godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
go back and forth; travel between; run between
Describes repeated movement between two places. It can also describe a bus, train, ferry, or other service that regularly runs or plies between places.
荷物を運ぶために、家と倉庫の間を何度も通った。
I went back and forth between the house and the warehouse many times to move the luggage.
A ferry runs between the island and the mainland.
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
Used when someone regularly goes to a school, workplace, clinic, lesson, gym, shop, or similar place. The destination is commonly marked with に.
妹は東京の大学に通っている。
My younger sister attends a university in Tokyo.
毎朝、電車で会社に通っている。
I commute to work by train every morning.
健康のために週二回ジムに通っている。
I go to the gym twice a week for my health.
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
circulate; flow through; be communicated
Used for something passing through a body or system, such as blood or electricity, and figuratively for feelings, thought, or understanding reaching another person. Common in expressions like 血が通う and 心が通う.
寒さで指先に血が通わない感じがする。
My fingertips feel as if blood is not circulating because of the cold.
二人は長い時間をかけて心が通うようになった。
Over a long time, the two came to understand each other emotionally.
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
resemble; have something in common
Uncommon compared with 似る or 共通する. Often appears in formal or literary-sounding phrasing such as 通うものがある or 通うところがある, meaning that two things resemble each other or share a quality.
彼の作風には師匠に通うところがある。
His style has something in common with his teacher's.
二人の顔立ちにはどこか通うものがある。
There is something similar about the two people's features.