부터 까지 grammar

부터 까지 grammar

        Today, we’re going to learn Korean grammar ‘Noun부터 Noun까지’. 부터mean from and 까지 means to. This grammar is little similar to 에서 까지 which we have already studied last time. Let’s look at how today’s grammar is used in a short conversation.

Minjo asks Jina:

“지나 씨는 몇 시부터 몇 시까지 일해요?” Jina, what time do you work from?

Jina replies:

“보통 오전 9시부터 오후 5시까지 일해요.” Usually, I work from 9 am to 5 pm.

   Here is the grammar we will learn today. Which is in the form of  ‘몇 시부터 몇 시까지, 9시부터 5시까지’

     We will look at the expression ‘Noun-부터 Noun-까지’ which express the beginning and end of the time.

‘부터’ and ‘까지’ attach after the nouns.

When ‘에서’ and ‘까지’ are used together, they are often used with time nouns.

In this case, ‘부터’ indicates the beginning of time, and ‘까지’ indicates the end of time.

How to use 부터 까지 grammar

Let’s see some examples.

‘9시부터 5시까지 일해요.’ I work from 9 to 5.

The time noun ‘9시 (9 o’clock) is followed by ‘부터’ and the time noun ‘5시 (5 o’clock) is followed by ‘까지’.

    So, ‘9시 (9 o’clock) in front of ‘부터’ indicates that it’s the time to start work, and ‘5시 (5 o’clock)’ in front of ‘까지’ indicates that it’s the time to end work.

‘9시부터 5시까지 일해요.’ I work from nine to five.

Let’s look at the second sentence.

‘월요일부터 금요일까지 일해요.’ I work from Monday to Friday.

    The time noun ‘월요일 (Monday) is followed by ‘부터’ and the time noun ‘금요일 (Friday) is followed by ‘까지’. 

 월요일 (Monday) in front of ‘부터’ indicates the beginning day of work.

 금요일 (Friday) in front of ‘까지’ indicates the end day of work.

‘월요일부터 금요일까지 일해요.’ I work from Monday to Friday.

   Let’s look at the combination information.

     The noun (시) in front of ‘부터’ does not have the final consonant / and the noun (일) has the consonant. Both cases ‘부터’ is used.

           Likewise, the noun (시) in front of ‘까지’ does not have the final consonant / and the noun (일) has the consonant. Both cases ‘까지’ is used.

부터 까지 grammar summary

In summary,

Whether the noun in front of ‘부터’ has the final consonant or not, ‘부터’ is used.

So, 월요일 becomes 월요일부터.

9시 becomes 9시부터.

      Likewise, whether the noun in front of ‘까지’ has the final consonant or not,

‘까지’ is used.

So, 금요일 becomes 금요일까지

5시 becomes 5시까지.

Last time, we learned ‘Noun에서 Noun까지.

Let’s compare how ‘Noun부터 Noun까지’ and ‘Noun에서 Noun까지’ are different.

부터 까지 grammar

에서 부터 difference

Now, let’s find out what is the difference between.

Let’s compare ‘Noun부터’ and ‘Noun에서’ one by one.

Noun 부터Grammar

Firstly, ‘Noun’부터 is usually used together with ‘time nouns’

In this case, it expresses the beginning and end of time.

For example, ‘I work from nine to five.’

Noun 에서 Grammar

     Let’s look at ‘Noun에서.’

‘Noun에서’ is normally used with ‘place nouns.’

In this case, it expresses the starting point and the destination.

    For example, I walk from home to school.

‘Noun부터’ is often used with time nouns and ‘Noun에서’ is often used with place nouns.

부터 까지 grammar practice –

Now let’s practice by looking at some more example sentences.

’11시, 12시, 점심시간이에요.’ 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock, is lunchtime.

How would you say it?

11시부터 From 11 o’clock

12 시까지 점심시간이에요. until 12 o’clock, it’s lunchtime

’11시부터 12시까지 점심시간이에요.’ It’s lunchtime from 11 to 12.

오늘, 내일, 가게가 문을 닫아요. Today, tomorrow, the store is closed.

How would you say it?

오늘부터 From today

내일까지 가게가 문을 닫아요. Until tomorrow, the store is closed.

‘오늘부터 내일까지 가게가 문을 닫아요.’ The store is closed from today to tomorrow.

12일, 16일, 휴가예요. 12th, 16th, I’m on vacation.

How would you say it?

12일부터 From the 12th

16일까지 휴가예요. To the 16th, I’m on vacation.

12일부터 16일까지 휴가예요.‘ I’m on vacation from the 12th to the 16th.

Korean conversation(부터 까지 grammar)

Let’s look at a short conversation.

Jina wonders when Minjo is on vacation. So She asks:

“민조 씨, 휴가가 며칠부터 며칠까지예요?” Minjo, when is your vacation?

Minjo replies:

“12월 22일부터 26일까지예요.” I’m on vacation from 22nd to 26th of December.

Jina asks again:

“어디로 놀러 가요?” Where are you going?

Minjo replies:

“부산으로 놀러 가요. 서울에서 부산까지 기차를 타고 갈 거예요.” I’m going to Busan. I’ll take a train from Seoul to Busan.

        Here ‘며칠부터 며칠까지 and 22일부터 26일까지’ are the grammar that we’ve learned.

     We also looked at the expression ‘서울에서 부산까지’ which expresses the starting point and the destination.

         Today we’ve learned the expression ‘ Noun부터 Noun까지’ which expresses the range of time.

Frequently asked questions

부터 translate – From

까지 translate – To/ Until

까지 meaning in English – 까지 means ‘to-‘ or ‘until-‘, 까지 can be used for both time and place.

부터 meaning in English – 부터 Means from and it is commonly used with time. It is used to show the starting time of any action. For example-

언제부터 시작해요? When do we start?/ What time do you start?

1시부터 시작해요. I start From 1 o’clock.