Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
にわたって emphasizes a span being long or wide, stressing that something covers the whole extent (約6時間にわたって, 20エーカーにわたって). からにかけて marks a range from one point to another in time or space (七月から八月にかけて). を通して highlights a medium or channel through which something happens (本を通して, 写真を通して). Swapping them loses the focus: にわたって stresses duration/area, からにかけて stresses endpoints, and を通して stresses mediation.
- にわたって・わたる Use にわたって when you want to emphasize that something spans a long or wide extent of time or space.
- からにかけて Use からにかけて when you describe a range from one point to another in time or location.
- を通して Use を通して when something is done through a medium or channel rather than over a span.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| にわたって・わたる niwatatte wataru | For / over (a period or range) | N1 |
| からにかけて karanikakete | From ~ to ~ (range) | N3 |
| を通して wo shite | Through/Via | N2 |
にわたって・わたる niwatatte wataru
For / over (a period or range)
For; over; extending; stretching; ranging; covering | A compound particle indicating that something takes place over a particular span of time or physical space.
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A社の携帯電話サービスで、関東の一部で昨夜午後9時ごろから約6時間にわたって接続障害があった。
Last night there was an interruption (literally: connection difficulties) in Company A's mobile phone service in a certain area of Kanto for about six hours starting about 9 o'clock.
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その川の両側には２０エーカーにわたって森が広がっている。
On both sides of the river, the forest stretches for 20 acres.
からにかけて karanikakete
From ~ to ~ (range)
Through ~ into ~; through ~ on to; from ~ till/to | A structure that expresses coverage from one time/location into the other.
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今年の夏、七月から八月にかけて中国大陸を旅行した。
This summer I travelled on the Chinese continent from July through August.
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今週は木曜から金曜にかけて雪が降るでしょう。
This week it will probably snow from Thursday through Friday
を通して wo shite
Through/Via
Through; by the medium of; via; throughout | A compound particle that is used to indicate a medium through which something is done or time through which something takes place.
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お書きになった御本を通して、先生のことは存じ上げておりました。
I knew of you through the books you wrote.
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これらの写真を通して当時の人々の生活を偲ぶことが出来る。
Through these photos, we can relive the lives of people in those days.
にわたって・わたる and からにかけて and を通して are JLPT N3–N1 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares all 3 side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.