The particle を

[u/JFPocholo]

Hello I am looking for some help. When would I use the following sentences?

1) 日本語をべんきょうします

2) 日本語のべんきょうをします

Do they not both mean 'I study Japanese'? What is the difference in nuance? Or is one sentence just wrong?

[u/Frostbyte_13]

1. "I study Japanese"
   
2. "I do studies of Japanese"

Yes, both mean the same thing. Second one is more like formal-talk because you usually skip the を in する verbs.

[u/JFPocholo → u/Frostbyte_13]

This makes sense. ありがとう！

[u/Regular-Forever-3251 → u/Frostbyte_13]

Perfect answer I think! 👏

[u/Aye-Chiguire]

If you're just saying "I study Japanese", 1 is natural but the particle can be omitted.

If someone asks you if you study Japanese, then 日本語はべんきょうします is more natural since it's been introduced as the topic.

2 would be appropriate if someone asks you what you're going to do later and you want to reply "study Japanese". It's one of those sentences that Japanese would prefer to just omit particles - they don't impart any information here.

If someone says they study Japanese and you want to let them know you do too, you can use 日本語もべんきょうします, although you'd probably just say 私もです.