Why is に{ni} used instead of を{wo} in ~に{ni}[当たる]{ataru}?


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"?




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.

