Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 9: 18/22

通(とお)りIn that way, Exactly, Precisely, Just as

Structure

Verb［る］(1) + とおり
Noun + どおり
Noun + の + とおり

(1) Verb［た］

Details

  • Register

    Standard

About とおり

Often, the noun とおり carries the meaning of 'in that way', or 'just like that'. In its kanji form, とおり will be written as 通(とお)り, and literally means 'street', or 'way'. However, it is regularly used to indicate the level of 'sameness' one thing has with another. This 'sameness' meaning appears when とおり is used as a suffix.

とおり (or どおり) may be used with verbs or nouns. In the case of verbs, it is common to see it being used after both the plain form, and the simple-past form.

Both どおり and のとおり may be used directly after nouns. However, とおり will only be used when the case marking particle の comes between the noun and とおり.

While both of these structures may be used interchangeably, どおり is more common, especially in speech.

Fun Fact

Constructions like 言(い)った通(とお)り and その通(とお)り are used very frequently, simply as a polite way to agree with what has been said by another. In these cases, it translates similarly to 'that's exactly right', or 'that's it!'.

  • リカの言(い)った通(とお)りだった！あそこのパン屋(や)さんはすごくおいしかった！
    It was exactly as you said, Rika! The bakery over there was very delicious!
  • 本当(ほんとう)にその通(とお)りです！何(なん)でいつも私(わたし)たちがやらないといけないんですか。
    That's honestly exactly it! Why do we have to do it all the time?

Examples

--:--

    思(おも)った通(とお)りでした。

    It was just as I thought.

    あなたのおっしゃる通(とお)りです。

    It will be precisely/just as you say.

    合格者(ごうかくしゃ)は次(つぎ)の通(とお)りです。

    Those who passed are as follows... (Precisely)

    お察(さっ)しの通(とお)り、彼(かれ)は病気(びょうき)です。

    Exactly/Just as you may guess, he is quite ill.

    物事(ものごと)はいつも計画(けいかく)通(ど)おりにはいかないものだなぁ。

    Things will not always go precisely/exactly as planned.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

とおり – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

  • testing

    testing

  • xuzab

    xuzab

    Hi there! This sentence is really tripping me up:
    物事はいつも計画どおりにはいかないものだなぁ。

    Can someone walk me through what the には is doing? I guess I would’ve expected something more like 物事はいつも計画どおりいかないものだなぁ。

  • Pablunpro

    Pablunpro

    Hi!

    Indeed, the role of には is a recurrent question, here is the grammar point on this particle combination. In this sentence, there is also the ものだ structure, a construction used to highlight information that is considered obvious.

    So, it would be like saying, literally, “Everybody knows that, in regard to things, they don’t always go according to plan”.

Got questions about とおり? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

Join the Discussion