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

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— Where someone or something came from

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— The giver of receiving

Other than the source of information or knowledge, 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 it came from someone else other than the giver themself. In this case, it was Professor Oak that Shinobu received Razz Berries from.

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. For example, you might have received a present from your parents but it was actually from a friend who passed it on to them to give to you.

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.

You may find that に is more common when using てもらう and other compound verbs; に is also more common when referring to people and から with groups; in other cases, it might just be to clear up ambiguity, especially where one or the other is already being used for something else or it is too far away from the main verb that it easily gets associated with another part of the sentence.

※ Example sentences (2) and (3) was taken from the game ポケットモンスター Let's Go! (Pokemon Let's Go!).

Marking the Starting Point with から

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— State before a change

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— Point in time

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— Point in space

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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: