通う · godan verb (-u)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 通う | 通わない |
| Polite | 通います | 通いません |
| Past polite | 通いました | 通いませんでした |
| Past | 通った | 通わなかった |
| Te-form | 通って | 通わないで |
| Desire | 通いたい | 通いたくない |
| Potential | 通える | 通えない |
| Passive | 通われる | 通われない |
| Causative | 通わせる | 通わせない |
| Causative passive | 通わせられるalso 通わされる | 通わせられないalso 通わされない |
| Volitional | 通おう | |
| Polite volitional | 通いましょう | |
| Imperative | 通え | 通うな |
| Conditional | 通えば | 通わなければ |
| Tara conditional | 通ったら | 通わなかったら |
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.
I went back and forth between the house and the warehouse many times to move the luggage.
島と本土の間をフェリーが通っている。
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.
My daughter goes to piano lessons every Saturday.
This ferry runs between Honshu and Shikoku.
He used to visit his lover's place every night.
There is something in common between the two artists' works.
commuter wife; wife who lives separately and visits regularly
commuter marriage; living-apart-together marriage