부터 vs 까지From here to there — which one, and when
부터 and 까지 are a pair, not rivals — the real question is when 'from' is 부터 and when it is 에서.
Where something begins — usually a time, sometimes an order of play.
Full entry for 부터 ›핵심The rule
부터 and 까지 are two ends of one span, and learners rarely confuse them with each other. The confusion is with 에서, because English uses "from" for both.
The division is clean: time spans use 부터 … 까지, place spans use 에서 … 까지.
9시부터 6시까지 일해요 — I work from nine to six. 서울에서 부산까지 세 시간 걸려요 — Seoul to Busan takes three hours. Note that 까지 serves both halves: it is the one particle in this group that does not care whether it is marking a time or a place.
부터 with a place is not ungrammatical, but it means something slightly different — the starting point of an order, not of a journey. 여기부터 읽으세요 (start reading from here) and 저부터 할게요 (I'll go first) are both about sequence, and both are natural. 서울부터 부산까지 for the journey is something you will hear, but 서울에서 is what a textbook and a test expect.
까지 also carries an "even" sense outside spans entirely: 너까지 그런 말을 해? — even you are saying that?
어느 쪽?Which one, when
| Span | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time → time | 부터 … 까지 | 월요일부터 금요일까지 일해요. |
| Place → place | 에서 … 까지 | 집에서 학교까지 걸어가요. |
| Start of an order or turn | 부터 | 저부터 시작할게요. |
| Deadline | 까지 | 내일까지 보내 주세요. |
| As far as, even | 까지 | 너까지 나를 못 믿어? |
| Origin of movement | 에서 | 부산에서 왔어요. |
비교Same sentence, different particle
Both sentences below are correct. That is the point — these are not right-and-wrong pairs, they are two different things to say.
집에서 학교까지 30분 걸려요.
It takes 30 minutes from home to school.
A distance between two places: 에서 … 까지.
9시부터 6시까지 일해요.
I work from 9 to 6.
A stretch of time: 부터 … 까지.
여기부터 읽으세요.
Read from here.
부터 with a place, because what is being ordered is the reading, not a journey.
여기에서 읽으세요.
Read here.
에서 marks where the activity happens — a completely different sentence.
자주 하는 실수Common mistakes
✗서울부터 부산까지 기차로 갔어요.
✓서울에서 부산까지 기차로 갔어요.
A journey between two places takes 에서. 부터 is heard here in speech, but it is the time-and-sequence particle and a test will expect 에서.
✗9시에서 6시까지 일해요.
✓9시부터 6시까지 일해요.
에서 does not mark the start of a time span. Clock times, days and dates all take 부터.
사전 예문In the dictionary's own examples
Straight from the 국립국어원 entries, so you can check the rule above against real usage.
부터full entry ›
이 지루한 책을 처음부터 끝까지 다 읽으려니 힘들다.
It's hard to read this boring book from beginning to end.
서울부터 부산까지 기차로는 여섯 시간이 걸린다.
It takes six hours by train from Seoul to Busan.
젊어서부터 건강을 관리하던 승규는 노년이 된 지금도 건강하다.
Seunggyu, who had taken care of his health since he was young, is still healthy now in his old age.
까지full entry ›
내일까지 글쓰기 숙제를 제출하세요.
Please submit your writing assignment by tomorrow.
나는 오늘 일본어로 일부터 십까지 세는 법을 배웠다.
Today I learned how to count from one to ten in Japanese.
서울에서 부산까지 차로 가면 다섯 시간 정도가 걸린다.
If you drive from Seoul to Busan, it takes about five hours.
에서full entry ›
그 가수는 무대에서 열창을 한다.
That singer performs passionately on stage.
너는 방학이라고 집에서 텔레비전만 보니?
Are you just watching TV at home because it's vacation?
우리는 주말에 놀이공원에서 만나기로 했다.
We agreed to meet at the amusement park on the weekend.
관련 문법The full entries
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
What is the difference between 부터 and 에서?
Both translate as "from", but 부터 marks the start of a time span or a sequence and 에서 marks the place movement started. 9시부터 for the clock, 서울에서 for the journey. 까지 covers the far end of either.
Can 까지 be used for both time and place?
Yes, and it is the only one of the three that can. 6시까지 and 부산까지 are equally normal, which is why the two span patterns share their second half.
What does 너까지 mean?
"Even you." Outside a span, 까지 marks something as the last thing you would have expected to be included — 너까지 그래? means the speaker had counted on you being the exception.
Example sentences from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.