The Object Particle 을/를: What It Does and When Koreans Skip It

In English, word order tells you who did what to whom. In "The cat chased the dog," swapping the nouns reverses the meaning. Korean handles this job with particles, small endings that attach directly to nouns. The object particle 을/를 (eul/reul) marks the thing that receives the action.

Forms

• 을 after a noun ending in a consonant: 밥을, 책을, 물을
• 를 after a noun ending in a vowel: 커피를, 영화를, 친구를

• 밥을 먹어요.

  [babeul meogeoyo]

  I eat rice. / I'm having a meal.

• 커피를 마셔요.

  [keopireul masyeoyo]

  I drink coffee.

• 영화를 봐요.

  [yeonghwareul bwayo]

  I watch a movie.

Because the particle tells you the role of each noun, Korean word order is flexible. The verb goes at the end, but the other parts can move.

• 친구가 저를 도와줬어요.

  [chinguga jeoreul dowajwosseoyo]

  My friend helped me.

• 저를 친구가 도와줬어요.

  [jeoreul chinguga dowajwosseoyo]

  My friend helped me. (emphasis on "me")

Both sentences mean the same thing, because 가 marks the helper and 를 marks the one helped.

Verbs that take an object

Action verbs that "do something to something" take 을/를: 먹다 (to eat), 마시다 (to drink), 보다 (to see), 사다 (to buy), 만나다 (to meet), 좋아하다 (to like), and 공부하다 (to study) are common examples.

• 한국어를 공부해요.

  [hangugeoreul gongbuhaeyo]

  I study Korean.

• 친구를 만나요.

  [chingureul mannayo]

  I'm meeting a friend.

• 떡볶이를 좋아해요.

  [tteokbokkireul joahaeyo]

  I like tteokbokki.

Watch out for 좋아하다 versus 좋다. 좋아하다 is an action verb, "to like," and takes 을/를. 좋다 is descriptive, "to be good or pleasing," and takes 이/가.

• 저는 여름을 좋아해요.

  [jeoneun yeoreumeul joahaeyo]

  I like summer.

• 저는 여름이 좋아요.

  [jeoneun yeoreumi joayo]

  Summer is nice to me. / I like summer.

Verbs that do not use 을/를

Descriptive verbs never take an object. Also, some verbs that take objects in English use a different particle in Korean. 되다 (to become) uses 이/가, and 타다 (to ride) uses 을/를, while 가다 (to go) usually uses 에 for the destination.

• 버스를 타요.

  [beoseureul tayo]

  I take the bus.

• 학교에 가요.

  [hakgyoe gayo]

  I go to school.

• 의사가 되고 싶어요.

  [uisaga doego sipeoyo]

  I want to become a doctor.

Dropping 을/를 in conversation

In casual and even polite everyday speech, Koreans often drop 을/를 when the meaning is obvious.

• 밥 먹었어요?

  [bap meogeosseoyo]

  Did you eat? (a common greeting)

• 커피 마실래요?

  [keopi masillaeyo]

  Do you want to drink some coffee?

• 숙제 했어요?

  [sukje haesseoyo]

  Did you do your homework?

Dropping the particle makes speech sound relaxed and natural. Keeping it can add emphasis, as if pointing at that noun.

Emphasis with 을/를

When you want to stress the object, especially in contrast or in response to a question, the particle comes back.

• 뭘 샀어요?

  [mwol sasseoyo]

  What did you buy?

• 이 책을 샀어요.

  [i chaegeul sasseoyo]

  I bought this book.

Here 뭘 is a contraction of 뭐를 (what + object particle), which you will hear constantly.

Common learner mistakes

• Using 을/를 with descriptive verbs, such as saying "I am happy" with an object. Descriptive verbs describe the subject; they do not act on anything.
• Forgetting that 좋아하다 takes 을/를 while 좋다 takes 이/가.
• Adding the particle to every noun in casual speech, which can sound stiff.

Understanding 을/를 is the first step toward reading longer sentences, because once you can find the object and the verb, the structure of almost any sentence becomes clear.