JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N3 grammar · Chapter 3

～から～にかけて

Across a range from one point to another

You’ll be able to describe an approximate span across time or space without marking exact boundaries.

Illustration of the scene described by Beautiful flowers are blooming from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
Read it first

山やまの上うえから下したにかけて、きれいな花はなが咲さいています。

yama no ue kara shita ni kakete, kirei na hana ga saite imasu.

What do you think this sentence means?

Beautiful flowers are blooming from the top of the mountain to the bottom.

Why it means that

Across a range of time or space

～から～にかけて means “from A through B” over an approximate range. It is used for time, places, and areas where a situation extends gradually; the endpoints are not treated as exact.

Examples

三月さんがつから四月しがつにかけて、桜さくらが咲さきます。

sangatsu kara shigatsu ni kakete, sakura ga sakimasu.

Cherry blossoms bloom from March into April.

駅えきから公園こうえんにかけて、店みせがたくさん並ならんでいます。

eki kara kouen ni kakete, mise ga takusan narande imasu.

Lots of shops line the way from the station to the park.

How it is built

Name the two ends of a range

Put the starting point before から and the ending point before にかけて. The main clause describes something occurring or spreading across the interval or area.

Start+から+End+にかけて
Example

北海道ほっかいどうから東北とうほくにかけて、雪ゆきが降ふりました。

hokkaidou kara touhoku ni kakete, yuki ga furimashita.

Snow fell from Hokkaido through Tohoku.

Compare

から～にかけて vs から～まで

Both name a start and an end. ～にかけて spreads something loosely across the range; ～まで sets the end as a firm limit.

  • から～にかけて, over; across

    月曜日げつようびから水曜日すいようびにかけて、雨あめが降ふるでしょう。

    getsuyoubi kara suiyoubi ni kakete, ame ga furu deshou.

    Rain is likely from around Monday through Wednesday.

    Spread across roughly Monday to Wednesday; the start and end are loose.

  • から～まで, from … until

    月曜日げつようびから水曜日すいようびまで、雨あめが降ふるでしょう。

    getsuyoubi kara suiyoubi made, ame ga furu deshou.

    It will probably rain from Monday until Wednesday.

    Treats Monday and Wednesday as the exact start and end.

Examples

今年ことしは、お盆ぼんから九月くがつの初はじめにかけて、暑あつい日ひが続つづきました。

kotoshi wa, obon kara kugatsu no hajime ni kakete, atsui hi ga tsuzukimashita.

This year, hot days continued from the Obon holidays through early September.

年末ねんまつから年始ねんしにかけて、多おおくの店みせが休やすみになります。

nenmatsu kara nenshi ni kakete, ooku no mise ga yasumi ni narimasu.

Many shops close over the period from the end of the year through the New Year.

肩かたから背中せなかにかけて、ずっと痛いたいんです。

kata kara senaka ni kakete, zutto itai n desu.

I’ve had pain all the way from my shoulders down my back.

7 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.