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I have just come across the phrase 知っての通り〜 (as you know...)

I have never noticed this usage of て-form before and can't find an explanation.

What is the difference (if any) between this and 知っている通り?

I have also seen 見ての通り used in a similar way.

If possible please provide a more generalised explanation of the grammar at work here, and examples of other ways it may be used.

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  • I thought the answer posted yesterday seemed reasonable. Why did the poster choose to delete it? Did it turn out to be incorrect or something?
    – ジョン
    Apr 13, 2012 at 13:16
  • @ジョン I pointed out that て in てこと is an entirely different thing.
    – user458
    Apr 13, 2012 at 16:41
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    Hmm when we say 「ご存知(ぞんじ？)の通り・ご承知の通り・お聞きの通り・ご覧の通り」, 「ご存知・ご承知・お聞き・ご覧」 are nouns... Can 知って be a noun??
    – user1016
    Apr 14, 2012 at 6:08
  • @Chocolate Thanks for the comment. That's exactly what I was wondering, but I'm not familiar with that usage of て-form. It's not specific to 知って as I've also seen 見ての通り.
    – ジョン
    Apr 14, 2012 at 6:56

1 Answer 1

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There is a brief description of this in 日本文法大辞典 (Matsuura Akira, 1971) on page 505.

「て」は、多くの接続助詞と異なり、すべての係助詞、副助詞「のみ」「だに」「すら」、格助詞「の」「より」「から」などを下接する。[略] 格助詞に。例：あひ見ての後の心にくらぶれば昔はものを思はざりけり (拾遺集 710) / 生レテヨリコノカタ (中華若木詩抄・中) / 提婆ハヲサナウテカラ仏ト中カワルカツタソ (勅規桃源鈔, 3)

Rough translation:

-te differs from many other conjunctive particles in that it can be suffixed by all linking particles; adverbial particles -nomi, -dani, -sura; and case particles -no, -yori, -kara, etc. [skip] Case particles: (Examples) あひ見ての後の心にくらぶれば昔はものを思はざりけり (拾遺集 710), 生レテヨリコノカタ (中華若木詩抄・中), 提婆ハヲサナウテカラ仏ト中カワルカツタソ (勅規桃源鈔, 3)

As already noted, in modern Japanese the two most common forms are mite no tōri and sitte no tōri. As explained above, this is just one of many suffixes that -te can take on.

There is a fine explanation comparing mite no tōri, mita tōri, and miru tōri here.

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  • Great answer - thanks! You say those are the two most common forms. Are there any others, or would that form with any other verbs be out-of-place in modern Japanese?
    – ジョン
    Apr 16, 2012 at 0:09
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    Sure, there are others. I can recall 聞いての通り, 読んでの通り, and 立っての通り. In the right context, there are surely others as well. If you want to widen the scope, there are plenty of other "-te no" constructions. Examples include （影響を受け）ての（対応）, （～に向け）ての（準備）, and （命あっ）ての（物種）. These are all productive and can be used to create other expressions.
    – Dono
    Apr 16, 2012 at 4:58
  • Thanks for the follow-up! Really useful. If it can be used this freely I'm starting to think I must have seen it before and glossed over it without questioning it :p
    – ジョン
    Apr 16, 2012 at 10:34
  • @Dono Btw when you say "linking particles", are you referring to kakari-joshi?
    – Pacerier
    May 25, 2012 at 6:14
  • @Pacerier Yes. Please refer to the Japanese original directly above that. Quote: すべての係助詞...
    – Dono
    May 25, 2012 at 7:10

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