から / まで (kara / made): From and Until

Level: N5. JLPT publishes no official grammar list; level is the common textbook convention. から (kara) and まで (made) are the two particles that mark where something starts and where it ends — in time or in space. Learn them as a pair: 九時から五時まで (ku-ji kara go-ji made, “from nine until five”).

The rule

A particle is a short word placed after a noun to show its role in the sentence. から (kara) and まで (made) both attach to the end of a noun:

• から (kara) marks the starting point — a time or a place something begins from. 九時から (ku-ji kara) = “from nine o’clock”; 東京から (Tōkyō kara) = “from Tokyo”.
• まで (made) marks the end point — the time or place something continues to. 五時まで (go-ji made) = “until five o’clock”; 大阪まで (Ōsaka made) = “as far as Osaka”.

Used together they describe a full range, and the order is fixed: the から (kara) phrase comes first, then the まで (made) phrase. 九時から五時まで働きます (ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasu) = “I work from nine until five”.

Either particle can also stand on its own when only one end of the range matters: 月曜日から (getsuyōbi kara) = “from Monday (onward)”; 駅まで (eki made) = “as far as the station”.

Forms

The paradigm is simple because neither particle changes shape — they are the same after a time word, a place, a day or a page number. Only までに (made ni) adds に (ni) to turn “until” into a “by” deadline.

Example sentences

Each sentence was written for this lesson, with romaji.

Common mistakes

• ❌ 五時から九時まで働きます (go-ji kara ku-ji made hatarakimasu) for a nine-to-five day → ✅ 九時から五時まで働きます (ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasu). The earlier point takes から (kara) and comes first.
• ❌ 大阪から東京まで (Ōsaka kara Tōkyō made) when you mean Tokyo to Osaka → ✅ 東京から大阪まで (Tōkyō kara Ōsaka made). から (kara) is the place you leave, まで (made) is where you arrive.
• ❌ 家に駅まで歩きます (ie ni eki made arukimasu) → ✅ 家から駅まで歩きます (ie kara eki made arukimasu). The starting place takes から (kara), not に (ni).
• ❌ 大阪を行きます (Ōsaka o ikimasu) for “go to Osaka” → ✅ 大阪まで行きます (Ōsaka made ikimasu) or 大阪に行きます (Ōsaka ni ikimasu). を (o) does not mark a destination.
• ❌ 五時まで来てください (go-ji made kite kudasai) for “come by five” → ✅ 五時までに来てください (go-ji made ni kite kudasai). A single action with a deadline needs までに (made ni).

A short conversation

— 仕事は何時から何時までですか。(Shigoto wa nan-ji kara nan-ji made desu ka.) — “From what time to what time is work?” — 九時から五時までです。(Ku-ji kara go-ji made desu.) — “From nine until five.” — 家から会社まで遠いですか。(Ie kara kaisha made tōi desu ka.) — “Is it far from home to the office?” — いいえ、駅まで近いです。(Iie, eki made chikai desu.) — “No, it’s close as far as the station.”

Usage notes

• から (kara) and まで (made) work the same for time and place. 九時から (ku-ji kara) is a time, 東京から (Tōkyō kara) is a place — the particle does not change.
• から (kara) can follow a verb to mean “after”. When it attaches to a te-form, 食べてから (tabete kara) means “after eating”; that is a sequence use, related to the “starting point” idea.
• まで (made) can stress extent or surprise. 子供まで知っている (kodomo made shitte iru) means “even children know it” — “up to and including”, an extension of “as far as”.

Compared with…

• に (ni) marks a plain destination or a fixed point in time, while まで (made) stresses the whole distance or stretch “up to” that point. 大阪に行きます (Ōsaka ni ikimasu) just says “go to Osaka”; 大阪まで行きます (Ōsaka made ikimasu) stresses “all the way to Osaka”. See the に (ni) particle lesson.
• A second から (kara) means “because / since” and attaches to a whole clause (for example 寒いから (samui kara), “because it’s cold”), a reason use introduced later at N4 — not the “from” particle on this page. Browse the Japanese grammar section as more lessons go live.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Next, compare destinations with the に (ni) particle
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