에서부터 (eseobuteo) means "starting from".
A more emphatic way of saying 'starting from a place'.
Checked against the official learner dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language
- After 여기 yeogi, 거기 geogi and 어디 eodi, usually just 서부터 seobuteo.
- After other nouns, 에서부터 eseobuteo.
Build it
When to use it
Starting point
Where something begins.
The whole way
Stresses the distance covered.
Where it started
In questions with 어디 eodi.
Watch out
It's all one word, with no space before 부터 buteo.
서 seo comes before 부터 buteo, not after.
In context
8 examples- 1
집에서부터 걸어왔어요.
Jibeseobuteo georeowasseoyo.
I walked all the way from home.
- 2
어디서부터 설명할까요?
Eodiseobuteo seolmyeonghalkkayo?
Where should I start explaining from?
- 3
거기서부터 다시 시작하자.
Geogiseobuteo dasi sijakaja.
Let's start again from there.
- 4
서울역에서부터 여기까지 걸어왔어요.
Seouryeogeseobuteo yeogikkaji georeowasseoyo.
I walked here all the way from Seoul Station.
- 5
이 줄에서부터 읽어 보세요.
I jureseobuteo ilgeo boseyo.
Try reading from this line.
- 6
문제는 거기서부터 시작됐어요.
Munjeneun geogiseobuteo sijakdwaesseoyo.
That's where the problem started.
- 7
1층에서부터 계단으로 올라왔어.
1cheungeseobuteo gyedaneuro ollawasseo.
I took the stairs all the way up from the first floor.
- 8
여기서부터는 제가 설명할게요.
Yeogiseobuteoneun jega seolmyeonghalgeyo.
I'll take it from here.
Practice
8 questions서울역에서 부터 걸어왔어요.
Seouryeogeseo buteo georeowasseoyo.
I walked all the way from Seoul Station.
에서부터 vs 에서 vs 부터
Each one does a slightly different job:
- 에서 eseo is a plain "from" for places: 집에서 왔어요. jibeseo wasseoyo "I came from home."
- 부터 buteo is "from" for times and order: 아침부터 achimbuteo, "since the morning".
- 에서부터 joins the two. It stresses the exact starting point, or how far it is from there: 집에서부터 뛰어왔어요. jibeseobuteo ttwieowasseoyo "I ran all the way from home."
When you only need "from", plain 에서 is the natural choice. Save 에서부터 for when the starting point matters. The 부터 vs 에서 comparison goes through the two basic ones.
Not just places
It can also mark where an idea or a change begins, and that's common in advice and writing:
- 변화는 작은 습관에서부터 시작돼요. byeonhwaneun jageun seupgwaneseobuteo sijakdwaeyo "Change starts with small habits."
- 처음부터 다시 해 볼게요. cheoeumbuteo dasi hae bolgeyo "I'll try again from the beginning." With 처음 cheoeum, plain 부터 is the usual choice.
Hanja in this lesson
Words from the examples that are written with Chinese characters. Tap a character to see its page.
Look it up in the dictionary
The entry for 서부터 in two trusted Korean dictionaries.
