N5#particles#time#location#n5

から / まで (From/Until)

Mark ranges in time and space.

Context

Planning your day

Imagine you are planning a trip to a museum or checking the opening hours of your favorite cafe. You need to explain when things start and when they end.

Whether you are talking about the distance between your home and the station, or the time between your morning class and your lunch break, Japanese uses two simple particles to define these boundaries.

Explanation

The structure

To express a range, use 'kara' for the starting point and 'made' for the ending point.

からまで

Use から (kara) to indicate the starting point of a time or location. Use まで (made) to indicate the end point or destination.

These particles can be used together to define a complete range, or individually if you only want to mention the start or the end.

Tip

You can also add the particle 'ni' after 'made' (までに) if you are talking about a deadline, but for simple ranges, just 'made' is sufficient.

Examples

Seeing it in action

Here are some common ways to use these particles.

九時(くじ)から五時(ごじ)まで働きます(はたらきます)。

I work from 9 o'clock until 5 o'clock.

九時くじ9 o'clockからからfrom五時ごじ5 o'clockまでまでuntil働きますはたらきますwork

東京(とうきょう)から大阪(おおさか)まで行きます(いきます)。

I am going from Tokyo to Osaka.

東京とうきょうTokyoからからfrom大阪おおさかOsakaまでまでto/until行きますいきますgo

学校は八時【から】始まります。

Hint: Use the particle for 'from'.

School starts at 8 o'clock.

Usage

Nuance and usage

Understanding how these particles fit into your sentences.

Time vs. Location

時間 (Time)

Used for schedules and durations.

10時から

場所 (Location)

Used for physical distance and travel.

家から

Which particle indicates the destination or end point?

から
✓ まで
に
を

まで (made) is used to mark the end point or destination.

Deep dive

Deep dive: Beyond simple ranges

A few extra notes on how these particles behave.

You can combine these with other particles. For example, 'kara' can be followed by 'no' to describe something: 'Tokyo kara no densha' (The train from Tokyo).

Note that 'made' implies reaching a point. If you want to say 'by' a certain time (a deadline), you add the particle 'ni' to make 'made ni'.

Summary

Lesson summary

You have learned how to define ranges using から and まで.

Remember: から marks the start (from), and まで marks the end (until/to). They are essential for talking about schedules, travel, and daily routines.

から

からparticle

from

まで

までparticle

until / to

時間

じかんnoun

time

場所

ばしょnoun

place