Ever since: 〜て以来
Verb in て + 以来 / Noun + 以来
Verb in て / Noun + 以来: “ever since”, a state lasting from a past event up to today. More formal and more precise than てから.
In short
〜て以来 means “ever since”: since a past event, a situation has lasted up to today. 京都に来て以来、毎日お茶を飲んでいる, “ever since I came to Kyoto, I've been drinking tea every day”. The tone is slightly formal; in speech, people often say 〜てから.
- 京都に来て以来、毎日お茶を飲んでいる。きょうとにきていらい、まいにちおちゃをのんでいる。Ever since I came to Kyoto, I've been drinking tea every day.
- 大学を出て以来、彼には一度も会っていない。だいがくをでていらい、かれにはいちどもあっていない。I haven't seen him once since we left university.
- 去年の夏以来、ずっと雨が少ない。きょねんのなついらい、ずっとあめがすくない。Since last summer, there's been very little rain.
The basics
以来 (いらい) means “since”. It marks a starting point in the past, and the sentence describes what has lasted from that moment until now: a habit, a lasting change, or something that hasn't happened again — English “ever since”, with a present perfect.
Ever since I came to Kyoto, I've been drinking tea every day.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- あの映画を見て以来、日本の古い町が好きになった。あのえいがをみていらい、にほんのふるいまちがすきになった。Ever since I saw that film, I've loved old Japanese towns.
- 入社以来、一日も休んだことがない。にゅうしゃいらい、いちにちもやすんだことがない。Since joining the company, I haven't taken a single day off.
How to form it
Verb in て + 以来, or noun (event, date) + 以来. The second part describes a lasting state: 〜ている, 〜ていない, 〜ようになった, 〜たことがない, ずっと.
| Base | Formation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb | て-form + 以来 | 日本に来て以来 |
| event noun | Noun + 以来 | 入学以来・あの日以来 |
| date | Noun + 以来 | 去年の春以来 |
- 子どもが生まれて以来、ゆっくり寝たことがない。こどもがうまれていらい、ゆっくりねたことがない。Since my child was born, I haven't had a decent night's sleep.
- あの日以来、彼女とは話していない。あのひいらい、かのじょとははなしていない。I haven't spoken to her since that day.
て以来 or てから?
〜てから can mean “after” (a single action that follows) or “since”. 〜て以来 only means “since”, with a state lasting up to now. It isn't used for a single action, or for the future.
| Sentence | Correct? |
|---|---|
| ご飯を食べてから、出かけた | yes (after) |
| ご飯を食べて以来、出かけた | no (single action) |
| 日本に来てから、ずっと楽しい | yes (since) |
| 日本に来て以来、ずっと楽しい | yes (since, more formal) |
- 宿題をしてから、テレビを見た。しゅくだいをしてから、てれびをみた。I watched TV after doing my homework.
Common mistakes
- Using it for the future: 「来年日本に行って以来」 is wrong; 以来 always starts from a past fact.
- Using it for a single following action: “after eating, I went out” is 食べてから, not 食べて以来.
- Putting the verb in the past: 「来た以来」 is wrong; it's 来て以来.
7 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 N3 point is on the Sagano Line (Travel) of the Kyoto lines.