を marks the direct object, the person or thing an action is done to. In 本を読む, “read a book”, を shows that the book is what gets read. It comes right after the noun, and the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence.
With verbs of motion, を also marks the route someone takes, as in 道を歩く, “walk along the road”, and the place someone leaves, as in 家を出る, “leave the house”.
Usage Notes
The particles tell you who does what, so the word order can change. 猫が犬を追いかける and 犬を猫が追いかける both mean “the cat chases the dog”.
Not every English object becomes を. 会う, “meet”, and 乗る, “ride”, take に. 好き, 分かる, and 欲しい take が for the thing liked, understood, or wanted.
Casual speech often drops を, as in パン食べる. When は or も joins an object, it takes the place of を, as in ケーキも食べた, “I ate the cake too”.
を is pronounced お. It keeps its own kana from a time when it was pronounced “wo”, and today it’s used almost only for this particle.
Formation
View formation details
Noun ＋ を ＋ verb
本を読む
"read a book"
Noun ＋ を ＋ する
宿題をする
"do homework"
Noun ＋ の ＋ Noun ＋ を ＋ する
日本語の勉強をする
"study Japanese"
Note: A verb takes only one を, so 日本語を勉強をする is wrong. 日本語を勉強する is fine.
Place ＋ を ＋ movement verb
橋を渡る
"cross the bridge"
Place ＋ を ＋ leaving verb
部屋を出る
"leave the room"
Noun ＋ を ＋ causative (intransitive verb)
弟を泣かせる
"make my little brother cry"
Clause ＋ の・こと ＋ を
彼が来るのを待つ
"wait for him to come"
Noun ＋ は・も (in place of を)
ケーキも食べた
"I ate the cake too."
Note: Everyday speech never stacks them as をは or をも.
Marking What an Action Affects
を comes right after the direct object, the person or thing an action affects. The verb usually comes last, so the object and its を come before it.
Sacchan receives an urgent message from her mother. She and her friends hurry to Sacchan’s mother’s fruit store to find out what the issue is. Sacchan’s mother explains that the store has too many unsold bananas. If they don’t sell out today, Sacchan will be eating bananas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a while.
お母さん:
「ということでバナナを売り歩いてくるのだカラーズ諸君」
“That said, you're going around selling the bananas for me, my dear Colors.”
Sacchan’s mother runs a fruit shop, and she’s stuck with too many bananas. She sends Sacchan and her friends out to sell them. 売り歩く joins 売る, “sell”, and 歩く, “walk”, so it means going around selling. バナナを says the bananas are what gets sold. くる on the end tells the girls to come back when they’re done. カラーズ諸君 is a mock-formal “my dear Colors”.
Example 2 of 9: Save Rei while it's foggy with 〜うちに
Jadeite has captured Rei, and Ami fills the area with fog to give Usagi a chance. レイちゃんを助けて is “save Rei!” を marks Rei as the one the rescue acts on. A direct object can be a person as easily as a thing.
Example 3 of 9: Experiencing danger during hide-and-seek with 〜目にあう
During a hide-and-seek game at the park, Ayumi hides in a car trunk and falls asleep. She wakes to find the car moving and discovers a bag of money, a slimy saw, and what seems like a severed head. Conan, tracking her via their Detective Boys badges, prepares to pursue on his electric skateboard. Genta and Mitsuhiko join him on it, but Conan urges them to stay behind due to the danger.
元太:
「歩美が危ない目にあってんのに、じっとしてられっかよ！！」
“Ayumi is in danger, so how can I just stand by and do nothing?”
光彦:
「そうですよ！！ 女性をお守りするのは男の義務ですからね！！」
“That's right! It's a man's duty to protect women!”
Ayumi is trapped in a car that may belong to criminals, and Genta and Mitsuhiko insist on going after her with Conan. 女性をお守りする is “protect women”, with the humble お〜する. を marks the women being protected.
Syaro has served her friends tea, and now she brings out cookies. ハーブを使った describes クッキー: “cookies made using herbs”. を works the same way inside a description, marking what 使う acts on.
Chiyo’s new school has a computer class, and she has never used a computer. Yomi points to the mouse. それを使って is “using that”, and 操作する is “operate”. The thing being operated, the computer, goes unsaid.
