From… to…: から・まで
A から B まで
A から B まで = from A to B (place or time). から alone: from, starting from; まで alone: until, as far as.
In short
から marks the starting point (in time or space), まで the end point. “九時から 五時まで” = from nine to five.
- 九時から 五時まで はたらきます。ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasuI work from nine to five.
- 東京から きょうとまでtōkyō kara kyōto madefrom Tokyo to Kyoto
- 駅まで あるきます。eki made arukimasuI walk to the station.
The basics
から marks the starting point and まで the end point, in time as in space: “from… to…”, “from… until…”. You can use them together or separately.
- 九時から 五時まで はたらきます。ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasuI work from nine to five.
- 東京から きょうとまで 新かんせんで 行きます。tōkyō kara kyōto made shinkansen de ikimasuI go from Tokyo to Kyoto by shinkansen.
On their own or together
から alone says where you come from or from when; まで alone, how far or until when.
- フランスから 来ました。furansu kara kimashitaI'm from France.
- あしたまで 休みです。ashita made yasumi desuI'm off until tomorrow.
Timetables and journeys
This is the structure for opening hours, classes and journeys. You can end directly with です.
- ぎんこうは 九時から 三時までです。ginkō wa ku-ji kara san-ji made desuThe bank is open from nine to three.
- うちから 駅まで あるいて 十分です。uchi kara eki made aruite juppun desuFrom my house to the station, it's ten minutes on foot.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up まで (until) and までに (by, at the latest), which marks a deadline.
- Translating the “for” of a duration (“I've lived here for 3 years”) with から: for a duration, Japanese uses other forms.
- Forgetting that から also means “because” after a sentence: 雨ですから (covered later).
5 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N5 point is on the Namboku Line (Time) of the Tokyo subway.