을 and 를 are used to identify the object of a sentence.
It is attached to the end of a noun (which would be the object of the sentence). Let's take a look at some examples:
| Object | Participle (을/를) |
Verb | Sentence (Polite Form) |
| 아침 (breakfast) |
을 | 먹다 (to eat) |
아침을 먹어요. (I eat breakfast) |
| 지도 (map) |
를 | 읽다 (to read) |
지도를 읽어요. I read a map. |
Looking at the two examples above, 아침 (breakfast) and 지도 (map) are the objects of the sentences. What did the speaker eat? Breakfast. What did the speaker read? A map.
을 and 를 have the same function, but we use:
| Object / Target | Participle (을/를) |
Example | |
| 책 (book) | 을 | 읽다 (to read) |
책을 읽어요. |
| 휴지 (tissue) | 를 | 버리다 (to throw away) |
휴지를 버려요. |
| 티비 (TV) | 를 | 켜다 (to turn on) |
TV를 켜요. |
Compared to other particles such as 이/가 and 은/는, 을/를 is rather straightforward. Additionally, its rules are very similar to English, where we attach it to the object of the sentence.