The Origin Particle から

The particle から is very common and has many uses but its main features are to indicate the source or starting point of something or to express the state before a change. から can also be classified as either a case particle or a conjunctive particle.

In this lesson, we will start by covering から as a case particle. Case particles refer to the grammatical function or relationship of a noun or noun phrase within a sentence.

These follow the noun they modify and serve to clarify its role in the sentence. We have covered some of them already which include は、が、を、の、に、で、へ and such. For example, when が is used as a case particle, it tells us that the role of the noun or noun phase that it is attached to is the grammatical subject of the sentence.

Marking the Source with から

One of the ways to use から is to mark the source from which information or knowledge is obtained. This could also be something like presents, letters, support and so on.

— Origin of knowledge

Let's say that you did most of your Japanese studying by watching YouTube videos and wanted to tell others about it. By attaching から, you can express that YouTube was where the source of knowledge about Japanese came from:

Now, you may wonder about the で particle as this can also refer to the means of which you learn Japanese. For example, 「YouTubeで日本語を学んだ」 instead of using から.

While it is possible to replace から with で, there is a change in nuance; から is simply marking the source of information that was used to learn Japanese, rather than the method that was used. で expresses the method, tool or means that was used to learn Japanese, rather than where the information came from.

For example, you may have studied Japanese using flashcards but the actual source of information those flashcards were based on was from a book called "Genki". Sometimes, this can be unclear depending on the context. In many cases, both particles can be used interchangeably. Whichever is used depends on the subtle nuances or personal preferences.

• YouTubeから日本語を学んだ

  I learnt Japanese from YouTube

  (The source of information about Japanese)

• YouTubeで日本語を学んだ

  I learnt Japanese using YouTube

  (The means or method used to learn Japanese)

If you wanted to say that you learnt Japanese from a person then you should use から not で; this is simply because it is inappropriate to refer to a person as a tool (means or method) that you use to do something.

— Raw material

Since raw materials are the source or starting point of which something is made from, you can use から to express this. In the following example, 米 (rice) is the raw material for making 日本酒 (sake) and から is used to indicate that rice is the source.

1. 日本酒は米からできています

   nihonshu wa kome kara dekiteimasu

   Sake is made from rice

It is quite possible to use the で particle to describe the means or method of which something is made such as the materials or tools used but there is a subtle difference between the two particles.

2. 陶器は土でできている

   touki wa tsuchi de dekiteiru

   Pottery is made from clay

The best way to know which particle to use is that if you cannot recognise the material by looking at it, using から is more appropriate. In the first example, it is not immediately clear that sake is actually made from rice just by looking at it. The raw material has been changed from its original state.

If you can tell what something is made of by its appearance alone, using で is more common. In the second example above, it is more obvious that pottery is made from clay. The material itself has not changed form, just its shape.

Let's take two more examples to see what we mean:

3. 月は岩でできている

   tsuki wa iwa de dekiteiru

   The moon is made of rock

4. 月はチーズからできている

   tsuki wa chi-zu kara dekiteiru

   The moon is made of cheese

Since it is visually clear that the moon is made of rock, we used で. On the other hand, it is not as obvious that the moon is made of cheese so we used から to emphasise its source. You could also think of this as being similar to the differences between "made of" and "made from" in English.

※ Fact check: The moon is not actually made of cheese.

— Where someone or something came from

As a foreigner, there is a chance that you may be asked where you are from and since you will be stating either where you were born or where your journey to Japan started, we can use から to mark the location as the starting point. In the following example, から is used to show that the action 来る (to come) originated or started from イギリス (England).

Marking the Starting Point with から

Since the source is also known as the starting point, we can use から to express when or where something began or the state something was in before it changed. This may be used with other particles to mark the ending point (kind of like saying "from A to B").

— State before a change

When describing something in its original state, before it becomes something else, we can use から to express this. We can also use the に particle to describe the state of existence that something is now or will be in. This use of から is very similar, if not the same, to the section about raw materials changing from its original state to become something else.

While the に particle may have been used to indicate "from" in contexts such as the giver of something, it cannot replace から here since we are marking the beginning point of a continuous action. に simply marks the final state or end point of a change.

— Point in time

When describing when something begins, we can use から to mark the starting point in time.

1. いよいよこれからきみの物語のはじまりだ

   iyoiyo, kore kara kimi no monogatari no hajimari da

   At last, your story begins from this point

2. 今日は13時から釣り大会だね！

   kyou wa juusanji kara tsuri taikai da ne!

   Today, the fishing competition will start from 13.00pm!

Used by itself, から not only just describes when something will begin but also that it continues into the future. In sentence (1), から simply states that "from this point" in time, right now, "your story begins" without implying that it will end immediately. In sentence (2), "the fishing competition will start from 1.00pm" and it will continue to do so allowing anyone to join even after this specific time.

Sometimes, we want to express when something will end and we can do this with the まで particle to mark the ending point in time. For example, you might want to say that you work a shift from 9am to 5pm.

3. 朝9時から夜5時まで

   asa kuji kara yoru goji made

   From 9am until 5pm

In some cases, you may find the に particle used interchangeably with から to describe time. However, there is a slight difference in meaning depending which is used and its context.

4. コンサートは13時に始まる

   konsa-to wa juusanji ni hajimaru

   The concert will start from 13.00pm

Here, に is used to indicate the exact starting time of the concert, it does not imply anything beyond just the beginning of the concert itself, at that specific time nor does it suggest any ongoing or future events.

