In this sentence:

> [父]{chichi}[親]{oya} [が]{ga} [昔]{mukashi} [宝くじ]{takarakuji} [に]{ni}
> [当たった]{atatta} [こと]{koto} [を]{wo} [話した]{hanashita}。

[当たった]{atatta} is a verb taking the object [宝くじ]{takarakuji}. So why is
[に]{ni} used in this place and not [を]{wo}? Isn't [を]{wo} more correct, as it
marks the object?

If translated literally, doesn't [宝くじ]{takarakuji} [に]{ni} [当たった]{atatta} mean
"won _to_ the lottery" instead of "won the lottery"?
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2023-07-29T09:58:24.590
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question
grammar particles
Why is に{ni} used instead of を{wo} in ~に{ni}[当たる]{ataru}?
The verb "ataru" is intransitive. It takes an indirect object, not a direct
object. The indirect object is marked by "ni".

The English verb "win" is transitive (in the context of "win a lottery"). It
takes a direct object.

The transitivity of the verb "win" in English has no bearing on the Japanese
verb. They are just totally separate from each other. What makes "win" a
translation of "ataru" in this context is just the fact that, in English,
"win" is the verb that is used. In Japanese, in the same context, "ataru" is
used. But there is no reason to think they should be the same transitivity as
each other.
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2023-07-29T10:26:36.063
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answer
The verb [当]{a}[た]{ta}[る]{ru} [has many
"meanings"](https://jisho.org/search/%E5%BD%93%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8B) translated
to English, but there is a core sense in them of being on target, hitting a
bullseye, being exactly right. It's an intransitive verb in all of these
cases, even though we would need transitive English verbs to translate them -
it is vital to keep in mind that _languages are not just arbitrary collections
of labels for an agreed-upon set of concepts_ ; they reflect the thought
processes of their originators and the evolution of those world views, in a
cultural context, over centuries if not millennia.

My guess about the underlying idea is that the "target" isn't seen as a direct
object in Japanese because the action of 当たる _isn't about the striking, but
the precision_. Winning a _competition_ , or a one-on-one _contest_ , would
normally use a different verb [勝]{ka}[つ]{tsu} (although this is also
intransitive!); but 当たる makes sense for a lottery, I think, because the point
of a lottery is that you're trying to guess numbers and get them exactly
right. (English can make a distinction as well; it would be strange to say
that you "defeated" or "were victorious over" a lottery.)

Perhaps "be accurate" works as a gloss for the central meaning. That's
intransitive in English, too.
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answer