日本語

Grammar

N부터 N까지

Meaning

BeginnerN buteo N kkaji

부터 marks where something starts and 까지 marks where it stops, so N부터 N까지 gives both ends of a range in time, in order, or in amount — English 'from ... to ...'. The two usually appear as a pair, but each also works alone: 아홉 시부터 ('from nine o'clock') with no end named, or 8월까지 ('until August') with no start named. When 까지 follows a number or an amount it means 'up to, at most', so 800달러까지 is 'up to 800 dollars'.

Form

Both particles attach directly to a noun with no change for a final consonant: 월요일부터, 아침부터, 금요일까지, 밤까지. 부터 marks the starting point of a time or of an order of events; 까지 marks an end point in time, a destination in space, or an upper limit on a quantity. Neither one needs the other to be in the sentence — 저는 아침 아홉 시부터 일합니다 ('I work from nine in the morning') is complete on its own, as is 만 원까지 쓸 수 있습니다. For the place you set out from, Korean normally uses 에서 rather than 부터.

Examples

Common mistakes & nuance

Learners reach for 부터 with a place because English uses 'from' for both, but for a route the natural choice is 서울에서 부산까지. 서울부터 does occur, though it reads as 'starting with Seoul' in a list or an order rather than as a point of departure. Keep 부터 for times and sequences.

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