Just as, in line with: 〜とおり（に）
Verb (dictionary / た) + とおり（に）/ Noun + の + とおり / Noun + どおり
Verb + とおり（に）, Noun + のとおり or Noun + どおり: “exactly as”, in line with a model or an expectation (予定どおり, 思ったとおり).
In short
〜とおり（に） means “exactly as, in accordance with”: you do things following a model, an instruction or a plan, or things turn out just as you expected. After a noun, you say 〜のとおり or, attached directly, 〜どおり (予定どおり, “as planned”).
- 先生の言ったとおりに書いてください。せんせいのいったとおりにかいてください。Please write it exactly as the teacher said.
- 予定どおり、九時に出発します。よていどおり、くじにしゅっぱつします。As planned, we'll leave at nine.
- 思ったとおり、京都の秋はきれいだった。おもったとおり、きょうとのあきはきれいだった。Just as I'd thought, autumn in Kyoto was gorgeous.
The basics
とおり comes from 通る (“to pass through”): you go exactly along the marked route. 〜とおりに + verb means acting by following a model (what was said, shown, written). 〜とおり on its own, at the start of a sentence, notes that reality matches what you expected — English “just as”, “exactly as”, “as”.
Please write it exactly as the teacher said.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- 地図のとおりに行けば、駅に着きます。ちずのとおりにいけば、えきにつきます。If you follow the map, you'll get to the station.
- 思ったとおりの結果になった。おもったとおりのけっかになった。The result was just what I'd imagined.
How to form it
After a verb, choose the dictionary form or the た-form. After a noun, two options: の + とおり, or the noun attached to どおり (と becomes ど, as in many compound words). Before another noun, say とおりの / どおりの.
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (dictionary) + とおり | 私が言うとおりに | as I'm about to say |
| Verb (た) + とおり | 先生が言ったとおりに | as the teacher said |
| Noun + の + とおり | 説明のとおりに | in line with the explanation |
| Noun + どおり | 予定どおり・計画どおり | as planned |
| 〜とおりの + noun | 思ったとおりの人 | the person I'd imagined |
- 説明書のとおりに組み立てた。せつめいしょのとおりにくみたてた。I put it together following the instructions.
- 何でも思いどおりになるわけではない。なんでもおもいどおりになるわけではない。Things don't always go the way you want.
Dictionary or た: before or after
The verb form tells you where the model comes from. 言うとおり: what I'm saying now or am about to say. 言ったとおり: what has already been said. 見たとおり: what you saw. Both exist, but not in the same situation.
- 私がやるとおりにやってみてください。わたしがやるとおりにやってみてください。Try doing it exactly the way I do.
- 見たとおりに話してください。みたとおりにはなしてください。Tell us exactly what you saw.
とおり or ように?
ように can also translate “as” (先生が言ったように). But ように is looser: you pick up the idea, you cite it. とおりに stresses exactness: you reproduce it identically, without straying from the model. For a precise instruction, a recipe or a plan, とおりに is the right choice.
Kyoto bonus: the main streets of Kyoto are called 〜通 (四条通, しじょうどおり; 河原町通, かわらまちどおり). It's the same word, meaning “street”, with the same reading どおり after a noun.
- 前にも言ったように、明日は休みです。まえにもいったように、あしたはやすみです。As I said before, we're closed tomorrow.
Common mistakes
- Reading とおり attached to a noun as とおり: it's 予定どおり (よていどおり), not “よていとおり”.
- Writing 予定のどおり: with の, it's とおり; without の, it's どおり. Don't mix them.
- Choosing the wrong verb form: 言うとおり (what I'm going to say) and 言ったとおり (what was said) aren't interchangeable.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N3 point is on the Nara Line (Studies and knowledge) of the Kyoto lines.