If this were replaced with から, it would indicate that the concert will start from 1pm and continue on from that point in time. It can also suggest that the concert itself might not even start at exactly 1pm but at any time after that point. There may even be more than one concert or performance.

— Point in space

In a previous section, we looked at marking the origin of where someone or something came from but から can also mark the location as the starting point of an action.

5. 学校の屋上から見たらキレイだぜ

   gakkou no okujou kara mitara kirei da ze

   If you look from the school's rooftop, it looks pretty.

6. お！きみはマサラタウンから来たんだね？

   o! kimi wa masara taun kara kita nda ne?

   Oh! You came from Masara Town, right?

Here, sentence (5) is about watching fireworks and から is describing the continuous action of "looking", not just the fact that they can be seen from the school's rooftop. In sentence (6), から is not expressing that the listener is from Masara Town but rather they came from the direction of Masara Town, the starting point of their journey.

In some cases, から can be replaced by を but not always, for example:

7. 学校（を・から）出てきた

   gakkou (o / kara) detekita

   I came out of the school

8. チーム（を・から）離れる

   chi-mu o hanareru

   I will leave the team

9. 水が蛇口（を・から）出ます

   mizu ga jaguchi kara demasu

   Water comes out of the tap

Sentence (7) can use either から or を but with a slight difference in nuance. The particle を implies you exited through school whereas から highlights the school as the starting point of your movement.

から cannot be used when you express leaving groups or organisations instead of an actual location.

In sentence (8), を marks チーム as the direct object of the verb 離れる (to leave; to quit). It may seem odd that を is used with an intransitive verb but を can also mark movement; in this case, it marks a point of departure of which involves the movement of people. から would imply you are leaving from a starting point and doesn't fit well with the abstract concepts of a team, job or project and such.

を cannot be used when subjects are inanimate (non-living things).

In sentence (9), only から can be used here to indicate the starting point or source of the water. を would incorrectly imply that the tap is being acted upon by the water, which doesn’t make sense. を in sentence (7) is okay because it's used with subjects that are animate (living things like people) and marks a location of which involves the movement of people.

— Summary of から

Notice how から not only expresses the starting point of something but there is also a sense of continuity to it that other particles such as に and を do not express:

• Change of State: When something starts from a certain point and changes, から highlights the original state before it changed. This emphasises the active transition from one state to another.

• Point in Time/Space: When used with time or space, から indicates when or where something begins and continues from that point onwards. It can show that something will actively continue after that point of time or space.

• Continuous Action: When an action begins at a certain point and continues, から helps to convey that ongoing aspect.

While everything about から we have covered so far seems to be very similar to the English word "from", it is not the same at all. Please treat Japanese grammar for what it is rather than westernising it. We used "from" a lot here only to give you a general concept or idea of its usage.

から with Passive Sentences

When using the passive form 〜られる, using から describes the starting point of an action. In other words, the person who initiated the action, for eaxmple:

7. ゆたさんから抱きしめられた

   yuta-san kara dakishimerareta

   I was hugged by Yuta

Here, the focus is on the source of the action, emphasising that the "hug" was initiated by Yuta.

It is possible to replace から with に instead but this would have the nuance of indicating that the action was done by someone rather than emphasising where it came from. In simple terms, から focuses on where the action is coming from (the source), whereas に emphasises who is doing the action (the actor).

※ We will learn more about the passive form in another lesson so don't worry about it too much for now. Also, do not confuse this with the potential form which also uses 〜られる to mean the ability or inability to do something.

Marking the Giver: に vs から

Sometimes, you may want to place a little more emphasis on the person or thing an action originated.

Here, in an example from the Pokemon series, the player receives a Rainbow Badge and the one marked by から shows the source of where the Rainbow Badge came from. In this case, Erika is the source of the Rainbow Badge and where the act of giving something started from.

Most of the time, you will see the に particle instead of から to mark the person who acts as the giver of something. に and から can be used interchangeably with only a slight difference between them. Let's take another example that is very similar to the previous one but this time using に instead.

Here に simply marks the giver and due to its stronger connection to the verb もらう, there is less of a chance that what was given came from someone else other than the giver themself. In this case, it was Professor Oak that Shinobu received Razz Berries from, not his lab or in-group (うち); Here, に is marking the person directly involved in the action of giving.

If this were replaced with から, it is possible but not always the case that what you were given was passed on from someone else. In the case of the previous example, while the Rainbow Badge was received from Erika, she was giving it on behalf of the Pokemon Gym, her in-group (うち); Here, から is marking a person who is part of an organisation involved in the action of giving.

に is more common when referring to people and から with groups and organisations, though both can still be used interchangeably, depending on the context:

• に is mainly only used with animate objects like people, not organisations. You generally only make direct social interactions with people not an inanimate object.

• When a non-animate object like a School is used, に would most likely imply someone such as a teacher or some other staff member. For example, you received your certificate in-person at the school. However, に can sound odd in this context.

• When a non-animate object like a School is used, から only refers to the School itself as being the source or starting point, not necessarily a specific person.

You will also find that に is much more common when using てもらう or other compound verbs since it strongly implies a more direct involvement between the giver and receiver.

Yet again, whichever is used depends on the subtle nuances, personal preferences, stylistic choices or regional differences. While both particles each convey a specific nuance in meaning, there are many situations where it has not been considered and simply used interchangeable.

Additional Notes

Related Lessons and References

Here is a list of other pages as a reference of what else you may be interested in reading: