18105
So I'm just confused. I've read that when writing **を** is used, but when
talking **お** is used. Is this true or are they entirely different?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T19:49:10.547
18104
2014-08-03T21:37:19.730
6821
question
grammar particles
Is there a difference between the particle お (o) and the particle を (wo)
You need to distinguish **spelling** and **pronunciation**. You do this all
the time in English: you're aware that _**two**_ ("one plus one") and
_**too**_ ("also") have the same pronunciation even though they're spelled
differently.

Likewise, in Japanese, keep in mind that **the particle を is always spelled
を** , even though its basic pronunciation is the same as お.

* * *

を and お used to be distinguished in pronunciation, but they merged about a
thousand years ago. The distinction was retained in spelling for a long time
after, just like how in English we still write _**knight**_ even though no one
pronounces the _**k**_ or _**gh**_ anymore.

But the distinction in spelling didn't last forever. After World War 2,
Japanese spelling was finally revised and every word with を was re-spelled
with お instead. をとこ became おとこ, and so on.

### Every word except one! The particle を.

For some reason, the spelling reformers decided to keep the particles は, へ,
and を rather than re-spell them わ, え, and お. You'll just have to memorize
this. There are some other ways Japanese spelling is different from
pronunciation, for example in long vowels:

```

      王　　（おう）　king 　　　(pronounced like オー)
      追う　（おう）　chase　　　(pronounced like オウ)
    
```

You'll have to keep the differences between spelling and pronunciation in mind
as you learn Japanese.

* * *

Although every Japanese dialect has lost the distinction between を and お,
there are some people who pronounce を as /wo/ today as a spelling
pronunciation. You'll also hear a /w/ inserted in some phonetic contexts such
as after ん /N/, but this insertion isn't phonemic—that is, it isn't used to
distinguish を from お. Likewise, you'll often hear を as /wo/ in songs, but
you'll also hear singers insert /w/ before お, so you can't rely on the
presence of /w/ to distinguish お and を in modern Japanese, even in songs.

Regardless of any phonetic variation, **the particle を is always spelled を**.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T21:37:19.730
18105
2014-08-03T21:37:19.730
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
18104
answer