部
Components

Grammar detail: まで

まで
the various uses of まで
336 words
My current mastery of this grammar point:
LOG IN to view grammar mastery data
The particle まで is extremely common in Japanese, and it has several slightly different usages.

まで until, up to

Most commonly, まで is used to indicate a time period or a destination, often in conjunction with から.
noun
or
verb plain form
+
まで
means
until (a certain time, something happens), up to (a certain place) etc.
こんげつ
今月
の
お
終
わり
まで
ま
待
って
ください。
Please wait until the end of this month.
えき
駅
まで
いちじかん
1時間
かかります。
It will take an hour to the station.
びょういん
病院
まで
じゅう
10
マイルもある。
It is no less than ten miles to the hospital.
When used with a destination, まで can usually be translated with 'to', and often is interchangeable with the particles に or へ. However, it can also convey the suggestion of 'as far as' or 'up to'. In the following example, に would mean 'I went to Kyoto', whereas by using まで, the speaker conveys the idea that Kyoto is a long way, or that it was a bigger expedition to go that far etc.
れっしゃ
列車
で
きょうと
京都
まで
い
行
った
。
I went as far as Kyoto by train.

までに by, before

Adding に to まで changes the meaning to 'by' or 'before' the time or destination described. When までに is used, the second part of the sentence is completed before the situation described in the first part of the sentence.
やくそく
約束
の
じかん
時間
までに
かなら
必
ず
きてください。
Always come by the time promised.
In the above example, 必ずきてください (you must please come) is to be completed before 約束の時間 (promised time). If まで were used instead of までに, the action verb 'please come' would not make sense, but a verb describing a continuous state would work, such as:
やくそく
約束
の
じかん
時間
まで
かなら
必
ず
ま
待
って
ください。
You must please wait until the time you promised.
Here, the まで tells us that until the second part of the sentence '待ってください' (please wait) continues (at least) until the situation in the first part of the sentence.

までもない goes without saying

One common set expression is までもない, usually as part of いうまでもない, which means 'it goes without saying':
お
かね
金
がすべてではないのは
い
言
うまでもない
。
It goes without saying that money is not everything.

までだ just, only

A final use of まで is immediately followed by some form of です, in which case it means 'just' or 'only'.
わたし
私
はただ
いんしゅう
因習
に
したが
従
った
までだ。
I just followed convention.
In this usage, it could usually be replaced directly with だけ.

迄

まで can be written with the kanji 迄, but this is very uncommon in modern Japanese.
Please LOG IN for free flashcards

Kanji used in this grammar

必
ヒツ   かならず certainly, invariably   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
約
ヤク    promise; approximate   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
束
ソク   たば bundle   たばねる to tie in a bundle   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
時
ジ   とき time, occasion   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
間
カン   ケン   あいだ interval, between   ま space, room   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
待
タイ   まつ to wait   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
迄
まで until   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
今
コン   キン   いま now   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
月
ガツ   ゲツ   つき month; moon   
終
シュウ   end   おわる to come to an end   おえる to bring to an end   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
駅
エキ    station   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
病
ヘイ   ビョウ   やまい illness   やむ to fall ill   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
院
イン    institution   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
列
レツ    row   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
車
シャ   くるま car   
京
キョウ   ケイ    capital   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
都
ト   ツ   みやこ capital city, metropolis   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
行
コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆく    いく to go   おこなう to take place   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
金
キン   コン   かね gold; money   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
言
ゲン   ゴン   say; word   こと word, saying   いう to say   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
私
シ   わたくし    わたし I, myself   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
因
イン   cause   よる to depend on   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
習
シュウ   ならう to learn   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
従
ジュウ   ショウ   ジュ   したがう to obey   したがえる to be accompanied by   
Please LOG IN to view this kanji's mnemonic
Problem with this grammar? Question or comment? Please CONTACT US.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language. To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard. You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly. For an overview, take the tour.
×