Object Particle — 을/를

In Korean, the particle 을/를 marks the object of a verb, which is the thing that receives the action. Use 을 after a consonant and 를 after a vowel, as in 빵을 먹어요 and 커피를 마셔요. This lesson also shows why 좋아하다 takes 을/를 while 좋다 does not.

1. Why learn this

Almost every sentence about daily life has an object. You eat bread, drink coffee, watch a movie, buy a book. In Korean, 을/를 tells the listener which word is the thing the action is done to.

Korean word order is flexible, and the verb always comes last. Because of that, the particles do the work that word order does in English. If you attach 을/를 correctly, people understand you even when the sentence is short or the order changes.

This particle is also one of the first places where learners make mistakes. Beginners often write 빵를 or 커피가 마셔요. After this lesson you will know the simple rule behind each choice.