Example 6 of 9: Figuring out the password with 見つけ出す
Kei’ichi must enter the university system to add a record showing Belldandy is enrolled. He only has a brief window of opportunity before Professor Ozawa logs into the system and discovers she isn’t enrolled. The only thing standing in Kei’ichi’s way is the university’s enrollment records password protection.
田宮:
「早く パスワードを見つけ出さんと」
“If you don't hurry and figure out that password...”
Keiichi has to add Belldandy to the enrollment records before the professor logs in. パスワードを見つけ出す is “find out the password”, and を marks the password as what they need to find.
Example 7 of 9: That's exactly why I'm going for a walk with 〜だからこそ
Taiki comes home as Chinatsu heads out for a walk, and he points out how cold it is. 冬を感じにいく is “go to feel the winter”. を marks the winter as what she wants to feel, and に行く gives the purpose of the walk.
Example 8 of 9: No time to return to headquarters with 本部
Akari encounters Woody while he’s out on a delivery run. He stopped to show off for some kids, but in the process, he seems to have lost his city map, and he has a terrible sense of direction. Akari asks if he has the delivery addresses, which he says he does.
ウッディー:
「でも 本部まで地図を取りに戻る時間がないのだぁ！」
“But I don't have time to go back to headquarters to get a map!!”
Woody has lost his city map on a delivery run. 地図を取りに戻る is “go back to get a map”. を marks the map as what he’d fetch, inside the purpose phrase with に.
Example 9 of 9: Getting on one's nerves with 気に食わない
Following the death of their parents, Kanami’s big brother Kazutaka became secluded and abusive. Kanami begins to spend time with Makoto, a “rental big brother” whose advice gives her hope in restoring her brother’s former kindness. Kazutaka rebukes her attempts, suggesting that Makoto’s filling her with nonsense ideas.
一敬:
「気に食わないんだよ」
“He gets on my nerves.”
「適当な甘い言葉で金を取り続けるような奴」
“He's the kind of guy who keeps taking (rental) money while spouting alluring words.”
Kazutaka can’t stand Makoto, the “rental big brother” his sister Kanami has been spending time with. 金を取り続ける is “keep taking money”. を marks the money, and 甘い言葉で, “with sweet words”, says how Makoto supposedly does it.
Each particle marks a role, so the order can change without changing who does what. Swap the particles, and the meaning flips.
Japanese
English
猫が犬を追いかける
The cat chases the dog.
犬を猫が追いかける
The cat chases the dog.
猫を犬が追いかける
The dog chases the cat.
を for the Thing, に for the Person
Verbs like giving, telling, and asking involve a thing and a person. を marks the thing, and に marks the person it goes to.
After starting her first year of high school, Rin signs up for the same club as her upperclassmen from middle school. She expected to be signing up for the kendo club, only to find that Ayumu (Tanaka) and Takeru are in the shogi club now. Rin tells Urushi, as the club’s leader, to give them back.
Rin has just started high school, and she followed her middle school seniors into their club. She expected kendo, but Ayumu and Takeru have switched to shogi. 申し込む means “propose” or “apply for”. 決闘を says what she’s proposing, a duel. 田中先輩に says whom she’s challenging. Tanaka is Ayumu’s family name.
Conan determines the culprit in a series of murders. However, there’s no one around he can use as a conduit for revealing his reasoning. When Ran scolds Conan for wandering around, he accidentally drops an item Professor Agasa made for him, a wireless phone in the form of a large earring. As Ran picks it up, Conan hides and using his bowtie voice changer to sound like Shin’ichi as he calls Ran on the earring phone. He explains that Conan filled him in on the details.
新一:
「そこで、蘭に頼みがある…」
“So with that, I have a favor to ask of you...”
蘭:
「頼み？」
“A favor?”
新一:
「オレの代わりに事件の真相をみんなに話してくれ！」
“In my place, tell everyone the truth of the situation!”
Conan has worked out who the killer is, but he has no one to speak through. Over a phone hidden in an earring, he asks Ran to do it as Shin’ichi. 事件の真相をみんなに話してくれ is “tell everyone the truth of the case”. を marks what’s told, and に marks who hears it.
Example 3 of 3: Testing one's detective ability with 能力
Conan was grabbed by a dangerous-looking pair who turned out to be his parents in disguise. They heard about his shrinking from Professor Agasa: 事情を阿笠博士に聞いて. With 聞く, を marks what’s heard, and に marks the person it came from.
Some verbs take に where English uses a plain object. Others take を where English needs a preposition.
