通过 (tōngguò): Through / Via / By Means Of | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

When the "with" of English isn't a physical tool but a process, channel, or go-between — "through hard work," "via a friend," "by negotiation" — Chinese reaches for 通过 (tōngguò). As a coverb it names the means or route that leads to a result, and it fronts the clause much like an English "Through / By X, …". It sits one level of abstraction above instrument 用: where 用 takes a concrete tool you hold (用筷子, use chopsticks), 通过 takes a method, experience, or intermediary you pass through to reach an outcome. The one thing to keep straight is that the very same 通过 is also an ordinary verb meaning "to pass" — and the two are told apart by structure, not by the word.

The frame: 通过 + means, then the result

The pattern is 通过 + [means / channel / agent] + main clause (the result). You present the route first, the outcome second — often with a comma between them when the phrase is long.

通过努力，他终于考上了大学。

tōngguò nǔlì, tā zhōngyú kǎoshàng le dàxué

Through hard work, he finally got into university. (neutral) — effort is the means to the result.

我们是通过一个朋友认识的。

wǒmen shì tōngguò yí gè péngyou rènshi de

We got to know each other through a mutual friend. (informal) — the friend is the intermediary: 通过.

很多矛盾可以通过谈判解决。

hěn duō máodùn kěyǐ tōngguò tánpàn jiějué

Many conflicts can be settled through negotiation. (formal) — negotiation is the method.

现在大家主要通过网络联系。

xiànzài dàjiā zhǔyào tōngguò wǎngluò liánxì

These days people mostly keep in touch via the internet. (neutral) — the internet is the channel.

通过这次经历，我明白了很多道理。

tōngguò zhè cì jīnglì, wǒ míngbai le hěn duō dàolǐ

Through this experience, I came to understand a great deal. (neutral) — an experience as the route to insight.

通过 vs 用: channel versus tool

Both can translate as "by / with," so hold the contrast clearly. 用 takes a concrete instrument wielded directly in the action. 通过 takes an abstract process, channel, or agent that mediates toward a result. You use a computer (用电脑), but you find a job through the internet (通过网络), because the internet is a channel, not a handheld tool.

	用 (yòng)	通过 (tōngguò)
Marks	a concrete tool / instrument	a process, channel, or intermediary
Answers	"with what tool?"	"by what channel / method?"
Example	用电脑工作 (work on a computer)	通过网络找工作 (find a job via the net)
Register	neutral, everyday	neutral to formal

他通过自学掌握了三门外语。

tā tōngguò zìxué zhǎngwò le sān mén wàiyǔ

He mastered three foreign languages through self-study. (formal) — self-study is the method, so 通过.

💡

Ask "is this a handheld tool or a route to a result?" A tool you wield → 用 (用筷子, 用手机). A method, channel, or middleman you go through → 通过 (通过努力, 通过朋友, 通过网络).

The plain verb 通过: "to pass"

The identical word 通过 is also a full main verb meaning "to pass" — pass an exam, pass a proposal/vote, or physically pass through an opening. You tell it apart from the coverb by structure: the verb 通过 takes a direct object and can carry aspect 了 (通过了考试); the coverb 通过 is followed by a second verb and takes no 了 of its own.

我终于通过了驾照考试。

wǒ zhōngyú tōngguò le jiàzhào kǎoshì

I finally passed my driving test. (informal) — verb 'pass', object 考试, with 了.

这项提案在会上顺利通过了。

zhè xiàng tí'àn zài huì shàng shùnlì tōngguò le

The proposal passed smoothly at the meeting. (formal) — 'be passed / approved'.

火车缓缓通过了一条长长的隧道。

huǒchē huǎnhuǎn tōngguò le yì tiáo cháng cháng de suìdào

The train slowly passed through a long tunnel. (neutral) — physically 'pass through'.

A close relative worth knowing is 经过 (jīngguò), "to go/pass by (a place)" or "after going through (a process)": 经过银行 (pass by the bank), 经过努力 (after much effort). The nuance versus 通过努力 is real — 通过 stresses effort as the means that produced the result, while 经过 stresses the process undergone along the way. And for passing by a place alongside it, only 经过 works; 通过 is passing through an opening.

Common Mistakes

1. Using 用 for an abstract process. Effort, study, and negotiation are routes to a result, not handheld tools.

❌ 用努力，他成功了。

Incorrect — effort is a process, not a tool; use 通过努力, not 用努力.

✅ 通过努力，他成功了。

tōngguò nǔlì, tā chénggōng le

Through effort, he succeeded. — a process/means: 通过.

2. Putting 了 on the coverb 通过. The coverb takes no aspect marker; only the main verb does.

❌ 通过了努力，他考上了大学。

Incorrect — the coverb 通过 carries no 了; put aspect on the main verb, not on 通过努力.

✅ 通过努力，他考上了大学。

tōngguò nǔlì, tā kǎoshàng le dàxué

Through effort, he got into university. — 了 sits on the result verb, not the coverb.

3. Trailing the 通过 phrase after the result. The means-phrase leads the clause.

❌ 他成功了通过努力。

Wrong order — the means comes first: 通过努力，他成功了 (or 他通过努力成功了).

✅ 他通过努力取得了成功。

tā tōngguò nǔlì qǔdé le chénggōng

He achieved success through effort. — 通过 phrase before the verb.

4. Using 通过 for passing by a place. Passing alongside a place is 经过; 通过 is passing through an opening.

❌ 我每天上班都通过那家银行。

Incorrect — passing by a place is 经过, not 通过 (which is 'through' an opening).

✅ 我每天上班都经过那家银行。

wǒ měi tiān shàngbān dōu jīngguò nà jiā yínháng

I pass by that bank every day on my way to work. — 经过 for passing by.

Key Takeaways

The coverb 通过 (tōngguò) marks the means, channel, or intermediary "through / via": 通过努力, 通过朋友, 通过谈判 — and it leads the clause.
It is more abstract than 用: 用 = a handheld tool, 通过 = a process or route to a result.
The same word is the plain verb "to pass" (通过考试, 提案通过了, 通过隧道) — distinguished by structure: the verb takes an object and 了; the coverb takes a following verb and no 了.
Compare 经过 (jīngguò): pass by a place / after undergoing a process — not interchangeable with 通过.
Register is neutral-to-formal — at home in writing, news, and careful speech.

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