을/를 is the object (accusative) particle: it tags the direct object of a transitive verb — the thing that gets eaten, read, watched, bought, met. Where 이/가 marks the doer, 을/를 marks the done-to. It is one of the first particles you learn and one of the most useful, because it is the particle that lets Korean word order relax: since the object is labeled, it does not have to sit in any particular place.
The form: 을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel
Like the other core particles, 을/를 picks its shape by the sound before it. After a noun ending in a consonant (받침) use 을; after a vowel use 를.
물을 마셔요.
mureul masyeoyo
I'm drinking water. (물 ends in ㄹ → 을)
영화를 봐요.
yeonghwareul bwayo
I'm watching a movie. (영화 ends in a vowel → 를)
책을 읽어요.
chaegeul ilgeoyo
I read a book. (책 ends in ㄱ → 을)
저를 도와주세요.
jeoreul dowajuseyo
Please help me. (저 ends in a vowel → 를)
Why marking the object frees the word order
In English, "the dog bit the man" and "the man bit the dog" mean opposite things — the only thing telling you who bit whom is position: subject before the verb, object after. English word order is the grammar. Korean does it differently. Because 을/를 explicitly labels the object no matter where it sits, the object can move around for emphasis without any confusion about who did what.
민수가 사과를 다 먹었어요.
Minsuga sagwareul da meogeosseoyo
Minsu ate all the apples. (neutral order: subject–object–verb)
사과를 민수가 다 먹었어요.
sagwareul Minsuga da meogeosseoyo
The apples, Minsu ate them all. (object fronted for emphasis — 를 keeps it unambiguous)
Both sentences mean the same thing. In the second, 사과 has jumped ahead of the subject, but because it still wears 를, no one mistakes it for the eater. This is why Korean is often called a particle-driven language: the marker, not the slot, carries the role. The one fixed rule is that the verb stays last.
Contractions onto vowel-final pronouns
In fast speech, 를 often fuses onto a vowel-final pronoun, contracting the whole thing into one syllable. These are extremely common in conversation, so recognize them on sight.
| Full | Contracted | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 뭐를 | 뭘 | mwol | what (object) |
| 너를 | 널 | neol | you (object) |
| 나를 | 날 | nal | me |
| 저를 | 절 | jeol | me (humble) |
뭘 드시겠어요?
mwol deusigesseoyo
What would you like (to have)? (뭐를 → 뭘)
절 좀 도와주시겠어요?
jeol jom dowajusigesseoyo
Could you help me for a moment? (저를 → 절)
The split that trips everyone: 을/를 vs 이/가 by predicate
Here is the single most important thing on this page, and the error that survives into advanced speech. Whether the "thing you like/need/want" takes the object 을/를 or the subject 이/가 depends entirely on the predicate — specifically, on whether it is an action verb or a descriptive verb (adjective).
The verb 좋아하다 ("to like") is a transitive action verb, so its target is an object → 을/를:
저는 커피를 좋아해요.
jeoneun keopireul joahaeyo
I like coffee. (좋아하다 = action verb → object 를)
But the adjective 좋다 ("to be good/likeable") is descriptive, and Korean adjectives take a subject, not an object. So the same "coffee" now takes 이/가:
저는 커피가 좋아요.
jeoneun keopiga joayo
I like coffee. (lit. coffee is good to me — 좋다 → subject 가)
Both translate as "I like coffee," but 커피를 좋아요 (mixing the adjective with an object particle) is simply ungrammatical. This same split runs through a whole family of feeling-adjectives — 싫다 (be distasteful), 필요하다 (be needed), 무섭다 (be scary) — all of which take 이/가, never 을/를. The neighboring page 좋다 vs 좋아하다 drills this pair specifically.
Transitive verbs that surprise English speakers
A handful of Korean verbs are transitive — they take 을/를 — even though their English translations use a preposition instead of a direct object. These need to be memorized as taking 을/를, because English will steer you wrong.