Japanese
English
友達に会う
meet a friend
バスに乗る
ride the bus
相手に勝つ
beat an opponent
母に電話する
call my mother
バスを待つ
wait for the bus
鍵を探す
look for the key
音楽を聞く
listen to music
Actions with 〜をする
Many nouns name an activity, and をする turns them into an action. 練習をする means “practice”, and 宿題をする means “do homework”. Most of these nouns can also join する directly, as in 練習する.
While telling ghost stories at night, Rize relays the tale from her childhood, of a frightened servant who felt she was being watched while walking home one night.
リゼ:
「犯人はホフク前進の練習をしていた私だ」
“I was the culprit. I was practicing crawling on my stomach.”
Rize is telling a ghost story from her childhood. One of her family’s servants felt something watching her as she walked home one night. Then Rize names the culprit. It was Rize herself, practicing the army crawl, ホフク前進. A verb takes only one を. Here 練習 already has it, so the thing being practiced joins with の, as in ホフク前進の練習をする. The other way is to make 練習する the verb, as in ホフク前進を練習する. ホフク前進を練習をする, with two を, is wrong.
Example 2 of 4: Even though it's still chilly with 〜が〜
Akari narrates the switch from winter to summer uniforms. 衣替え is the seasonal change of clothes, and 衣替えをしました is “we made the change”. まだちょっぴり肌寒いですが, “it’s still a little chilly, but”, comes first.
Akari encounters an older gentleman looking for a police box, so he can report his missing daughter and son-in-law. Akari offers to take him around and see if they can find the couple. Once they are reunited, the daughter thanks Akari for finding her father.
娘:
「迷子になった父の相手をするの大変でしたでしょ？」
“It must have been tough dealing with my dad when he got lost, right?”
Akari helped an old man find his daughter and son-in-law, and the daughter thanks her for putting up with him. 相手をする is “keep someone company” or “deal with someone”. Her father joins with の, 父の相手, because 相手 already has the を.
Example 4 of 4: Your allowance of a rowing technique with 〜させてもらいます
Akatsuki asks Akari for a gondola ride to his destination. Along the way, he asks whether he’ll make his deadline. Akari suggests Alicia should take over, but Akatsuki says he’s Akari’s customer (and paying the cheaper fare). Realizing her responsibility, Akari turns the gondola around so she can use her high-speed backward rowing. Alicia apologizes to Akatsuki for the turnaround.
アリシア:
「今からお客様の視界を遮る漕ぎ方をさせてもらいます」
“From now on, she'll be using a rowing technique that blocks your view.”
Akari is rowing Akatsuki in her gondola, and Alicia announces a change of plan. 漕ぎ方をする is “row in a certain way”, and をさせてもらいます frames it as something she’s allowed to do. The first を, in 視界を遮る, marks his view as what the rowing will block.
Dropping を in Casual Speech
Casual speech drops を all the time when the object sits right before its verb. パン食べる means “eat bread”, and 宿題やった？ asks “did you do your homework?”
Example 1 of 3: Reading a book to distract from waiting for a text message with 気を紛らす
Akari is expecting a text message from Izumi. Unknown to her, Izumi’s response was getting too long, so he switched to his computer to write up an e-mail instead.
Narration:
「和泉からの返信が来ない」
“I haven't received a reply from Izumi.”
あかり:
「楽しみにしてた新刊読んで気を紛らわそう！」
“I'll distract myself by reading the new book I've been looking forward to!”
「没頭してたらいつのまにか返信来てたりするかもね！」
“Maybe if I get really absorbed in it, the reply will show up before I know it!”
Akari is waiting for a reply from Izumi, and it hasn’t come. So she decides to read a new book she’s been looking forward to. 新刊読んで has no を. In careful speech, it would be 新刊を読んで. 気を紛らわす, “distract yourself”, keeps its を. Set phrases like this one drop it less often. In her next line, 返信来てたり drops が the same way.
Cocoa sees Syaro handing out advertisement fliers. When Syaro says she can’t go home until she’s done with them, Cocoa likens her to the fabled little match girl.
ココア:
「そんなにチラシ燃やしたかった？」
“Did you really want to burn the fliers that badly?”
Syaro is handing out fliers and can’t go home until they’re gone, so Cocoa compares her to the little match girl. チラシ燃やしたかった？ is “did you want to burn the fliers?” The full form is チラシを燃やしたかった, and the meaning doesn’t change without を.
