を

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See also: を゙

を U+3092, を
HIRAGANA LETTER WO
← ゑ
 		Hiragana ん →

Japanese

Stroke order
3 strokes

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 遠 in the cursive sōsho style.

Pronunciation

  • (obsolete, except in careful speech or when singing)

Syllable

を • (o) 

  1. (obsolete except as a particle) The hiragana syllable を (o). Its equivalent in katakana is ヲ (o). It is the forty-seventh syllable in the gojūon order; its position is わ行お段 (wa-gyō o-dan, “row wa, section o”).
Usage notes

In most cases outside its use as a particle, it is replaced by お.

See also

Etymology 2

/wo/ → /o/

From Proto-Japonic *wo. Cognate with Okinawan ゆ (yu).

Pronunciation

    • The historical spelling is retained despite the modern pronunciation (as with は (wa) and へ (e)).
    • In songs or hyperformal contexts, the old pronunciation wo may be used.

Particle

を • (o) 

  1. A case particle.
    1. (with transitive verb) An accusative case particle: a grammatical marker following the direct object of a verb.
      私(わたし)がリンゴを食(た)べる。
      Watashi ga ringo o taberu.
      I eat an apple.
      私(わたし)をリンゴが食(た)べる。
      Watashi o ringo ga taberu.
      An apple eats me.
      • As shown in the above two usage examples, Japanese sentences use particles to indicate subject and object, instead of using word order as in English.
    2. (with intransitive verb) away from, off
      席(せき)を立(た)つ
      seki o tatsu
      to stand up from the seat
    3. (with intransitive verb) along, following a specified route, track, orbit, etc.
      廊(ろう)下(か)を走(はし)る
      rōka o hashiru
      to run down the corridor
      街(まち)を歩(ある)く
      machi o aruku
      to walk down the street
      北(ほっ)海(かい)道(どう)を流(なが)れる川(かわ)
      Hokkaidō o nagareru kawa
      a river that flows through Hokkaido
      地(ち)球(きゅう)のまわりを月(つき)がまわる。
      Chikyū no mawari o tsuki ga mawaru.
      The Moon orbits the Earth.
  2. (archaic) A conjunctive particle, usually following the rentaikei of classical inflectible words.
    1. Resultative conjunction: expresses reason or cause.
    2. Contrastive conjunction.
      • 1890, Mori Ōgai, The Dancing Girl:
        我身(わがみ)だに知(し)らざりしを、怎(いか)でか人(ひと)に知(し)らるべき。
        Wagami dani shirazarishi o, ika de ka hito ni shiraru beki.
        Even myself didn't know, how could others know?
        我身(わがみ)だに知(し)らざりしを、怎(いか)でか人(ひと)に知(し)らるべき。
        Wagami dani shirazarishi o, ika de ka hito ni shiraru beki.
        Even myself didn't know, how could others know?
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  3. (archaic, literary) An interjectory particle, expressing sigh or emphasis.
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 2, poem 108:
      , text
      我(あ)を待(ま)つと君(きみ)が濡(ぬ)れけむあしひきの山(やま)のしづくにならましものを
      A o matsu to / Kimi ga nureken / Ashihiki no / Yama no shizuku ni / naramashi mono o
      You probably got wet while waiting for me; ah, I wish I could become a waterdrop in the mountain.

Synonyms

  • In highly informal speech, a lengthened vowel may be used instead of を: 手(て)ぇ上(あ)げろ ― tē agero ― raise your hands.

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of を – see the following entries.
【小お】1
attached to certain nouns:
small in shape or scale
attached to certain names to give expression or feelings (Can we verify(+) this sense?)
used proverbially to represent "small" or "slight" (Can we verify(+) this sense?)
【悪お】3
hate; loathe
【尾お】S
a tail
the foot of a mountain
the end of something
【男お】1
a man
a husband
a male
something large, powerful, or otherwise masculine
【苧お】H
hemp or ramie
thread made from the outer husk of the stems of hemp or ramie
a textile made from this thread
【麻お】S
the hemp or ramie plant
thread or yarn made from fibers derived from the bark of hemp or ramie stems
【汚お】S
dirty
(This term, を, is a historical kana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as を, see Category:Japanese kanji read as を.)

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia