から・まで——用日語說「從…到…」

In English you say "from Monday to Friday." In Japanese, that's 月曜日から金曜日まで. から marks the starting point, まで marks the endpoint — together, they're the core tools for expressing ranges in Japanese.

から: From ~

から attaches to the end of a noun to mark a starting point — either in time or space.

Noun + から → from ~

Starting point in time:

Starting point in space:

まで: To / Until ~

まで also attaches to the end of a noun, marking the endpoint.

Noun + まで → to / until ~

から〜まで: From ~ to ~

Use them together for a full range:

A から B まで → from A to B

Time ranges

私は火曜日から土曜日まで働きます。 → I work from Tuesday to Saturday.

Breakdown:

1. 私は = I (topic)
2. 火曜日から = from Tuesday
3. 土曜日まで = to Saturday
4. 働きます = work

午前八時から午後四時まで勉強します。 → I study from 8 AM to 4 PM.

兄は十時まで働きます。 → My older brother works until 10.

Note the last sentence uses only まで without から — they don't always appear as a pair. You can use either one alone.

Location ranges

東京から大阪まで三時間です。 → It's three hours from Tokyo to Osaka.

家から学校まで十分です。 → It's ten minutes from home to school.

Using Them Alone

から on its own means "from ~." It also has another common meaning — "because" — but that's a separate usage. At the N5 level, just remember "from ~."

まで on its own emphasizes "up to that point":

五時まで待ってください。 → Please wait until 5 o'clock.

に vs. から: What's the Difference?

に marks a specific point in time ("at"), while から marks a starting point ("from"). They often appear in the same sentence:

Both in one sentence:

私は毎日六時に起きます。八時から働きます。 → I wake up at 6 every day. I start working from 8.

Common Patterns

Summary

• から after a noun = from ~ (starting point in time/space)
• まで after a noun = to/until ~ (endpoint in time/space)
• Can be used as a pair (から~まで) or individually
• に marks a point in time; から marks a starting point — don't mix them up

Practice Questions

Q1. Say "I work from Monday to Friday" in Japanese.

Q2. What does 「家から学校まで二十分です。」 mean?

Q3. Fill in the blanks: 「午前九時＿＿午後六時＿＿働きます。」 (I work from 9 AM to 6 PM.)