Example 3 of 3: Giving up catching a cat with 匙を投げる
Eve takes the job of catching a cat that ran away from its owner. Following a successful mid-air catch off the roof and into a tree, Eve returns the cat to its owner.
お城ちゃん:
「よかったぁ うちの仔すばしっこすぎて業者さんに匙投げられて…」
“Thank goodness! Our little one was so quick that the hired help gave up on us...”
Eve caught a runaway cat for its young owner after the hired help gave up. The idiom is 匙を投げる, “throw the spoon”, meaning “give up”. Even in a fixed phrase, casual speech can drop を: 匙投げられて.
は and も Replace を
When an object becomes the topic, は takes the place of を. When it’s one more item on a list, も does. Speakers don’t stack them as をは or をも.
Japanese
English
ケーキを食べた
I ate the cake.
ケーキは食べた
The cake, I ate.
ケーキも食べた
I ate the cake too.
The は version often hints at a contrast. The cake got eaten, but maybe the rest didn’t.
Sacchan and her friends are tasked with going around and selling excess bananas from her mother’s fruit shop. They offer a banana to a shop owner, and when he eats it, Sacchan says he needs to pay for it. The owner realizes he fell for their trap, but offers to buy a bunch.
Back to the bananas. Sacchan and her friends offered a banana to a shopkeeper, and once he ate it, they told him he had to pay. He gives in and agrees to buy a bunch. Kotoha, eating a banana herself, adds that he should pay for theirs too. 分 is “portion”, so 私たちが食べてる分 means the bananas they’re eating. Without も, it would be 分を買う.
Leaving the Verb Unsaid
When the verb is obvious, it can disappear, and を stays to show what the missing verb would act on. おかわりを！ in a café means “another one, please”. The ください is left unsaid.
Kumada’s neighbor made too much botamochi and gave him some. A few days later, he runs into her in the park. Japanese thanks someone for something with 〜をありがとう, as in 素敵な時間をありがとう, “thank you for a lovely time”. Kumada swaps ありがとう for the shorter どうも, so ぼた餅をどうも means “thanks for the botamochi”. Her reply ends with 作り方, “how to make them”. She tacks it on after the verb, with no particle. In the usual order, she’d say 作り方を教わった. Speakers often add a forgotten object at the end like this.
Akari is passing the time at Caffè Florian with an old gentleman. He calls the waiter with おかわりをっ, “another one!” The verb, ください or お願いします, goes unsaid, and Akari orders one too with 私も.
Example 3 of 3: Because of too much sorrow with 〜あまり
An image of Queen Serenity tells Sailormoon and her friends about the day the Moon Kingdom was attacked, and how Prince Endymion of Earth came to its defense.
クイン・セレニティ:
「ーーー遅かった」
“...it was too late.”
「彼はあなたを守り倒れ」
“To protect you, he fell.”
「悲しみのあまりあなたも自害を……」
“Because your sorrow was too much, you took your own life.”
An image of Queen Serenity tells how the Moon Kingdom fell. Prince Endymion died protecting the princess, and 悲しみのあまり, “overcome by sorrow”, she took her own life. The line stops at 自害を and leaves the verb, した, unsaid.
Moving Along a Route
With movement verbs, を marks the space someone moves along or through. 道を歩く is “walk along the road”, 空を飛ぶ is “fly through the sky”, and 橋を渡る is “cross the bridge”. The movement doesn’t change the place. を only shows where it happens.
While out buying cat food during acqua alta, when tides have risen onto the streets, Akari is caught in a heavy downpour. She finds herself near Himeya Company, where her friend Aika lives, and she’s invited in to stay the night. As the two watch the falling rain through a window, Akari types an e-mail about her adventure that day.
灯里:
「水没した街を歩いたり滝のような雨に遭ったり」
“Walking through a flooded town, getting caught in a downpour...”
During acqua alta, the tide rises onto the streets of Neo-Venezia. Akari went out to buy cat food, got caught in a downpour, and ended up spending the night at Aika’s. She’s writing an email about her day. 水没した街を歩いた means she walked through the flooded streets. The rain takes に, because 遭う, “run into”, takes に like 会う.
Saint Tail has sent out a parade of decoys to confuse Asuka Jr. and the police. どさくさ is “confusion”, and どさくさの中をにげる is “escape through the chaos”. を marks the space she moves through, not something she acts on.
