通 (tōng) is a Chinese character meaning “to go through”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 甬 (walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to go through”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 甬
Enclosing structure
- 辶 walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò) · chuò meaning
- 甬 walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component · yǒng sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 通，达也。从辵甬声；IDS 拆分 ⿺辶甬，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–6 为「甬」，笔画 7–9 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
Walk (辶) down a walled passage (甬) and you come out the other side — the way goes through.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 交通jiāo tōngtraffic; transportation通 = tōng
- 沟通gōu tōngto communicate; to connect up通 = tōng
- 畅通chàng tōngunblocked; flowing freely; unimpeded通 = tōng
- 通讯tōng xùncommunication; news dispatch通 = tōng
- 通宵tōng xiāoall night long; overnight通 = tōng
Go deeper
All readings
to go through
to go through; to lead to; to connect; to understand thoroughly; common, general
没有阻碍，可以穿过；连接、到达；懂得透彻；普遍的、一般的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 交通jiāo tōngtraffic; transportation通 = tōng
- 沟通gōu tōngto communicate; to connect up通 = tōng
- 畅通chàng tōngunblocked; flowing freely; unimpeded通 = tōng
- 通讯tōng xùncommunication; news dispatch通 = tōng
- 通宵tōng xiāoall night long; overnight通 = tōng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 通 mean?
通 (tōng) means to go through; to lead to; to connect; to understand thoroughly; common, general.
How do you pronounce 通?
It is pronounced tōng.
What parts is 通 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 甬 (walled passage (as in 甬道); a common sound component), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 通，达也。从辵甬声；IDS 拆分 ⿺辶甬，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–6 为「甬」，笔画 7–9 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 通 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 通?
辶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 通?
Common ones are 交通 and 沟通. The reading of 通 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.