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Example sentences:

> 手 **を** ふれないでください。
>
> ボールはネット **に** 触れた。

The second sentence feels like passive but then I would write it like this:
に触れられる。
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2017-09-11T13:22:44.293
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2017-09-11T14:28:41.767
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
25772
question
particles transitivity
What is the difference between に触れる and を触れる?
The verb 触れる{ふれる} is a little unintuitive in its usage. Strictly speaking it
doesn't mean simply "to touch something" but rather "to touch something to
something else". The thing _being touched_ is always marked with the indirect
object に, but the thing _doing the touching_ can be marked with を, で or が with
slightly different nuances.

The usage with を refers to a definite subject deliberately touching one thing
to another thing. So AがYにXを触れる means "A touches X to Y". It's most commonly
used with a body part as the direct object, such as 私はテーブルに指を触れた "I touched my
finger to the table".

The usage with が can be thought of as a separate, intransitive verb that's
fairly straightforward: XがYに触れる means "X touches Y". This is the pattern
that's being used in your second example ボールはネットに触れた "The ball touched the
net". (the が has been topicalised to は). With this form the touching doesn't
have to be a deliberate action, but it can be - 私はテーブルに触れた "I touched the
table" is perfectly acceptable.

The usage with で is a sort of halfway house between the others - for practical
purposes it's essentially the same as the transitive usage with を (since
there's an actor deliberately touching one thing with another), but
grammatically it's an extension of the intransitive usage with が. 私は指でテーブルに触れた
"I touched the table with my finger" expresses the same action as 私はテーブルに指を触れた
"I touched my finger to the table", but the emphasis is subtly different.

To complicate things, there's also a completely separate verb 触る{さわる} which
uses the same kanji but has completely different usage patterns. This verb is
more intuitive, and can use either に or を to indicate the thing being touched.
So 指を触る{さわる}, 指に触る{さわる} and 指に触れる{ふれる} all mean essentially the same thing
(the finger is what's _being touched_ ) but 指を触れる{ふれる}, 指で触れる{ふれる} and
指で触る{さわる} mean the opposite (the finger is what you're _doing the touching
with_ ).
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2017-09-11T14:28:41.767
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2017-09-11T14:28:41.767
25107
53202
answer