〜から〜まで
- 1Marks the start and end of a period of time: 'from (time) to/until (time)'.Ex. 1
- 2Marks the starting point and destination of movement or distance: 'from (place) to (place)'.Ex. 2
- 3Marks the two ends of a range of things or people, suggesting everything in between is included: 'from A to B'.Ex. 3
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A basic, neutral pattern used in all registers for schedules, opening hours, travel routes and distances. Either half can also appear alone: から marks only the starting point and まで only the end point. Unlike までに, which sets a deadline for a single action, 〜から〜まで describes a whole stretch of time or space.
Learners sometimes use まで for deadlines, but a one-time action completed before a point in time needs までに instead.
Note that から in this pattern marks a starting point, not a reason, even though から can also mean 'because'.
- 1.にかけてN3When indicating a range, 「にかけて」 has vague start and end points and refers only to an approximate period or area, often used with weather, seasons, or regions; it is not suited to marking exact start and end points.
- 2.までにN4「〜から〜まで」 marks a range of time, space, or objects. For time, 「まで」 means continuing up to the end point, while 「までに」 sets a deadline by which something must be completed, as in 「5時までに帰る」. The two cannot be swapped.
- 3.からN5When attached to a noun, 「から」 marks only the starting point and does not state the end point, so the range is less clear than with 「〜から〜まで」. 「から」 can also follow a sentence to express a reason or cause ("because"), a usage 「〜から〜まで」 does not have.
- 4.までN5「まで」 marks only the end point; it can attach to nouns or to the dictionary form of verbs (e.g., 「帰るまで待つ」), and it can also mean "even...". 「〜から〜まで」, by contrast, marks both the start and end points to define a range.
- 5.にわたってN2「にわたって」 is mostly written-style and attaches to nouns of duration, number of times, place, or field, emphasizing a long time span or wide scope; it cannot attach to a single point in time. 「から〜まで」 is neutral in tone and simply marks start and end. You can say 「AからBにわたって」.
- 6.間にN4「間に」 refers to something happening or being completed during a period of time or while a state continues; it attaches to verbs, adjectives, or noun＋の. 「〜から〜まで」 attaches to nouns and marks the start and end of time, space, or things. They can be combined: 「九時から十時までの間に」.
から and まで mark only the start or the end respectively, and 〜から〜まで joins them to give both limits. までに marks a deadline and 間に a point within a period, while にかけて (a looser span, N3) and にわたって (an entire extended span, N2) are more advanced alternatives to this plain, exact range.
