Particle WO/O

F

Fehrant

後輩

10 Feb 2006

137

0

• 30 Apr 2006

• #1

I'm confused. I thought the particle を (wo) and the particle "o" were two different things, then I started to noticed を was translated as "o", or maybe I mistook something? I'm extremely confused.

The particle "o" indicates the direct object, the target of the action, and the particle を indicates the direct object as well, although I'm not sure about the target of the action.

Gah.

Comments, please?

 

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 30 Apr 2006

• #2

they are one and the same. Since the w is not pronounced, some people romanize it as "o," much like how some people write the particle は as "wa."

there is no "お" particle, there is only を. To ease the confusion, don't bother using romaji, and just stick to kana

 

F

Fehrant

後輩

10 Feb 2006

137

0

• 30 Apr 2006

• Thread starter
• #3

So the simplest answer is the correct one, eh?

ありがとうございます。

 

D

dosanko

後輩

4 May 2006

1

0

• 4 May 2006

• #4

The Other O!

nice gaijin said:

there is no "お" particle, there is only を.

Click to expand...

Are you sure? How about the honorific prefix 御 / お, like in お金, お箸, お茶 ...
お茶をどうぞ。 uses both "o"s. However, if you write it in romaji, you might get:

o-cha o douzo​

That's why romaji often uses "wo" to tell を and お apart, although the pronunciation is the same. This romanization is a bit easier to understand:

o-cha wo douzo​

 

JimmySeal

Tubthumper

5 Mar 2006

1,516

78

• 4 May 2006

• #5

The honorific prefix ﾅ津､ / 窶堋ｨ isn't a particle.

 

N

nhk9

先輩

27 Aug 2004

415

12

• 6 May 2006

• #6

There's a site with a survey of about 100 native speakers on this question. Please see for yourself

日本語調査 『を』の発音ー ＷＯ（うぉ）？Ｏ（お）？

 

JimmySeal

Tubthumper

5 Mar 2006

1,516

78

• 6 May 2006

• #7

Here's what Koujien says about を:

平安中期までは「う」に近い半母音〔w〕に母音〔o〕を添えた〔wo〕だったが、現代では「お」〔o〕と同じに発音する。

Until the mid-Heian period, pronounced as /wo/ (formed by attaching the semivowel /w/ to the vowel /o/, but currently pronounced the same as お/o/.


That's not to say it's never pronounced as /wo/. It certainly is pronounced that way often in music, probably moreso than in everyday speech.

 

doinkies

ガイジン娘。

21 Dec 2005

419

19

• 7 May 2006

• #8

Yeah, I've heard it pronounced "wo" in many songs. But when it's spoken, it's always pronounced the same as お by most people. So in those rare instances when doinkies uses romaji I usually romanize を as o.