通过 / 经过
tōngguò / jīngguò
Similarities
Both can mean “through”, “thanks to”.
通过大家的努力，公司生意越做越大。
Through everyone's efforts the company's business grew and grew.
经过大家的努力，公司生意越做越大。
After everyone's efforts the company's business grew and grew.
Either word works in this sentence.
1. Method or process?
通过 stresses the METHOD: what the result was achieved by. 经过 stresses the PROCESS: what was gone through.
希望通过这次活动引起大家的兴趣。
We hope to arouse everyone's interest through this event.
经过一次次失败之后，他终于成功了。
After going through failure upon failure, he finally succeeded.
2. Going past a place
通过 — to enter one side and come out the other. 经过 — to go past, to go by way of; you needn't cross it at all.
这里正在修路，汽车无法通过。
The road here is under repair; cars cannot get through.
我正好经过这儿，顺便过来看看你。
I happened to be passing by, so I dropped in to see you.
我每天经过那个公园。
I go past that park every day.
3. 经过 can also be a noun
小王把事情的经过告诉我了。
Xiao Wang told me the whole course of events.
As a noun 经过 means “the course of events”, “what happened”.
通过 is never used this way. ❌
Both in one sentence
经过一年的学习，我终于通过了考试。
After a year of study I finally passed the exam.
经过一年的学习 — what was gone through (the process).
通过了考试 — what was achieved (the result).
That is the easiest way to hold the difference in mind.
| 通过 | 经过 |
|---|---|
| Method, means | Process, experience |
| Cross from one side to the other | Go past or by way of |
| Pass an exam or interview | Not used in this sense |
| Never a noun | Can be a noun: “the course of events” |
Remember:
经过 — what you went through.
通过 — how you achieved it, or what you passed.