LEARN + JAPANESE / 5 of 186 JLPT N5
What You Do, Where You Cross を
Someone asks for directions to the station: この道をまっすぐ行ってください. Here を traces the route. In 漢字を書きます, it marks the thing you write. Same particle, two jobs: the verb tells you whether を points to an object or a path.
を: The Direct Object
I write kanji.
I listen to Japanese news.
Let's look for a cheap hotel tomorrow.
Hint · 힌트
Quick check: if the verb acts directly on the noun—write kanji, listen to news, make a reservation—を marks that object. The same pattern works with a noun + する: 予約をします, “make a reservation.”
を: Passing Through
Please go straight along this road.
Please turn right at the next corner.
I climb up the mountain trail.
Hint · 힌트
With a movement verb, を can trace the space the movement passes through. The road isn’t being acted on as an object; it’s the route. English uses words like “along,” “through,” or “up,” while Japanese can use を.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| road, path | |
| corner | |
| stairs | |
| to turn | |
| to cross | |
| to climb | |
| to look for | |
| to learn, study | |
| to wash | |
| to open | |
| to close | |
| to read | |
| to write | |
| to buy | |
| to send | |
| to make | |
| to use | |
| to push | |
| to see, watch | |
| reservation |
TRY IT YOURSELF
Quick check
In この道をまっすぐ行ってください, what does を mark?
YOUR PROGRESS
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