打通

• Pinyin: dǎ tōng
• Hanzi breakdown: 打 = 扌+ 丁 (action verb); 通 = 辶 + 甬 (to pass through)

Meaning

To get through; to connect; to open up. A verb describing successfully establishing a connection or removing barriers.

Can refer to getting through on a phone call, opening up a blocked passage, establishing connections between systems, or achieving understanding between people or groups.

Examples

1. 我打了十几次电话，终于打通了客服热线。 I called more than a dozen times before finally getting through to the customer service hotline.
2. 施工队花了三年时间才打通这条隧道。 The construction team took three years to break through and complete this tunnel.
3. 这个项目的关键是打通各部门之间的信息壁垒。 The key to this project is breaking down the information barriers between departments.

Usage Guide

Context: communication, construction, organization

Tone: practical

Do Say

• 电话打通了吗？(Did the call get through?)
• 我们要打通上下游产业链。(We need to connect the upstream and downstream industrial chain.)

Don't Say

• 我打通了这本书 (For finishing a book, use 看完 or 读完 — 打通 implies removing barriers or connecting)

Origin & History

Compound of 打 (action verb) + 通 (to pass through, connect). Together meaning to successfully create a passage or connection.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal