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I'd like to know if there is any difference between 電話する and 電話をする, if they mean the same, or if 電話をする doesn't even exist.
I ask this because in an exercise in my book it says to use をする with 電話 to form the verb, but on the online dictionary I usually check it says it's 電話する, without を.
Dictionary link: http://tangorin.com/general/%E9%9B%BB%E8%A9%B1
I ask this because in an exercise in my book it says to use をする with 電話 to form the verb, but on the online dictionary I usually check it says it's 電話する, without を.
Similar to fefe's answer on a closely related question, 電話をする is really a phrase, not a "word", so it probably wouldn't show up in a dictionary as a unit.
In this case, it might be fair to say that the meanings are the same. In some ways it can be compared to "I'll give X a call" vs "I'll call X". There are corner cases where the former could sound "odd", but for all practical purposes they mean the same thing.
One technical note: を shouldn't be used with 電話をする to indicate the topic of the phone call, whereas it can be used with 電話する... following a more general rule about not having more than one を in a clause.
been in japan for almost 5 years already and have passed n5 and n4, from my conversations and from what i have heard, 電話する is used and the only time i have heard of 電話をする is in the classroom. having said this, it is important to know the usage of を and how it is used/not used in the real world.