Compare 公園を走る, “run through the park”, with 公園で遊ぶ, “play in the park”. を goes with movement across a space. で goes with an action that happens in one place.
Mao is now living at Hiro’s house, and Hiro has given her a list of house rules. She reads it over before bed. 家を出る means “leave the house”, so they head out together every morning. The last rule uses へ for where they’re going, 会社 or 学校.
家から出る works too, and it focuses on coming out of the building. 家を出る can also mean leaving home for good.
Transitive and Intransitive Pairs
Many verbs come in pairs. One takes a direct object with を. The other describes the same change with が, without saying who caused it.
In order to make money to survive and continue her path of becoming a mage, Eve takes on a request to defeat a fanged lynx that has been attacking a merchant in the forest. She attempts to use her new magick staff against the beast, but no magick materializes from it.
Eve needs money, so she’s taken a job hunting a fanged lynx in the forest. Her new staff won’t produce any magic. 魔法出ない uses the intransitive 出る, with its が dropped. The magic is what isn’t coming out. Nemu scolds her with 気を散らすな. 散らす is the transitive partner of 散る, so it treats the wandering focus as something Eve is doing. な makes it “don’t”.
Making Something Happen with 〜させる
The causative 〜させる means “make” or “let”. With an intransitive verb, を marks who or what is made to act.
Yui’s class is marching in a festival parade. 成功する, “succeed”, is intransitive. Its causative, 成功させる, means “make something succeed”, and を marks the parade. As the leader, Yui feels it’s up to her. ないと is short for ないといけない, “have to”.
Example 2 of 4: A slip of the tongue with 滑らせてしまった
A flat tire and rain send Kogoro, Ran, and Conan to a nearby temple. The priest invites them to stay overnight, but warns them about the Mist Tengu. That night, they dine along with the monks training there. Conan takes an opportunity to ask about the Mist Tengu, catching the monks off guard.
Conan asked the temple’s monks about the Mist Tengu, and one of them is caught off guard. 滑る, “slip”, is intransitive. The causative 口を滑らせる is “let my mouth slip”, and を marks the mouth. Ten’ei admits he’s the one who let it out.
Example 3 of 4: Keeping a museum from shutting down with 事件
Ran reads that the art museum where a murder happened will stay open after all. 存続する, “continue to exist”, is intransitive, and 美術館を存続させる is “keep the museum going”. を marks the museum, the thing kept alive.
Example 4 of 4: Furthermore, this room is too warm with さらに〜
Upon walking in on a murder scene, Conan goes right to work making observations about the blood-covered body and its surroundings. He notes how the room is torn apart save for one upright chair beside the deceased.
コナン:
「さらに、暑すぎるこの部屋…」
“Furthermore, this room is too warm...”
「死亡推定時刻をくるわせるためなのか…」
“Is it to confuse the estimated time of death...?”
「いや、まてよ… それなら死体を水につけた方が…」
“No, wait... If that's the case, it would be better to put the corpse in water...”
Conan is going over a murder scene, and the room is oddly warm. 狂う, “go wrong”, is intransitive, and くるわせる is “throw off”. を marks the estimated time of death as what the heat might throw off. Then he has a second thought: putting the body in water would work better.
With a transitive verb, the object already has を, so the person made to act gets に. 弟に皿を洗わせる means “make my little brother wash the dishes”. See Making and letting with 〜せる・〜させる.
Whole Clauses as Objects
To make a whole clause the object, turn it into a noun with こと or の, then add を. 彼が来るのを待つ means “wait for him to come”.
Shin’ichi treats Ran to a day at Tropical Land as a reward for winning the city karate tournament. As they wait in line for a ride on the roller coaster, Shin’ichi explains all the reasons why Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective.
“The first time he met his assistant Watson, Holmes could tell just from a handshake that he was a military doctor who had been stationed in Afghanistan...”
Shin’ichi and Ran are waiting in line for a roller coaster, and he’s explaining why Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective. When Holmes first met Watson, a handshake was enough to tell him that Watson was an army doctor who had served in Afghanistan. That whole fact, 彼が軍医でアフガンに行ってた, ends with 事. Then を makes it the object of 見抜く, “see through”. Inside the clause, 彼が marks Watson as its own subject.
Police detective Yokomizo isn’t about to let Sasai, his prime murder suspect, leave. Sasai reminds the officer that he has photographic proof that he wasn’t near the victim at the time of the murder. He calls for Detective Mouri to back him up.
