まで
Up to a time or place
You’ll be able to state the endpoint of a journey, time period, or ongoing activity.
五時まで働きます。
go-ji made hatarakimasu.
What do you think this sentence means?
I work until five.
Show how far or how long something continues
Use まで after a place or time to mark an endpoint. With a place, it means “to” or “as far as”; with a time, it means “until.”
公園まで歩きます。
kouen made arukimasu.
I will walk to the park.
六時まで勉強します。
roku-ji made benkyou shimasu.
I study until six.
Endpoint + まで
Put まで after the final time or place in the range. It often pairs naturally with から.
駅まで歩きます。
eki made arukimasu.
I walk to the station.
三時まで勉強します。
san-ji made benkyou shimasu.
I study until three.
九時から五時まで働きます。
ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasu.
I work from nine to five.
から vs まで
から marks where a stretch begins and まで where it ends. They mark the two ends of the same span and often appear together.
まで, to
駅まで歩きます。
eki made arukimasu.
I walk to the station.
The station is where the walking stops.
から, from
駅から歩きます。
eki kara arukimasu.
I walk from the station.
The station is where the walking starts.
まで vs に vs へ with places
With places, に marks the destination, へ emphasizes the direction of movement, and まで marks how far the movement extends. に and へ are often interchangeable with movement verbs. With a time, only まで means “until.”
まで, limit
駅まで行きます。
eki made ikimasu.
I go as far as the station.
The station is the limit of how far I go.
に, destination
駅に行きます。
eki ni ikimasu.
I go to the station.
The station is treated as the destination.
へ, direction
駅へ行きます。
eki e ikimasu.
I head to the station.
The direction of movement toward the station is emphasized.
毎日、九時まで勉強します。
mainichi, kuji made benkyou shimasu.
I study until nine every day.
今日は五時まで働きます。
kyou wa goji made hatarakimasu.
I will work until five today.
朝から夜まで仕事をしました。
asa kara yoru made shigoto o shimashita.
I worked from morning until night.
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