친구를 만나요.
chingureul mannayo
I'm meeting a friend. (만나다 takes 를, not 'meet WITH')
버스를 타요.
beoseureul tayo
I take the bus. (타다 takes 를, not 'get ON')
친구를 기다려요.
chingureul gidaryeoyo
I'm waiting for a friend. (기다리다 takes 를, not 'wait FOR')
English "meet with," "get on," "wait for" all tempt you toward a dative or locational particle, but 만나다, 타다, and 기다리다 are plain transitives in Korean: 친구를, 버스를, 친구를. (The 만나다 trap is common enough to have its own page.)
Common Mistakes
1. Choosing the wrong allomorph. Consonant → 을, vowel → 를. Reversing them is an immediate error.
❌ 밥를 먹어요.
Wrong allomorph — 밥 ends in a consonant, so 밥을.
✅ 밥을 먹어요.
babeul meogeoyo
I eat rice/a meal.
2. Putting an object particle on the target of the adjective 좋다. 좋다 takes a subject.
❌ 저는 커피를 좋아요.
Wrong — 좋다 is descriptive and takes 이/가, not 를.
✅ 저는 커피가 좋아요.
jeoneun keopiga joayo
I like coffee.
3. Marking the object of a transitive verb with 이/가. A verb of doing wants its object in 을/를.
❌ 숙제가 했어요.
Wrong — 하다 is transitive; the homework is its object → 를.
✅ 숙제를 했어요.
sukjereul haesseoyo
I did my homework.
4. Using a dative particle with 만나다 (transfer from 'meet with'). 만나다 is transitive.
❌ 친구에게 만나요.
Wrong — 만나다 takes a direct object, not a recipient.
✅ 친구를 만나요.
chingureul mannayo
I'm meeting a friend.
Key Takeaways
- 을/를 marks the direct object of a transitive verb: 을 after a consonant, 를 after a vowel.
- Because the object is labeled, word order can move for emphasis — only the verb stays last.
- 를 contracts onto vowel-final pronouns: 뭘, 널, 날, 절.
- The predicate decides the particle: action verb → object 을/를 (커피를 좋아해요); adjective → subject 이/가 (커피가 좋아요).
- Memorize the transitive traps: 만나다, 타다, 기다리다 all take 을/를, not an English-style preposition.
- In casual speech 을/를 is the most freely dropped particle — see when 을/를 is dropped — and it does special path-marking work with movement verbs.
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- When 을/를 Is DroppedTOPIK 1 — 을/를 is the most freely omitted particle in colloquial Korean — when the object sits next to its verb and the meaning is clear, native speakers just drop it — but you keep it to contrast, to emphasize, when the object is separated from the verb, or in formal register.
- 을/를 with Movement Verbs: 길을 걷다TOPIK 2 — With motion verbs like 걷다, 건너다, 지나가다, 날다, and 산책하다, 을/를 does not mark a direct object — it marks the path or route traversed, the ground covered, where English reaches for 'along, across, through'.
- The Subject Particle 이/가TOPIK 1 — 이/가 marks the grammatical subject — the doer or experiencer — and presents it as new, noticed, or specifically selected, which is exactly why it is not interchangeable with the topic particle 은/는.
- 을/를 vs 이/가 with 좋다 · 되다 · 필요하다TOPIK 2 — A cluster of Korean predicates that translate as English transitive verbs — like, need, become, fear, hurt — are actually descriptive/intransitive and mark their complement with the subject particle 이/가, never the object particle 을/를. The governing test, the whole cluster (좋다·싫다·필요하다·되다·무섭다·아프다), the -어하다 escape hatch, and the transitivity errors English speakers import.
- What Particles (조사) DoTOPIK 1 — 조사 are short markers glued to the back of a noun that show its role in the sentence — subject, object, topic, place, direction — a job English hands to word order and prepositions; in Korean the particle, not the position, tells you who does what.