笹井:
「名探偵のあなたからもいってやってくださいよ。 この刑事がいかに無能かという事を…」
“You, the great detective, should tell him yourself. Just how incompetent this police detective is...”
Inspector Yokomizo won’t let Sasai leave, and Sasai asks Mouri to back him up. いかに無能か, “how incompetent he is”, is a whole question. という事 turns it into a noun, and を makes it the object of the いって, “tell”, in his first sentence.
Example 3 of 3: Being strict about eating sweets with 心を鬼にする
Having gained weight recently, Mie asks Komura to stop her from eating sweets at school, a difficult task as it’s White Day. Komura repeatedly stops Mie from eating the cookies and chocolate she’s received as gifts. His resolve weakens as he finds it adorable how Mie tries to sneak a bite whenever he’s not looking.
小村:
「で…でもダメだ！ 三重さんが一度決めたことを破らせては… 心を鬼にしないと…！！」
“But, that's no good! If I let Mie break her decision... I have to be strict for her sake!”
Mie asked Komura to keep her from eating sweets, and it’s White Day. 三重さんが一度決めたこと is “what Mie decided once”, a clause made into a noun with こと. を marks it as the thing he won’t let her break, 破らせては.
At a pool visit, it’s learned that Rize doesn’t know how to swim. Syaro suggests she practice using a kickboard, but there’s something Rize is more interested in trying.
リゼ:
「手を引っ張るやつ あれがやりたい」
“Being pulled along by the hands. I want to try that.”
Rize can’t swim, and Syaro suggests a kickboard. Rize has her eye on a different lesson, the one where someone pulls you along by the hands. 手を引っ張る uses を for the hands being pulled. Then she points to the lesson with あれ and marks it with が. あれをやりたい would also be fine.
Meimi can’t stand Asuka Jr. speaking ill of her secret alter ego, Saint Tail, and the two get into a fight over it before class. Seira tugs at Meimi’s shirt, but Meimi says, “Don’t stop me, Seira.” The teacher’s voice repeats back, “‘Don’t stop me’…”
Meimi and Asuka Jr. are fighting before class, and when Seira tries to stop her, Meimi says “don’t stop me”. The teacher, a nun, repeats it back. ケンカを続行したい is “want to keep fighting”, with を on the object of the たい form.
Example 3 of 5: Additionally, I'm happier having girls here with それに〜
Kei’ichi is excited to spend four days at the beach with his university automobile club and Belldandy. His mood changes when he hears Sayoko call out to him.
螢一:
「田宮先輩まさか美術部と合同でやるんじゃないでしょうね」
“Tamiya, don't tell me we're doing this with the art club!”
田宮:
「ん……ああ。自動車部を題材にしたいっていうから…… それに女の子がいた方が嬉しい…」
“It's because they said they wanted to use the automobile club as a subject... Additionally, I'm happier having girls here.”
Keiichi’s automobile club is heading to the beach, and the art club is coming along. 自動車部を題材にしたい is “want to make the car club their subject”. With AをBにする, を stays in the たい form.
Example 4 of 5: Wanting to photograph means with 〜たがる
Kumada observes the bear that’s been living in his apartment for a while now, trying to determine from its personality traits whether it’s male or female.
Kumada is watching the bear that lives in his apartment, trying to work out whether it’s male or female. 写真を撮りたがる is “always wants to take pictures”. 〜たがる describes someone else’s wish, and unlike たい, it takes only を.
Example 5 of 5: Perhaps this is what he wants with 〜でしょう
The rabbit at Chiya’s tea shop ignores its own snack and stares at the girls. こっちのを食べたいんでしょうか？ is “maybe he wants to eat ours?” こっちの, “the one on our side”, works as a noun, and を marks it as what he wants to eat.
Only the object can switch. A destination keeps its に, as in 学校に行きたい.
を or が with Potential Verbs
Potential verbs, “can do”, also allow either particle. が is the traditional choice, but を is common too.
Asuka Jr. is feeling down after Saint Tail committed a theft without giving him advance notice. When Meimi tries to console him, he tells her she doesn’t understand Saint Tail.
芽美 (thinking):
「わかるもん…… セイント・テールはあたしだもん！！」
“I do understand... Because I'm Saint Tail!!”
芽美:
「あんたなんか一生かかったってセイント・テールをつかまえられっこないっ」
“Someone like you can take a lifetime and there's no way you can catch Saint Tail!”
