojo wa hashi wo watarimashita.
She crossed the bridge.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using を with intransitive verbs
❌ 私は公園に花を咲く。
✅ 公園に花が咲く。
Intransitive verbs describe events that happen on their own — 咲く (to bloom), 起きる (to wake up), 落ちる (to fall). None of them take a を object. Always check whether a verb is transitive or intransitive before reaching for を.
Mistake 2: Confusing を with は or が as the subject marker
❌ 私をテレビを見ます。
✅ 私はテレビを見ます。
は (or が) marks the subject — the one doing the action. を marks the object — the thing receiving it. Putting を on the subject (私) is a common early mistake. The rule is simple: the doer uses は/が, the done-to uses を.
Mistake 3: Using を with location verbs that require に or で
❌ 図書館を勉強します。
✅ 図書館で勉強します。
When you study at the library, the library is a location — not something being acted upon. Locations use で (for activities) or に (for destinations). Ask yourself: Am I doing something TO this noun, or am I doing something AT/IN this place?
Mistake 4: Double を in one clause
❌ 私は本を友達をあげます。
✅ 私は友達に本をあげます。
One verb clause, one を. The book (本) is the direct object marked by を. The friend (友達) is the recipient, marked by に. Doubling を on both creates ungrammatical Japanese.
Mistake 5: Forgetting を entirely in formal writing
❌ 水飲みたいです。(written context)
✅ 水を飲みたいです。
Dropping を is fine in casual speech, but in formal or written Japanese it sounds incomplete. At N5, always write it out. JLPT questions test particle choice directly — and formal Japanese expects full particles without exception.
Cultural Notes
In natural everyday speech, Japanese people — especially younger speakers and those in casual settings — will frequently drop particles, including を. You might hear a friend say 映画見た？ (Watched a movie?) rather than 映画を見た？. This particle-dropping — called joshi-nuki — is perfectly natural in casual conversation. Japanese leans on shared context, so meaning stays clear even without every particle spelled out.
However, in professional environments, customer service, formal presentations, and written language — including news articles, business emails, and literature — particles are always included. Dropping them in these contexts would sound rude or sloppy. As a learner, you'll develop a feel for this quickly — native media makes the contrast obvious.
Interestingly, the written form を is unique to Japanese — this hiragana character is almost never used for any sound other than the object particle. Its pronunciation as o (rather than wo) in modern standard Japanese is a relic of historical kana usage. Even though it is written を, the /w/ sound has all but disappeared in everyday speech.
Tune in to anime, dramas, or Japanese songs and you'll hear を constantly. Pay attention to how it flows directly after the noun — after a while, sentences without it start to sound wrong.
Related Grammar Points
- が — Subject Marker (Grammar N5)
- は — Topic Marker (Grammar N5)
- か — Question Marker (Grammar N5)
- しか — Nothing But, Only (Negative) (Grammar N5)
- に (ni) — Direction, Time, and Location Particle (Grammar N5)
- だけ — Only, Just, Merely (Grammar N5)
JLPT Tips
On the JLPT N5 exam, を appears frequently in the grammar and sentence structure sections. You will be asked to identify the correct particle for a blank, choose the correct word order, or recognize errors in a sentence. Know を well and these questions become reliable points.
The most common N5 question type involving を presents four particles — は、が、を、に — and asks which one completes a sentence correctly. Start with the verb. Transitive verbs — 食べる, 飲む, 買う, 読む, 見る, 聞く, する — take direct objects. When you spot one, the noun before the blank almost certainly needs を.
Practice recognizing common transitive verb and object pairings: 本を読む (read a book), ご飯を食べる (eat a meal), 水を飲む (drink water), 音楽を聞く (listen to music), 映画を見る (watch a movie), 日本語を勉強する (study Japanese). When a pairing feels obvious, particle questions stop being tricky.
One last check: を always comes before the verb, never after. Any answer with を after a verb is automatically wrong — eliminate it immediately. That one rule can knock out two or three wrong choices in a single question.