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!):

Form
Point A から Point B まで
Example
わたしいえからあなたのいえまで

watashi no ie kara anata no ie made.

(from my house to your house)

watashi no ie kara anata no ie made

 

 

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.  

 

Nothing beats real practice:

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.

kyou kara ashita made benkyou shimasu
ここからきょうとまででんしゃでにじゅっぷんです
koko kara Kyoto made wa densha de nijuppun desu.
It is twenty minutes by train from here to Kyoto.
koko kara Kyoto made wa densha de nijuppun desu


わたしいえから学校がっこうまで7キロメートルあります

watashi no ie kara gakkou made nana kiro meetoru arimasu

(My house is 7KM to the school.)

watashi no ie kara gakkou made nana kiro meetoru arimasu
 

この新幹線しんかんせん東京とうきょうから大阪おおさかまできます。

kono shinkansen wa Tokyo kara Osaka made ikimasu.

(This bullet train runs from Tokyo to Osaka.)

kono shinkansen wa Tokyo kara Osaka made ikimasu.
 
スーパーはごぜん10じからごご10じまでです。

su-pa wa gozen juuji kara gogo juuji made desu

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

su-pa wa gozen juuji kara gogo juuji made desu
 

あさからよるまで はたらきます。

asa kara yoru made hatarakimasu.

I will work from morning to night.

asa kara yoru made hatarakimasu.
 
あさ5からよるまで ます。

asa 5 ji kara yoru 9 ji made nemasu.

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

asa 5 ji kara yoru 9 ji made nemasu.
 

東京とうきょうから名古屋なごやまではどのぐらいかりますか。

Tokyo kara Nagoya made wa dono gurai kakarimasuka?

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

Tokyo kara Nagoya made wa dono gurai kakarimasuka?
 


Expressing To and From in Japanese: MADE and KARA Asking Permission in Japanese: MO ii DESU KA
 Expressing Cause and Reason in Japanese: KARA Japanese Grammar Index  Asking Permission in Japanese: MO ii DESU KA