1 · Particles
From and until: 부터 and 까지
start and end points
부터 marks when something starts and 까지 where or when it ends; a starting place takes 에서.
부터 marks a starting point in time — "from", "starting at": 아홉 시부터, 월요일부터. 까지 marks the end point, in time or in space — "until", "up to", "as far as": 다섯 시까지, 역까지. Both have one shape and are written onto the noun.
For time, the pair is 부터 … 까지: 아홉 시부터 여섯 시까지. For a journey from one place to another, the start takes 에서 instead: 집에서 회사까지. English "from" covers both, so this is where English speakers slip.
까지 also means "by", the last moment by which something has to happen: 금요일까지 숙제를 내세요, "hand in your homework by Friday". English keeps "until" and "by" apart; Korean uses 까지 for both, and the verb makes the difference. 부터, for its part, can mean "first, starting with": 이것부터 하세요, "do this first".
A clock time or a day takes 부터 and 까지 directly, without 에: 세 시부터, 금요일까지. And 까지 on a person or a thing can add one more item to a list with a note of surprise, "even": 비까지 와요, "and now it is even raining".
The form
| from … until, in time | 아홉 시부터 여섯 시까지 |
| from … to, between places | 서울에서 부산까지 |
| until, or by | 금요일까지 |
| first, starting with | 이것부터 하세요. |
| as far as | 역까지 걸어가요. |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
부터 marks the start of a time, 까지 its end.
수업은 아홉 시부터 열두 시까지예요.Classes are from nine until twelve.
For a place, the start takes 에서 and the end takes 까지.
집에서 학교까지 가까워요.It is not far from home to school.
까지 also means "by": the last point at which something must be done.
내일까지 이 책을 돌려주세요.Please return this book by tomorrow.
부터 can also mean "first, starting with".
손부터 씻으세요.Wash your hands first.
Clock times and days take 부터 and 까지 without 에.
회의는 세 시부터 시작해요.The meeting starts at three.
A closer look
Until or by?
Korean has one word where English has two, and the verb decides. With something that goes on — waiting, sleeping, working — 까지 is "until": 열 시까지 기다렸어요, "I waited until ten". With something that happens once — handing in, sending, finishing — it is "by": 열 시까지 보내 주세요, "please send it by ten".
Both readings can be made explicit when it matters. 열 시까지는, with the topic particle, stresses "by ten at the latest"; 열 시까지 계속 stresses "all the way until ten".
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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a stretch of space is marked out, rather than a journey made
부터 is possible with places too.
여기부터 저기까지 청소해 주세요.Please clean from here to over there.
Here nobody travels from one point to another; the speaker names where an area begins and ends, which works like a stretch of time.
How to spot it
- 부터
- 까지
- 에서 … 까지
- 부터 … 까지
Example sentences
저는 월요일부터 금요일까지 일해요.I work from Monday to Friday.
이 가게는 밤 열 시까지 열어요.This shop is open until ten at night.
서울에서 인천까지 지하철로 갈 수 있어요.You can go from Seoul to Incheon by underground.
방학은 다음 주부터예요.The holidays start next week.
보고서를 금요일까지 보내 주세요.Please send the report by Friday.
어디부터 시작할까요?Where shall we start?
8 more example sentences
점심시간은 열두 시부터 한 시까지예요.Lunch break is from twelve to one.
저는 어렸을 때부터 피아노를 쳤어요.I have played the piano since I was little.
공항까지 어떻게 가요?How do I get to the airport?
이 표는 오늘까지 쓸 수 있어요.This ticket is valid until the end of today.
어제는 새벽 두 시까지 공부했어요.Yesterday I studied until two in the morning.
다음 달부터 요가를 배울 거예요.From next month I am going to learn yoga.
저부터 소개할게요.Let me introduce myself first.
여기에서 거기까지 얼마나 걸려요?How long does it take from here to there?
Worth knowing (1)
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까지 meaning "even"
After a person or a thing, 까지 can mean "even, on top of everything": it adds one more item to a list, usually as a surprise or as the last straw.
길도 막히고 비까지 와요.The roads are jammed, and now it is even raining.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "from" serves both time and place, but Korean splits them: a starting time takes 부터, and the place a journey sets off from takes 에서. 까지 works at both ends.
Buteo starts a time, eseo starts a journey, and kkaji ends both.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.