Is there a rule or pattern to figure out whether を or に should be used with 我慢する?

Question

The verb 我慢する means "to endure", "to put up with something or someone". According to my textbook, it is used with either に or を, but no further explanation is given.

I've been taking a look to several example sentences, and these are my impressions:

• 〇を我慢する is more frequent than 〇に我慢する
• When 〇 is a person, rather than an object, it is used 〇に我慢する (however, there are example sentences where に is used with objects, too).

Some of the example sentences I've found are:

めんどくさいお兄ちゃんに我慢する。

お金が貯まるまでそれを我慢する。

食べることを我慢する。

Is there any rule or pattern to help me determine whether I should use に or を (or maybe even if there are cases where both are ok)?

よろしくお願いします。

Answer 1

They are semantically different.

• Xに我慢する means "to put up with X" (i.e., you hate X). Xに耐える is more common.
• Xを我慢する means "to put up with the lack of X", "to hold off on X", "to try to refrain from X" (i.e., you want X).