Meaning
Vます＋通す means 'keep doing something to the very end without stopping or giving up': run the whole distance, get through a hard book, keep a secret. The focus is on persistence and continuity. It is not を通して 'through, by means of'.
Formation
- Group 1 verb: Vます＋通す: 走る → 走り通す (run the whole way), 守る → 守り通す (protect to the end)
- Group 2 verb: Vます＋通す: 信じる → 信じ通す (believe to the end)
- Most common combination: やる → やり通す (see a task through)
- 通す conjugates as a group 1 verb — 走り通した, やり通して, 隠し通せない
When to use it
- Where to use it
- For tasks that are hard not to abandon: a race, a long project, a secret, a promise, a principle. 最後までやり通す, 秘密を隠し通す, 雨の中を走り通す.
- Where not to use it
- Grammar: it needs a process you could quit halfway; it does not combine with instantaneous actions (✗見つけ通す, ✗割り通す). Style: for a plain 'finished it' with no sense of persistence, ～終わる or ～きる is more natural.
Examples
20 sentences-
足が痛かったけど、最後まで走り通したよ。
My legs hurt, but I ran the whole way to the finish!
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一度決めたことは、何があってもやり通すつもりです。
Once I decide on something, I mean to see it through no matter what.
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父は三十年間、店の味を守り通してきた。
For thirty years, my father has kept the restaurant's flavor unchanged.
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彼は病気のことを、家族にも隠し通した。
He kept his illness hidden to the end, even from his family.
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いつまでも嘘をつき通せるわけがない。
There's no way you can keep up a lie forever.
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辞書を引きながら、初めて英語の小説を読み通した。
Looking words up as I went, I read an English novel all the way through for the first time.
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この山道を、休まずに歩き通せますか？
Can you walk this whole mountain trail without a break?
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母は最後まで私を信じ通してくれた。
My mother kept believing in me right to the end.
12 more examples
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選手たちは、雨の中を九十分間戦い通した。
The players fought on through all ninety minutes in the rain.
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ダイエットを始めたけど、結局やり通せなかった。
I started a diet, but in the end I couldn't stick it out.
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店が忙しくて、母は朝から晩まで働き通した。
The shop was busy, so my mother worked straight through from morning till night.
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部長は最後まで、自分の案を押し通した。
The department head pushed his plan through to the very end.
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発表会で、難しい曲を間違えずに弾き通した。
At the recital, I played a difficult piece all the way through without a mistake.
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祖父は一生、自分の生き方を貫き通した。
My grandfather stayed true to his own way of life his whole life.
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この仕事を一人でやり通せる自信がない。
I'm not confident I can see this job through on my own.
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何を聞かれても、黙り通すつもりなの？
Are you planning to stay silent to the end, no matter what they ask?
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みんなが疑っても、私だけは彼を信じ通したい。
Even if everyone else doubts him, I want to keep believing in him to the end.
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初めてのフルマラソンを、五時間で走り通した。
I ran my first full marathon all the way through in five hours.
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大変だと思いますが、このプロジェクトをやり通してください。
I know it will be tough, but please see this project through.
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テストの悪い点数を、母に隠し通せなかった。
I couldn't keep my bad test score hidden from my mom.
Important notes
- It often appears with 最後まで, 一人で, 休まずに: 最後まで一人でやり通した.
- The negative potential means 'fail to keep it up to the end': 隠し通せない 'can't keep it hidden forever', やり通せなかった 'couldn't see it through'.
Common mistakes
- ✗ 最後まで走って通した → ✓ 最後まで走り通した — 通す attaches to the ます-stem.
- ✗ 彼は最後まで頑張り通った → ✓ 頑張り通した — 通る is intransitive 'pass'; this pattern needs 通す.
- 見通す can mean 'watch to the end without giving up': 退屈な芝居を最後まで見通した. It also means 'foresee' or 'see through'; for simply finishing a film, 映画を見終わった is more usual.
Check yourself
Pick the translation of each sentence. The wrong options translate similar patterns, so watch the grammar rather than the words.
Similar grammar
- ～きる・～きれない～きる means using up the whole amount (食べきる 'eat it all'); ～通す means not quitting halfway, enduring the whole process (走り通す).
- ～を通して・～を通じてを通して means 'through, by way of' or 'throughout' (友人を通して, 一年を通して); it follows a noun with を, not a verb stem.
- Vます + 続ける～続ける means 'keep on', with no endpoint (走り続ける 'keep running'); ～通す means carrying on to the very end (走り通す 'run the whole way').
- ～かける・～かけの～かける means starting and leaving it unfinished (読みかける); ～通す is the opposite: carrying it through without a break.
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