Is を used in real Japanese?


One of the first things people learn in Japanese class is the old 私はケーキを食べます。
Once you begin to get more experienced with Japanese you soon learn that the
initial watashi wa is not good form and is always dropped. Fair enough.

But I am now living in Japan, getting rather solidly into intermediate
Japanese and encountering more and more ‘real’ Japanese. It seems to me that
examples like I eat cake just aren’t said very often and as a result を is
sparsely used.

When I come to write I seem to have lots of がs and とs, a few はs, and the
occasional に, but を and へ seem to not be needed so often.

Am I just a little crazy here or is my observation right? Is を truly a
sparsely used particle? In most common examples where the newbie may think to
use を I increasingly see と (reported speech and the like. を is of course
wrong) and に (I guess people like the vagueness of going towards something and
not actually 100% doing it).




Most of this answer is basically subjective, but there's a lot going on in
this question that I think should be addressed.

The tldr version: Yes, を is frequently used in "real" Japanese.

But if I may offer my 2 cents..

Be careful not to get ahead of yourself in your assumptions about what is and
isn't "real" Japanese. Sure, 私は is _often_ dropped, but only where it's
appropriate to do so. It's not some unwritten rule that _real_ Japanese
speakers never use pronouns. Likewise with particles. Often they are dropped,
usually in informal situations where the context is well understood. I know it
can be kind of a revelation when learners get out of the textbook and start
realizing that there's a whole other world of Japanese language, but the
textbooks start where they do for a reason.

That said, particles are used. Frequently. Very frequently, in fact. That
includes を and に, and while へ is in general a less common particle compared to
others, even that you will hear in regular, everyday use.

I think we can probably get a rough guess at where your Japanese level is
based on the way you're asking this question, and the only thing I can really
advise you to do is _listen_ until you really get a feel for what's going on,
and _don't break linguistic rules_ unless it's a choice that you are aware of,
the consequences of which you understand well. I would advise that you avoid
imitating other people even until you've developed a bit more and stick with
what is comfortable for you. The question includes some really off-base
assumptions, but I'm sure they will be remedied by more exposure to the
language.

Understand the particles and their roles. Part of the problem might just be
that you think one should come and you see another. Also continue to work on
being able to hear and understand what's going on around you so you can get a
keener ear for what's being said. It's probably that particles are buzzing
around you in people's words all the time, but they're just swallowed up by
fast or unclear speech.

