から vs まで in Japanese: How to Say “From” and “Until”

Your Japanese class starts at 9:00 and finishes at 11:00. Japanese gives each end of that time range its own small word, and one line covers the whole class:

The short answer

から (kara) marks where something starts. まで (made) marks where something ends. Each one goes straight after the time, day, or place it marks.

In the class example, 9じから is the start, from 9:00, and 11じまで is the end, until 11:00. You will often see the two together, but they do different jobs, so each can also appear on its own.

Start with から: mark the starting point

Use から (kara) after the time or place where something begins. If someone wants to know when your class starts, they ask:

You answer with the starting time followed by から:

The pattern is starting point + から (kara), and it works with any word that names a beginning: a clock time, a day of the week, or a word like “tomorrow.”

1. 8じからHachi-ji karaFrom 8:00.
2. げつようびからGetsuyoubi karaFrom Monday.
3. あしたからAshita karaFrom tomorrow.

In every one of these, から points to the beginning. None of them says when anything ends.

まで marks the ending point

Now imagine someone asks how late you work. The question swaps から for まで:

You answer with the ending time followed by まで:

The pattern is ending point + まで (made), and it takes the same kinds of words as から:

1. 3じまでSan-ji madeUntil 3:00.
2. きんようびまでKinyoubi madeUntil Friday.
3. あしたまでAshita madeUntil tomorrow.

Here, まで points to the end of the range. The starting point stays unknown.

Put から and まで together

When you know both the beginning and the end, use both in that order: starting point + から + ending point + まで. The class from the opening is a good first example, and the same shape works for a working week:

It helps to picture the sentence as a line running from 9じ → 11じ. から marks the left side, 9じから, from 9:00. まで marks the right side, 11じまで, until 11:00. Together you get 9じから11じまで, from 9:00 until 11:00.

One conversation, three different answers

Suppose someone asks about a shop. Their first question is about the start, so the answer gives only the start:

1. AなんじからですかNanji kara desu ka.What time does it start / open?
2. B10じからですJuu-ji kara desu.From 10:00.

Their next question is about the end, so the answer gives only the end:

1. AなんじまでですかNanji made desu ka.Until what time?
2. B6じまでですRoku-ji made desu.Until 6:00.

You can also combine the information into one answer:

The particles have not become one expression. Each still marks one boundary of the time range.

You do not always need both

This is an important beginner point: you can say only as much of the range as you need. Use から (kara) without まで (made) when only the starting point matters:

The sentence tells us when the studying starts. It does not tell us when it ends. You can also use まで (made) without から (kara):

Now we know the ending point, but not the starting point. And when both matter, you can use both:

So you choose how much of the range to express, and each marker you include adds exactly one boundary.

から and まで are not interchangeable

Keep the time and the action the same and change only the particle. With から, the sentence makes 3:00 the starting point:

With まで, the same sentence makes 3:00 the ending point:

Changing から to まで changes the meaning. If you mean “from 3:00,” say 3じから. If you mean “until 3:00,” say 3じまで. Before choosing, ask which side of the range the time sits on.

Use them with days too

The same basic idea works with days. げつようびから is from Monday and きんようびまで is until Friday, so together they mark a whole week:

Relative time words such as “today” and “tomorrow” follow the same pattern:

1. きょうからKyou karaFrom today / starting today.
2. あしたまでAshita madeUntil tomorrow.

The question stays the same every time: is this the beginning or the end? The beginning takes から; the end takes まで.

から and まで can mark places too

The same start-and-end idea is not limited to time. A journey also has two edges:

Split it into its two halves and each particle keeps its job. とうきょうから gives the starting place, and きょうとまで gives the place you go up to:

1. とうきょうからToukyou karaFrom Tokyo.
2. きょうとまでKyouto madeAs far as / to Kyoto.

The basic mental model still works: から = starting point and まで = ending point. For an early beginner, this is more useful than trying to memorize separate English translations for every situation.

Can から and まで appear with other particles?

Yes. A sentence can contain other particles because they may be doing different jobs. In this sentence, the time range and the place sit side by side:

9じから gives the starting time, 5じまで gives the ending time, and がっこうで gives the place where the studying happens. The particles are not competing with each other. They mark different information.

Common trap: reversing the range

Suppose you want to say “From 9:00 until 12:00.” The correct line puts the start first: 9じから12じまで (Ku-ji kara juu-ni-ji made).

A beginner may accidentally reverse the particles and say 9じまで12じから. That no longer marks the intended range. Remember the direction: START から → END まで.

Common trap: thinking まで means “to” in every sentence

English may translate まで as “to” in a phrase about a journey, as in the Tokyo to Kyoto example above. But the useful idea behind まで is the endpoint or limit. That is why it also works naturally with time:

Rather than memorizing まで = “to,” remember まで = up to the endpoint. That one idea covers journeys, clock times, and days.

Choose the right particle

Choose から (kara) or まで (made) for each gap. Decide first whether the English describes a start or an end.

1. “From 8:00”: 8じ ___
2. “Until Friday”: きんようび ___
3. “Starting tomorrow”: あした ___
4. “Until 6:00”: 6じ ___

Answers

1. から. 8じから (hachi-ji kara): from 8:00.
2. まで. きんようびまで (kinyoubi made): until Friday.
3. から. あしたから (ashita kara): starting tomorrow.
4. まで. 6じまで (roku-ji made): until 6:00.

Build the whole range

Now complete both ends. The start takes the first gap and the end takes the second.

1. From 9:00 until 11:00: 9じ ___ 11じ ___
2. From Monday until Friday: げつようび ___ きんようび ___
3. From 2:00 until 4:00: 2じ ___ 4じ ___

Answers

1. 9じから11じまで (Ku-ji kara juuichi-ji made)
2. げつようびからきんようびまで (Getsuyoubi kara kinyoubi made)
3. 2じから4じまで (Ni-ji kara yo-ji made)

Rewrite the sentence

Start with a sentence that gives only the end:

Now add the information that you start at 3:00. Put the start, with から, in front of the end:

Next, take a sentence that gives only the start:

Change the meaning to “I will study until tomorrow.” Only the particle needs to change:

Notice how changing only the particle changes whether tomorrow is the starting point or the endpoint.

The rule to remember

When describing a range, ask two questions. Where does it start? Use から (kara). Where does it end? Use まで (made). Put together, that gives START + から → END + まで:

If you only need one side of the range, use only the particle you need:

Once you see から and まで as boundary markers rather than two unrelated vocabulary words, time ranges become much easier to build.

Continue learning

Practise the time expressions used in this lesson with How to Ask the Time in Japanese – なんじですか for Beginners.

If you are unsure why different particles can appear in the same sentence, compare location markers in に vs で: Choosing the Right Japanese Place Particle.

For another beginner particle comparison, learn へ vs に in Japanese – Which Particle Means “To”?.