〜を経て: 'Through / After / Via' (Meaning + Examples)
Marking a process, place, or time period passed through
〜を経て names the stage or route something went through before arriving at the final result, underscoring that the outcome didn't happen instantly.
長年の研究を経て、ついに新薬が開発された。
ながねんの けんきゅうを へて、ついに しんやくが かいはつされた。
After years of research, a new drug was finally developed.
を経て highlights the long process, not just the final success.
やったんは様々な困難を経て成功を収めた。
やったんは さまざまな こんなんを へて せいこうを おさめた。
Yattan achieved success after going through all kinds of hardships.
モチは香港を経て上海に到着した。
モチは ホンコンを へて シャンハイに とうちゃくした。
Mochi arrived in Shanghai via Hong Kong.
Here を経て marks a physical waypoint on a route, not a metaphorical process.
What it attaches to
〜を経て follows a noun denoting a process, stage, time period, or place, and is usually followed by a clause describing the eventual result.
| Precedes | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (process) | Noun を経て、〜 | 交渉を経て、契約が成立した |
| Noun (place) | 場所名 を経て | パリを経てロンドンへ向かう |
| Noun (time) | 期間 を経て | 三年を経て再会した |
長い交渉を経て、ようやく契約が成立した。
ながい こうしょうを へて、ようやく けいやくが せいりつした。
After lengthy negotiations, the contract was finally concluded.
Don't confuse with 〜を通じて
〜を経て marks a stage that was passed through on the way to a result — the emphasis is on the journey ending somewhere new. 〜を通じて means "throughout X" or "by means of X," describing something that happens continuously across a span (一年を通じて = "throughout the year") or a channel used to accomplish something (友人を通じて紹介された = "introduced through a friend"). を経て implies movement toward an endpoint; を通じて implies continuity or a means, without necessarily changing location or stage.
The short version
- 〜を経て = "through X" / "after passing through X" (a stage, place, or time period).
- Attaches to: a noun (process, place name, or time span).
- Nuance/register: formal, narrative; common in biographies, news, and formal writing.
- Don't confuse with: 〜を通じて ("throughout" / "by means of," continuity or a channel, not a passed-through stage).
Practice it
Choose を経て where the sentence marks a process, place, or time period passed through before a result.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
長年の研究＿＿＿、ついに新薬が開発された。
Where 〜を経て fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜を限りに — 〜を限りに marks a point in time as the last one — 'as of X, this ends.' Common in retirement announcements and store closures, it attaches to a noun and always signals a final cutoff, not a new beginning.
- 〜を兼ねて — 〜を兼ねて means doing one thing that also serves a second purpose: 散歩を兼ねて買い物に行く ('go shopping, which doubles as a walk'). Learn the noun+を兼ねて pattern, the 〜を兼ねる verb form, and how the main action and the side purpose line up.
- 〜を皮切りに — 〜を皮切りに means 'starting with X' — the first in a string of similar events that follow, like a tour's opening city. It attaches to a noun and always implies more of the same are coming.
- 〜を機に — 〜を機に means 'taking X as the occasion' — a formal way to say someone used an event as the opportunity to make a decisive change. It attaches to a noun and often carries a positive, deliberate nuance.
- 〜を除いて / を除き — 〜を除いて marks an exception before a general statement, and in formal writing shortens to the literary conjunctive 〜を除き; at N1 it often pairs with totality words like 全員・ほぼ全て in news and report style.
- 〜をおいて — 〜をおいて, almost always paired with a negative like いない or ない, means 'other than X, there is no one/nothing' — an emphatic, rhetorical way of saying X is the only one truly qualified.