Learning grammar is one of the most difficult things for Korean language learners. On this blog we will try to help you learn Korean grammar in the quickest and easiest way possible. This blog will be helpful for those who are studying Korean language and want to improve their grammar skills.
Today we’ll see how to form sentences with grammar pattern “ Noun + ~에서/부터 ~까지 " with some example sentences.
When you have expressions like ‘from–to’ to express time or location, you use ~에서 / ~부터 for “from/since” and ~까지 for “to/till.”
~에서 is mostly used for locations.
~부터 is mostly used for time.
However, in many cases, 에서 and 부터 can both mean “from” and are interchangeable, though there is a slight nuance difference.
Examples:
From Busan to Gwangju
- 부산에서 광주까지
- 부산부터 광주까지From 2 p.m. till 6 p.m.
- 2시에서 6시까지
- 2시부터 6시까지
In terms of time related expressions :
- When mentioning a specific time frame
Both ~에서 and ~부터 can be used interchangeably with specific times such as “2 p.m.”, “2009”, “Monday”, etc.
Ex:
Shop usually opens from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m.
- 가게는 보통 오전 8시부터 오후 10시까지 열어요.
Here we work from Monday till Saturday.
- 여기에서는 월요일부터 토요일까지 일해요.
(월요일에서 토요일까지 is not natural — use 부터.)
When not talking about a specific time frame
~부터 is mostly used when the starting point is not a specific fixed time, like “from last year”, “since yesterday”, etc. In these cases, 부터 is preferred rather than 에서.
Ex:
어젯밤부터 비가 많이 와요.
- It has been raining a lot since last night.
코로나 때문에 작년부터 집 안에 있어요.
- I've been at home since last year because of Corona.
In terms of location related expressions :
Both ~에서 and ~부터 can be used in expressions referring to a starting location, such as “from Thailand”, “from the library”, etc.
However, 에서 is much more common and natural for places.
부터
can be used, but sounds slightly more formal or written.
Ex:
I traveled from India to Thailand.
- 인도에서 태국까지 여행했어요.
(인도부터 태국까지 is possible but less natural in everyday speech.)
It takes 20 minutes from my home to the library.
- 집에서 도서관까지 20분 걸려요.
In general, there isn’t a strict difference in meaning, and both can appear in similar contexts.
But 에서 is the default for locations, while 부터 is more common for time.
Learning Korean can be tricky, especially when the goal of your learning is conversation. If you’ve ever attempted to speak Korean but were unable to, then hopefully you’ll find this post helpful.
Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions, comment down below.
