通すContinue all the way through
通す attaches to a verb to say that someone maintains an action, decision, or stance throughout a relevant period and through to its end. It often suggests consistency or determination rather than mere continuation.
The whole span matters
The sentence normally gives or strongly implies a duration, course, or endpoint. The focus is not simply that the action continued for a while, but that the person maintained it without changing course until that span was over.
Actions and maintained stances
The pattern works with sustained activities as well as beliefs, roles, policies, and deliberate ways of acting.
山頂まで五時間歩き通した。
I walked for five hours all the way to the summit.
AnalyzeThe route to the summit supplies a clear endpoint.
証拠が出るまで、彼は友人の無実を信じ通した。
He continued believing in his friend's innocence until evidence emerged.
AnalyzeWhat is maintained here is a belief rather than a physical activity.
彼女は舞台が終わるまで役を演じ通した。
She stayed in character until the performance ended.
AnalyzeThe compound emphasizes maintaining the role for the entire performance.
Choose the base verb carefully
通す is not freely attached to every verb that can last a long time. It is most natural with deliberate actions or positions that a person can maintain, especially in established combinations such as やり通す, 守り通す, 黙り通す, and 隠し通す.
Continuation, consistency, and perseverance
続ける is the broad, neutral way to say that something continues; it does not require a defined endpoint. 通す highlights maintaining the same course across the whole span. ぬく instead draws attention to persevering through difficulty and successfully reaching the end.
彼女は毎日練習を続け、苦しい時期も乗り越えて大会を最後まで走りぬいた。
She kept practicing every day and, overcoming a difficult period, persevered through the race to the finish.
AnalyzeThe first verb states ordinary continuation; the second presents finishing the race as an achievement reached through difficulty.
More examples
彼は三時間の会議中、黙り通した。
He remained silent throughout the three-hour meeting.
Analyze卒業の日まで、二人はその秘密を隠し通した。
The two of them kept the secret hidden until graduation day.
Analyzeどんな批判を受けても、監督は任期の最後まで自分の方針を貫き通した。
Whatever criticism he received, the director stuck to his policy until the end of his term.
Analyze彼女は公演中ずっと笑顔で司会を務め通した。
She carried out her role as host with a smile throughout the performance.
Analyzeゴールまで一度も休まず走り通した。
I ran all the way to the finish without stopping once.
Analyze店は閉店の日まで同じ価格を守り通した。
The shop maintained the same prices until the day it closed.
Analyze彼は無実が証明される日まで、自分は犯人ではないと言い通した。
Until the day his innocence was proven, he consistently maintained that he was not the culprit.
Analyze