N5 · Particles
から and まで, and the deadline までに
from, until and by
から is the starting point, まで the end point, and までに the deadline before which something happens.
から marks where or when something starts — 駅から, "from the station", 九時から, "from nine" — and まで marks where or when it ends: 大阪まで, 五時まで. Together they span a range: 九時から五時まで働きます. Either can close a sentence with です: 会議は三時からです, "the meeting is from three".
から also marks a source, especially the person something comes from: 友達から手紙が来ました, "a letter came from a friend". After a whole clause, から means "because" — the same word doing a different job, which has its own topic.
The pair learners mix up is まで and までに. まで describes something that goes on up to a point: 五時まで待ちます, "I will wait until five" — the waiting fills the whole stretch. までに sets a deadline for something that happens once, at some point before it: 五時までに帰ります, "I will be back by five".
English keeps "until" and "by" apart, but learners whose first language has one word for both often merge them, and in Japanese the whole difference is one に. The test is simple: does the action fill the time up to the point (まで), or does it happen once inside it (までに)?
The form
| starting time | 授業は九時から始まります。 |
| starting place | 駅から歩いて五分です。 |
| a range | 月曜日から金曜日まで働きます。 |
| a person as source | 兄からメールが来ました。 |
| until: the whole stretch | 六時まで図書館にいます。 |
| by: a deadline | 六時までに帰ります。 |
The rules one by one
から marks where or when something starts.
夏休みは来週からです。The summer holidays start next week.
まで marks where or when something ends, and the action fills the time up to it.
雨がやむまで、ここで待ちましょう。Let's wait here until the rain stops.
までに marks a deadline: the action happens once, at some point before it.
金曜日までにレポートを出してください。Please hand in the report by Friday.
から after a person marks who something comes from.
母から荷物が届きました。A parcel has arrived from my mother.
から and まで can end a sentence before です.
銀行は三時までです。The bank is open until three.
A closer look
まで as "even", から as "because"
After a noun, まで can mean "even": 子どもまで知っています, "even children know it". It is still the end of a range — everyone, up to and including the least likely person.
から after a verb, an adjective or だ gives a reason: 雨だから、行きません, "it is raining, so I will not go". The word is the same and the shape tells the two apart: after a bare noun it is "from", after a complete statement it is "because".
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the source is a person and the verb is もらう or 借りる
に works as well as から: 友達にもらいました and 友達からもらいました mean the same.
姉にかばんをもらいました。I got a bag from my older sister.
With verbs of receiving, に marks the other side of the exchange, and that side is the source.
How to spot it
- から
- まで
- までに
- 〜から〜まで
- からです
- までです
Example sentences
家から会社まで一時間かかります。It takes an hour from home to the office.
昼休みは十二時から一時までです。The lunch break is from twelve to one.
昨日は夜遅くまで勉強しました。Yesterday I studied until late at night.
来月の十日までに返事をください。Please reply by the tenth of next month.
先生から本を借りました。I borrowed a book from my teacher.
駅まで一緒に行きましょう。Let's go to the station together.
8 more example sentences
この店は朝十時から開いています。This shop is open from ten in the morning.
東京から京都まで新幹線で行きました。I went from Tokyo to Kyoto by bullet train.
窓から山が見えます。You can see the mountains from the window.
試験は何時までですか。What time does the exam finish?
八時までに駅に来てください。Please come to the station by eight.
友達から電話がありました。A friend phoned me.
最後まで読みました。I read it to the end.
冬休みまでに免許を取りたいです。I want to get my licence before the winter holidays.
Worth knowing (1)
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まで and までに after a verb
Both can follow a verb in the dictionary form: 帰るまで, "until I go home", 帰るまでに, "before I go home". The difference is the same as after a noun: a state that lasts up to the point, or one action somewhere before it.
国に帰るまでに、富士山に登りたいです。I want to climb Mount Fuji before I go back home.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Handing in homework happens once. With まで the sentence would mean handing it in continuously until tomorrow morning — which is what an English speaker hears in "until". A one-off action before a deadline takes までに, the English "by".
まで fills the time up to a point; までに happens once before it.
Your turn
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