Lesson 44 · about 5 minutes

From, until

kara · made · kara ~ made

から・まで・から〜まで

You'll learn から and まで for "from … until …" with times and places.

The pattern

〜から 〜まで.

RomajiJapaneseReadingMeaning
karaからからfrom / starting at
madeまでまでuntil / as far as / by
kara ~ madeから〜までから〜までfrom ~ until ~ (pair frame)

How they differ

Pair them for a span:

「十じ から 五じ まで」(juuji kara goji made): from 10:00 until 5:00

「えき から ホテル まで」(eki kara hoteru made): from the station to the hotel

「げつようび から きんようび まで」(getsuyoubi kara kin'youbi made): Monday through Friday

Alone:

「いま から」(ima kara): from now

「五じ まで」(goji made): until 5:00

Works with clock times (Lesson 20), days (Lesson 33), and places (Wave A).

Bookends: start · end. から = open the span, まで = close it.

One line: 〜から 〜まで.

Next: Every morning/day/evening/week: まいあさ / まいにち / まいばん / まいしゅう.

See it in a sentence

  1. kuji kara goji made desu

    九じ から 五じ まで です。

    くじ から ごじ まで です。

    It's from 9 to 5. (polite)

  2. koko kara eki made aruite ikimasu

    ここ から えき まで あるいて いきます。

    I'll walk from here to the station. (polite)

  3. itsu kara desu ka?

    いつ から ですか?

    From when? (polite)

  4. nanji made desu ka?

    なんじ まで ですか?

    Until what time? (polite)

  5. ashita kara

    あした から。

    Starting tomorrow. (casual)

Watch out

から = from (time/place/source) — also "because" in other patterns; here focus on from/start まで = until / as far as — not まだ (still / not yet) 〜から 〜まで = full span — you can use either piece alone

Try it

  1. In your next story, find から or まで. Say whether it starts a span, ends a span, or both together.

    Check against the lesson cluster and say it out loud.