Onyomi: ツ, ツウ · Kunyomi: -とお.り, -どお.し, -どお.り, かよ.う, とお.し, とお.す, とお.り, とお.る · Meanings: avenue, commute, counter for letters, notes, documents, etc., pass through, traffic
Kanji for avenue, commute, counter for letters notes documents etc, pass through, traffic
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The kanji 通 combines the “walk/movement” radical (辶) with the character for “thread” or “passage” (甬), symbolizing movement through a path or connection. In ancient times, it represented passing through, going along a road, or communicating. 通 came to mean pass, commute, or communicate, capturing movement, flow, and connection.
A path allowing passage — 通 means to pass, go through, or communicate.
Imagine walking along a road that connects places and people — that’s 通, the kanji for passing through or communication.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 通 | つう | authority, expert, connoisseur, well-informed person | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Noun, used as a suffix, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |
| 通学 | つうがく | commuting to school, school commute | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 通勤 | つうきん | commuting to work | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb |
| 通訳 | つうやく | interpretation (i.e. oral translation) | common JLPT-N2 Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb |
| 通貨 | つうか | currency | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 通路 | つうろ | passage, pathway, roadway, avenue, aisle | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 通る | とおる | to go by, to go past, to go along, to travel along, to pass through, to use (a road), to take (a route), to go via, to go by way of | common JLPT-N4 Godan verb with 'ru' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 通う | かよう | to go to and from (a place), to go back and forth between, to run between (e.g. bus, train, etc.), to ply between | common JLPT-N4 Godan verb with 'u' ending, Intransitive verb |
| 通り | とおり | street, road, avenue, thoroughfare | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 通す | とおす | to stick through, to force through | common JLPT-N3 Godan verb with 'su' ending, Transitive verb |