Through vs Thru
Thru and through are two words that are often considered as the words that give the same meaning while there exists a difference between these two words in their usage. In fact, the word thru is considered as the shortened form of the word through. Thru is often considered as the colloquial form of the word through. If you look at the word, through is used as a preposition, adverb and an adjective depending on the situation. With the use of the word through,with different verbs, different meanings can be created. Only when one understands these usages of through, one can use that word appropriately as well as understand the difference between through and thru.
What does Through mean?
Since the word through is the accepted term in formal English usage, the word through should be used in formal writing. The word through is used in the sense of ‘go into’ or ‘pass into’ as in the sentences given below.
He went through the streets of Canberra.
She went through the passage.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word through is used in the sense of ‘pass into’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘he passed into the streets of Canberra’ and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she passed into the passage’.
It is interesting to note that the word through when used with ‘get’ sometimes gives the sense of ‘pass’ as in the sentence given below.
He got through the examination.
Similarly, when used with the verb ‘go’ the word through gives the sense of ‘read’ as in the sentence given below.
He went through the whole book.
The meaning of this sentence would be ‘he read the whole book’.
It is important to know that the word through as an adverb is used with many verbs to form idiomatic expressions such a ‘sit through’, ‘look through’, ‘walk through’, ‘run through’ and the like. In all these cases, the word through can be substituted by the form thru provided you are answering a query in an informal way.
What does Thru mean?
The word thru is the colloquial or informal spelling of the term through. This use of the word thru is chiefly seen in North American English. On the other hand, the word thru is often used only in informal writing and not in formal writing.
What is the difference between Through and Thru?
• The word thru is often considered as the short form of through.
• Thru is, in fact, the colloquial or informal spelling of the word through which is mainly used in the North American English.
• Another important difference between the two is that the word through should be used in formal writing.
• On the other hand, the word thru is often used only in informal writing and not in formal writing.
• The word through is used in the sense of ‘go into’ or ‘pass into.’
• Get + through sometimes mean to pass.
• Go + through sometimes mean to read.
• As an adverb through is used with many verbs to form many idiomatic expressions.
• Through can be substituted by thru only in an informal context.