Structure
Starting Point + から
Details
Part of Speech
Particle
Word Type
Case Marking Particle
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Standard
About から
から can have several different meanings in Japanese, depending on which part of the sentence it is in, and what comes before/after it. It is often translated as 'from'. In these cases, it just means 'with (A) as a starting location, (B)'. In this grammar construction, から comes directly after the place that is considered the starting point.
This form of から is the closest to the 'base' meaning of the word in Japanese, as the nuance of から can almost always be thought of as meaning 'from' in some way.
Caution
This form of から does not require だ when used after nouns or な-Adjectives, as that would change the meaning to 'because'.
Synonyms
Examples
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駅からバスで来た。
I came from the station by bus.
アメリカから来ました。
I came from America.
この靴はお母さんからです。
These shoes are from my mom.
学校から、パーティに行く。
To go to the party from school.
仕事から帰る。
To return home from work.
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The Particle から
Imabi
Particles から and まで
Wasabi
Offline
みんなの日本語 I
Page 32 [CH 4]
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 176
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から – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (4 in total)
machinaeZER0
It feels awkward to translate2時から始まります as “It starts from two o’clock.” Obviously here から is being taught as “from,” but it feels like either this sentence should use something other than から (probably not) or it would be better served with a more natural translation like “at” (which could be right, but isn’t the translation we’re being taught). Would it make sense to revisit including this sentence as currently written/translated, or am I just a weirdo?
Kasasagi
この靴はお母さんから です。means “these shoes are from my mother” (my mother gave them to someone, most likely me).
この靴はお母さんの です。means “these shoes are my mother’s” (my mother owns them).Kasasagi
You’re interpretation is correct and train of thought is completely understandable.
I’ve heard “starts from” used in English (by native speakers) with the same meaning as から始まります. It’s a very inaccurate way of speaking, but it does account for the uncertainty involved when talking about future plans.
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