Please explain to me why に is used instead of を in these sentences
彼に会います
彼に連絡します
Is that because 会います is a transitive verb? Please give me more detail.
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There might be some historical reason but I don't think you are going to get a satisfying grammatical explanation. It's just one of those irregularities you have to learn.– user3856370Commented Nov 5, 2023 at 10:24
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Related or dup に versus を with 会いました verb– sundownerCommented Nov 5, 2023 at 10:47
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@user3856370 What's irregular about it? Using に with intransitive verbs is just a normal thing in Japanese, no?– LeeboCommented Nov 5, 2023 at 12:34
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@Leebo I meant irregular in the sense that you expect it to the the direct object in English but that it isn't so in Japanese. Nothing more.– user3856370Commented Nov 5, 2023 at 12:37
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1Indeed, English verbs like "look", "listen" and "kiss" seemed very "irregular" to me at first :)– narutoCommented Nov 5, 2023 at 18:00
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1 Answer
会います (or 会う) doesn't take を because it is an intransitive verb, not a transitive verb. Transitive verbs take を, and intransitive verbs don't.
In general, the transitivity of verbs in English and Japanese is the same in, say, 80% of the time, but there are also many exceptional cases. Just because "to meet" or "to contact" is a transitive verb in English doesn't mean that the Japanese equivalent 会う or 連絡する is transitive. There are many similar examples, and you simply have to remember them one by one. Please take a look at this list: に vs. を in "to pass a test"