Saint Tail pulled off a theft without sending a notice first, and Asuka Jr. is sulking. Meimi tries to cheer him up, and he tells her she doesn’t understand Saint Tail. She does, since she is Saint Tail. つかまえられる is the potential form of つかまえる, “catch”, and Meimi puts を on セイント・テール. っこない means “no way”. Even if he spends his whole life on it, he’ll never catch her.
好き and 嫌い Take が
好き, “liked”, and 嫌い, “disliked”, are な-adjectives, not verbs. The thing liked takes が. So does the object of 得意, 欲しい, 分かる, and できる.
Japanese
English
猫が好き
I like cats.
料理が得意
I’m good at cooking.
お金が欲しい
I want money.
日本語が分かる
I understand Japanese.
ピアノができる
I can play the piano.
Example 1 of 2: Don't want you to misunderstand with 〜ないでほしい
Takagi’s prank on Nishikata has failed, and she asks whether he dislikes her teasing. She tells him not to get the wrong idea. She teases him because she likes him. 西片が好き puts が on Nishikata, the one she likes. The person doing the liking usually takes は, as in 私は西片が好き.
Example 2 of 2: Want you to let me explain with 〜させてほしい
Example 2 of 2
When a sentence has two が, it can be hard to tell who likes whom. So を sometimes shows up with 好き, especially in a clause where が already marks the person doing the liking.
Takeo tries helping the girl who likes his friend Sunakawa. When Takeo receives a call from his own girlfriend, he realizes he’s alone with another girl.
猛男:
「すまん大和に事情説明させてほしい」
“Sorry, I'd like you to let me explain the situation to Yamato.”
Takeo is helping Yukika, a girl who likes his friend Sunakawa. Then his girlfriend Yamato calls, and Takeo realizes how it looks to be alone with another girl. He asks Yukika if he can tell Yamato why. ゆきかちゃんが marks the one who likes, so Takeo uses を for Suna, the one she likes. ゆきかちゃんが砂川が好き would also be correct, but two が in a row are harder to follow. His first line drops a を, too. 事情説明 is 事情を説明 in careful speech.
Set Phrases with を
Many idioms are a noun, を, and a verb. The grammar stays literal, even when the meaning doesn’t.
Hakumei hoped to help restore a stone wall, but the repair guild turned her down. Iwashi tells her not to lose heart, 気を落とすなよ. Hakumei answers with the same verb and no object: 落としてない, “I’m not down”.
Example 2 of 12: Free time to be loafing around with 油を売る
Rubeus catches Esmeraude spying on Prince Demande. 油を売る, literally “sell oil”, means “loaf around” when there’s work to do. こんな所で油を売ってるヒマはあるのか？ is “do you have time to be slacking off in a place like this?”
Example 3 of 12: This happens as soon as I take my eyes off you with 目を離す
During a trip on a train, Conan accidentally overhears that there is a bomb on the train, and it’s set to go off. Conan tries to follow the criminals as they disembark, but Ran stops him at the exit door.
コナン:
「あーーー」
“Ah...!”
蘭:
「もぉ！目を離すとすぐこれなんだから！」
“Geez! As soon as I take my eyes off you, this happens!”
Conan overheard that there’s a bomb on the train and tried to follow the criminals off, but Ran stops him at the door. 目を離す is “take your eyes off”. 目を離すとすぐこれなんだから is “the minute I take my eyes off you, this happens!”
Example 4 of 12: Sneaking sleeping pills in with 目を盗む
As Ran sleeps, she’s carried to a sink filled with water and almost drowned. After, Conan considers the coffee Ran drank earlier must have been drugged, or else Ran would have fought back. Since Mrs. Yone, who prepared the coffee with Ran’s help, was with Kogoro at the time of the attack, Kogoro narrows the list of suspects to four who were out of sight while the coffee was being prepared.
小五郎:
「という事は、あなた方の中の誰かが米さんと蘭の目を盗んで睡眠薬を入れたとも考えられますな？」
“Considering that, isn't it possible one of you slipped past Mrs. Yone and Ran and put sleeping pills in?”
Someone drugged Ran’s coffee and nearly drowned her, and Kogoro narrows the suspects to four. 米さんと蘭の目を盗んで, literally “stealing Mrs. Yone’s and Ran’s eyes”, means “behind their backs”.
