Japanese Grammar – MADE and KARA (まで and から)

から (kara) is similar to “from“.  まで (made) is similar to “until“, “(up) to“, or “as far as“.  まで (made) and から (kara) are often used in the same sentence to describe a route between A and B.  The form is pretty straight forward (literally!):

Although the particles から (kara) and まで (made) have many uses, this lesson will focus on their application together.  In the example above, A and B refer to points in physical space.. but they can also represent time as well.  For example, we can use these particles to describe a period of time from 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock.  I’ll cover that in my examples below.  

Examples of MADE and KARA (まで and から)

きょうからあしたまでべんきょうします。
kyou kara ashita made benkyou shimasu.
I will study from today until tomorrow.

watashi no ie kara gakkou made nana kiro meetoru arimasu

(My house is 7KM to the school.)

この新幹線しんかんせんは東京とうきょうから大阪おおさかまで行いきます。

kono shinkansen wa Tokyo kara Osaka made ikimasu.

(This bullet train runs from Tokyo to Osaka.)

su-pa wa gozen juuji kara gogo juuji made desu

The supermarket opens at 10am and closes at 10pm.

朝あさから夜よるまで 働はたらきます。

asa kara yoru made hatarakimasu.

I will work from morning to night.

asa 5 ji kara yoru 9 ji made nemasu.

(I will sleep from 5am to 9pm.)

東京とうきょうから名古屋なごやまではどのぐらい掛かかりますか。

Tokyo kara Nagoya made wa dono gurai kakarimasuka?

(How long does it take from Tokyo to Nagoya?)