Japanese grammar
The particle を: marking the object
を marks the thing a verb acts on: the rice you eat, the book you buy. It sits right after that thing, and the verb comes last. It is written with the kana を but pronounced o, and that is the only job this kana has.
Examples are written in kana. New to it? Start with the hiragana chart.
In short
- Pattern: thing + を + verb. ごはんを たべる, I eat the rice.
- を goes on the thing, never on the verb, and the verb ends the sentence.
- Written を, pronounced o.
- Liking takes が, not を: すしが すきだ.
を — the action's target
を marks what the verb acts on, right after that thing: ごはんを たべる.
を marks the thing the verb acts on: ごはんを たべる = 'I'll eat the rice.' Order is the skeleton of Japanese — thing + を, verb LAST, always.
ごはんを たべる。
I'll eat the rice.
しゃしんを みる。
I'll look at the photo.
Common mistake
たべるを ごはん。
Why it's wrong: を rides on the THING, never the verb — and the verb closes the sentence. Thing + を + verb: ごはんを たべる.
Note: Written を, said 'o' — this kana has exactly one job in the whole language, and this is it (same deal as は saying 'wa').
Food and meals
Food and drink take を (ごはんを たべる); swap て for ないで to ask 'don't': たべないで.
A request needs something to request, and food is where a beginner starts. ごはん is cooked rice — and, by extension, the meal built round it. しょくじ is the meal itself, the sit-down occasion: しょくじを する is 'to have a meal'. たべもの is food in general, and ちゃ is tea. Whatever you eat, drink or ask for takes を. And to ask someone NOT to do something, you swap the て-form for the ない-form and add で: たべて → たべないで = 'don't eat it'. Same shape, opposite instruction — 「ミカの たべものを たべないで」 is 'don't eat Mika's food'.
しょくじを する。
I have a meal.
ちゃを のむ。
I drink tea.
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Keep going
- は vs がWhen to use は (wa) and when to use が (ga) in Japanese, with example sentences from the Open Lingo course and the mistakes beginners make most.
- The て-formHow to build the Japanese te-form for every verb group, including the irregular verbs, and how it is used for requests, ongoing actions and linking actions.
- に vs でThe difference between the Japanese particles に (ni) and で (de) for places, plus に for clock times, explained with course examples.