부터/까지: From … until

부터 and 까지: ranges, and the 에서 problem

부터 marks where something starts and 까지 marks where it ends. That much is easy. The part that trips people is that Korean has two ways to say "from", and picking the wrong one is the most common mistake with this pair.

The basic range

• 아침부터 저녁까지 일했어요. achim-buteo jeonyeok-kkaji ilhaesseoyo — "I worked from morning until evening."
• 1시부터 3시까지 han-si-buteo se-si-kkaji — "from one to three"

부터 vs 에서, the one to get right

Both translate as "from". They split by time versus place.

• Time takes 부터: 월요일부터 woryoil-buteo, "from Monday"
• Place takes 에서: 서울에서 seoul-eseo, "from Seoul". That's for a place you come from or leave from. 부터 with a place is fine when it's the start of a range: 서울부터 부산까지 seoulbuteo busankkaji, "from Seoul to Busan".

So a journey and a schedule use different particles even though English uses "from" for both:

• 서울에서 부산까지 seoul-eseo busan-kkaji — "from Seoul to Busan"
• 아침부터 저녁까지 achim-buteo jeonyeok-kkaji — "from morning to evening"

Notice 까지 doesn't change. It covers the end of a range whether that range is time or distance. Only the "from" half switches.

When 부터 does take a place

There's an exception worth knowing, because it looks like it breaks the rule. 부터 can mark a place when you mean the starting point of a sequence rather than a physical origin.

• 여기서부터 시작해요. yeogiseo-buteo sijakaeyo — "Let's start from right here."

You'll notice that's 여기서 yeogiseo plus 부터, both stacked. The 서 gives you the physical location and 부터 says it's the beginning of an order.

까지 on its own means "even"

Detached from a range, 까지 turns into something closer to "as far as" or "even", usually with a note of surprise.

• 너까지? neo-kkaji? — "Even you?"
• 비까지 왔어요. bi-kkaji wasseoyo — "It even rained."

The logic still holds if you squint: the range stretched all the way out to include something you wouldn't expect.

Order and stacking

Neither particle cares about 받침 batchim, so there's no 이/가-style vowel rule to memorize. Both also take other particles on top of them:

• 내일까지는 naeil-kkaji-neun — "by tomorrow, at least"
• 지금부터는 jigeum-buteo-neun — "from now on"

That's the same stacking rule that runs through the whole system: the position particle first, the topic or focus particle behind it.

까지: "until" or "by"?

English has two words here, and Korean has one. The verb decides which one you mean:

• 다섯 시까지 기다릴게요. daseot sikkaji gidarilgeyo "I'll wait until five." Waiting goes on, so it's "until".
• 다섯 시까지 갈게요. daseot sikkaji galgeyo "I'll be there by five." Arriving happens once, so it's "by".

If the action keeps going, read 까지 as "until". If it happens once, read it as "by".

부터 for "first"

Without any end point, 부터 can mean "start with this one", which English says with "first":

• 이것부터 하세요. igeotbuteo haseyo "Do this first."
• 뭐부터 할까요? mwobuteo halkkayo "What should we start with?"

There's no time or place here at all. 부터 just marks the first item in a line of things to do.