The word 通知 is formed by combining two meaningful characters: 通 (tōng), which carries the core idea of "passing through" or "connecting", and 知 (zhī), which means "to know" or "knowledge". Their union creates a conceptual sequence where 通 represents the act of transmitting or making something go through, and 知 represents the resulting state of awareness; thus, the compound logically means "to cause to know by passing on information", directly picturing the action and result of informing or notifying someone.