通る To Pass

Meaning

Primary

To Pass

Alternatives

To Pass Through, To Travel Along, To Stop By

Word Type

intransitive verb, godan verb

Explanation

This word consists of kanji with hiragana attached. Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means pass through so the verb vocab version means things like to pass through, to pass, to travel along, and to stop by.

Reading

とおる

Explanation

Since this word consists of a kanji with hiragana attached, you can bet that it will use the kun'yomi reading. You didn't learn that reading with this kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you:

There's something in front of you that you have to pass through but you can't. It's a wall. In order to pass through it, you decide to kick it as hard as you can to knock it down. Unfortunately, it is way stronger than you, and your toe explodes on contact. You yell: "TOE! OH!" (とお) and then just scream a lot.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 〜を通る

  トンネルを通る

  to pass through a tunnel

  前を通る

  to pass in front of

  近くを通る

  to pass nearby

• 〜が通る

  人が通る

  someone passes through

  火が通る

  to be cooked through

  車が通る

  a car passes through

Context Sentences

たくさんの車が通る。

Many cars pass by.

竹の林を通って、会社に行きます。

When I go to the company, I pass through the bamboo forest.

三丁目のコンビニの前は、毎日通りますよ。

I pass by the convenience store in 3-chome every day.

Kanji Composition

1. 通

   つう Pass Through