N3 · Expressions (N3)
とおり(に): just as, exactly as
doing something the way it was said, written or planned
とおり(に) means "in the same way as": as written, as planned, as you said.
At a glance
- Remember
- Verb + とおり, noun + のとおり or どおり: exactly as.
- Form
- 言うとおりにas I say
- Signal words
- 〜とおりに
- 〜たとおり
- 〜どおり
- そのとおり
- 予定どおり
- Trap
- Wrong:予定とおりに着きました。Right:予定どおりに着きました。
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| as I say | 言うとおりに |
| as I was told | 言われたとおりに |
| as written here | ここに書いてあるとおり |
| as planned | 予定どおり |
| as one wished | 思いどおりに |
| exactly so | そのとおりです |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Verb + とおり(に): in exactly that way.
先生が言ったとおりに書いてください。Please write it exactly as the teacher said.
After a noun: のとおり, or more often どおり directly.
電車は時間どおりに着いた。The train arrived on time.
The た-form refers to something said or done before; the dictionary form to now.
私がするとおりにしてください。Please do it the way I do it.
そのとおりです agrees: "exactly so".
そのとおりです。よく分かりましたね。Exactly right. You understood it well.
Example sentences
地図に書いてあるとおりに行ったら、すぐ見つかった。I went exactly as the map showed and found it at once.
会議は予定どおり始まった。The meeting started as planned.
思ったとおり、彼は遅れて来た。Just as I thought, he turned up late.
レシピのとおりに作ったのに、うまくいかなかった。I made it exactly as the recipe said, but it did not work.
言われたとおりに書類を出しました。I handed in the documents as I was told.
何もかも計画どおりに進んでいる。Everything is going according to plan.
7 more example sentences
説明書のとおりにやってみてください。Please try doing it as the instructions say.
試験は思ったとおり難しかった。The exam was as hard as I had thought.
飛行機は時間どおりに出発した。The plane left on time.
見たとおりのことを話してください。Please tell us exactly what you saw.
なかなか思いどおりにいかない。Things rarely go the way I want.
医者に言われたとおり、毎日薬を飲んでいる。I take the medicine every day, as the doctor told me.
天気予報のとおり、午後から雨になった。Just as the forecast said, it started raining in the afternoon.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
After a noun, とおり either takes の — 予定のとおり — or joins the noun directly and changes its first sound: 予定どおり. Joining it directly without the change, as English "as planned" suggests, gives a form that does not exist.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
とおり comes from the word for "road" and means "the way something goes". After a verb it says that something is done or happens in exactly that way: 説明書に書いてあるとおりに組み立てた, "I put it together exactly as the instructions said". に after it is optional.
After a verb, the form tells you whose way it is. The dictionary form refers to what is being said or done now: 私が言うとおりにしてください, "do as I say". The た-form refers to something said or done before: 言われたとおりにした, "I did as I was told". After a noun it takes の: 予定のとおり.
After a noun the short form どおり is common and attaches directly, with a voiced first sound: 予定どおり, "as planned"; 計画どおり, "according to plan"; 思いどおり, "as one wished". It is written as one word with the noun.
At the end of a sentence とおりだ agrees with something: その通りです, "exactly so", "that's right". English "as" or "like" covers all this, and learners use ように, which is also possible — 言われたようにした — but とおり insists on an exact match.
A closer look
とおり and ように
Both can mean "as": 言われたとおりにした and 言われたようにした. ように is looser — in a similar way, along those lines. とおり insists on following a model point for point, which is why it goes so well with instructions, recipes, plans and forecasts.
When the point is that a prediction came true, とおり is the natural choice: 天気予報のとおり、雨になった, "just as the forecast said, it rained". ように there would sound vaguer, as if the weather were only somewhat like the forecast.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the noun is 文字
文字どおり means "literally".
彼は文字どおり寝ないで働いた。He literally worked without sleeping.
Following the letters exactly is taking the words at face value, which is what "literally" means in English too.
Worth knowing (1)
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Written in kanji or in kana
The word is written 通り when it means a street, and often in kana when it means "as". Both spellings occur for "as", and the reading does not change: その通り and そのとおり are the same phrase.
全部、先生の言った通りでした。It was all exactly as the teacher had said.
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