Example 5 of 12: Coming all the way out here with 足を運ぶ
Suwa and his friends are leaving Kakeru’s grandmother’s house, and she thanks them. 足を運ぶ, literally “carry your feet”, means “make the trip”. 足を運んで下さって is a polite “for coming out”.
Example 6 of 12: Being strict with oneself and one's student with 心を鬼にする
Conan’s classmates aren’t fond of their new teacher’s strict attitude. Ms. Kobayashi explains how at her last school, she couldn’t bring herself to be strict, and it allowed her students to get so out of control that students were injured in a fight.
小林:
「だから、この学校では二度とあんな事は繰り返すまいと…」
“Therefore, to keep from repeating that kind of situation at this school...”
「心を鬼にして自分にも生徒にも厳しくしてきたの…」
“I hardened my heart and became strict, with myself and with my students...”
Ms. Kobayashi explains why she has been so strict with her new class. At her last school, she couldn’t bring herself to be strict, and students got hurt in a fight. 心を鬼にして, “hardening my heart”, is how she has held herself and her students to a high standard since.
Yui and her friends are in their secret base when a pigeon flies in and lands on the table between them. The group’s cat, Colonel Monochrome, leaps after it, but the pigeon escapes.
A pigeon landed on the table in the Colors’ secret base, and their cat, the Colonel, leapt at it. 本能をむき出しにする, “lay one’s instincts bare”, follows AをBにする: it makes the instinct むき出し, “exposed”.
Example 8 of 12: Don't underestimate your mother with 甘く見る
Meimi’s mother stops by Meimi’s room with a couple of movie tickets. She says she and Meimi’s father have already seen the movie, so she’s offering them to Meimi. She says the movie is very romantic, and suggests Meimi has someone she’d want to see it with.
Meimi’s mother offers her two tickets to a romantic movie and hints that Meimi has someone to see it with. 甘く見る, literally “see as sweet”, means “underestimate”. ママを甘く見ないことね is “don’t underestimate your mom”, with ことね giving advice.
Example 9 of 12: Attraction to the opposite sex with 異性
During a ninja training exercise, Tsubaki disguises herself as the teacher’s assistant in the hope of getting close enough to take the teacher’s mask. When the teacher unknowingly reveals that keeping boys and girls separate has been aided by lying to the female ninjas about men being scary, Tsubaki accidentally drops her disguise. The teacher has no choice but to take Tsubaki into her confidence and explain the reason for the separation, starting with the word “love”, of which Tsubaki is unfamiliar.
ハナ先生:
「異性に好きという思いを寄せることだ。」
“It means harboring feelings of affection for someone of the opposite sex.”
「年頃になると皆経験すると聞く。」
“I hear that everyone goes through this when they reach a certain age.”
Tsubaki has never heard the word “love”, so Hana-sensei explains it. 思いを寄せる, literally “bring your thoughts close”, means “have feelings for”. に marks the person, 異性に, “someone of the opposite sex”.
While changing into her uniform, Rize hid in the closet when she sensed someone unfamiliar nearby. Cocoa, feeling as though she was being watched, opened the closet door.
ココア:
「下着姿の…ドロボーさん？」
“A burglar… in their underwear?”
リゼ:
「完全に気配を殺してたつもりなのに」
“I thought I completely suppressed my presence, and yet...”
Rize hid in the closet while changing when she sensed a stranger nearby, and Cocoa opened the door. 気配を殺す, literally “kill your presence”, means “hide every sign that you’re there”. Rize thought she had done it perfectly.
Example 11 of 12: Ended up relying on your help with 〜てしまう
Shin’ichi has solved another case for Inspector Megure and caught the fleeing culprit too. 力を借りる, “borrow someone’s strength”, means “get someone’s help”. Megure admits he has relied on Shin’ichi again, and てしまった adds a little embarrassment.
As he performs one trick after another, Kaito says he’s unbeatable at magic. Aoko says he can’t win against Kaitou Kid, the magic-using thief her police father has yet to apprehend. Kaito disregards the claim and continues disrupting class with his tricks.
青子:
「なによ、かっこつけちゃって… 勝てっこないじゃない……」
“What's with all that showing off? There's no way he can win.”
Kaito boasts that nobody can beat him at magic. Aoko says he’d never beat Kaitou Kid, the thief her police father can’t catch. 手を焼く, literally “burn your hands”, means “have a hard time with”. お父さんだって手を焼いてる is “even Dad is having trouble with him”.
