Object Particle 을/를

What it means

을/를 marks the object — the thing that receives the action: what you eat, drink, read, study or meet. In English the object comes after the verb ("I eat an apple"). In Korean the verb comes last, so 을/를 shows which word is the object.

How to make it

• Ends in a consonant → add 을: 밥 → 밥을, 책 → 책을
• Ends in a vowel → add 를: 커피 → 커피를, 영화 → 영화를
• Word order is Subject + Object + Verb: 저는 + 사과를 + 먹어요 = I eat an apple.
• In casual speech the particle is often dropped: 밥을 먹었어? → 밥 먹었어? (Did you eat?)

When to use it

• Eating and drinking: 저는 매일 커피를 마셔요. = I drink coffee every day.
• Reading and studying: 동생이 책을 읽어요. = My younger sibling is reading a book.
• Learning a language: 한국어를 공부해요. = I study Korean.
• Meeting people: 주말에 친구를 만났어요. = I met a friend on the weekend.
• Riding transport: 버스를 타요. = I take the bus.

Compare

• 을/를 vs 에: going somewhere uses 에, not 을/를. 학교에 가요. = I go to school. But 학교를 좋아해요. = I like school (school is the object).
• 좋아하다 vs 좋다: 커피를 좋아해요. = I like coffee (object 를). 커피가 좋아요. = Coffee is good / I like coffee (subject 가).

Common mistakes

• ❌ 커피을 마셔요 → ✅ 커피를 마셔요 (커피 ends in a vowel, so 를)
• ❌ 친구에 만나요 → ✅ 친구를 만나요 (만나다 takes 을/를 in Korean)
• ❌ 커피가 좋아해요 → ✅ 커피를 좋아해요 (좋아하다 needs an object with 을/를)