Structure
Noun + を通して
Noun + を通じて
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About を通じて・を通して
を通じて and を通して are two grammar patterns in Japanese that have very similar meanings to each other, and are used in many overlapping situations. Primarily, they can be thought of as meaning 'through (A), (B)', or 'via (A), (B)'. This 'through' may either indicate a method, or a location.
通じる 'to flow', or 'to go through' and 通す 'to make a path', only differ in that the former is intransitive, while the latter is transitive. Because of this, 通じる will be seen more often in regard to information or communication where (A) is the connection through which (B) occurs. 通す on the other hand more often refers to direct locations through which something is transferred or relocated. As this expression begins with を, it will appear after nouns, before expressing in the (B) part of the sentence exactly what was done 'through' (A).
Caution
The primary difference between を通じて and を通して lies in the intransitive and transitive nature of the verbs themselves. Due to this, things that are being done 'intentionally', or 'by use of (A)' will tend to use を通して. を通じて is more common when something is being done 'throughout (A)'.
- ロシアには年間を通じて寒い村があるらしい。I heard that there is a town in Russia that is cold throughout the year. (Natural Japanese)
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事故にあった際には弁護士を通じて相手に連絡をするようにしてください。If you are involved in an accident, you should contact the other party through your attorney. (Unnatural Japanese)
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事故にあった際には弁護士を通して相手に連絡をするようにしてください。If you are involved in an accident, you should contact the other party through your attorney. (Natural Japanese)
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ロシアには年間を通して寒い村があるらしい。I heard that there is a town in Russia that is cold throughout the year. (Unnatural Japanese)
Examples
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このプロジェクトを通じて多くのことを学んだ。
I have learned a lot through participating in this project.
看病を通して人の愛を知りました。
Through nursing a patient, I came to know human affection.
叔父さんを通して仕事の依頼がきた。
Through my uncle, I got a job commision.
打合せを通して新たな発見をすることもよくある。
There are many new discoveries made through business meetings.
植木を通して自然の尊さを学びました。
I learned the nobility of nature through planting.
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を通じて・を通して – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (4 in total)
Fuga
Hey @eccol !
Although を通して and を通じて can be used interchangeably, they do have a slight difference in the nuance because the plain forms of を通して and を通じて is 通す and 通じる, and have different meanings. 通す means ‘to make an object pass through another object’ and 通じる means ‘to connect’. Due to these differences in their meanings, を通して has a volitional nuance, and を通じて has a passive nuance.
を通して does not work with 今の奥さんは友達を ____ 出会った, because he did not go out of his way to meet his wife, he met his wife through coincidence of having a friend that was friends with his current wife. Also, because the definition for 通じてる is ‘to connect’, を通じて sounds a lot more natural.
を通して sounds more natural for 植木 _____ 自然の尊さを学びました, because the speaker went out of their way to plant trees to learn nobility of nature.
We hope that this answers your question!
Melanthe
For future reference, I think this grammar point could do with splitting:
Zoular
Matt on Game Gengo made a video on this grammar
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