LESSON NOTES

Ultimate Japanese Particle

Guide #11
から (kara): The Starting Point

Marking Particle

CONTENTS
2 Vocabulary
2 Sample Sentences
2 Grammar

# 11
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VOCABULARY

Kanji Kana Romaji English Class

から から kara from preposition

SAMPLE SENTENCES

12時から、ランチミーティングがありま チーズは⽜乳から作られている。
す。 Chīzu wa gyūnyū kara tsukurarete
Jūni-ji kara ranchi-mītingu ga iru.
arimasu.
Cheese is made from milk.
We are going to have a lunch
meeting at 12.

GRAMMAR

The Focus of this Lesson is から (kara), the Starting Point Marking Particle

This particle is called the starting point particle, because it tells you when or where
something begins.

Mean “from”

When meaning "from," the particle から (kara) comes after a noun. Let's see a sentence:

1. 三時からミーティングがあります。
San-ji kara mītingu ga arimasu.
“We have a meeting at three." (Lit. "There is a meeting from three.")
The expression 三時から (san-ji kara), literally, "from three o'clock," marks the
starting point.

Here is an example with a place as starting point.

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1. ここから駅は近いです。
Koko kara eki wa chikai desu.
“From here, the train station is close.”
ここから (koko kara) means "from here," and marks the starting point.

Let's take a look at a few more examples:

1. ベランダから洗濯物が落ちました。
Beranda kara sentakumono ga ochimashita.
“The laundry fell off the balcony.”

2. 試合は８時からです。
Shiai wa hachi-ji kara desu.
"The game starts at 8 o'clock."

3. 東京から新幹線で⾏きました。
Tōkyō kara shinkansen de ikimashita.
"I went (there) from Tokyo by a bullet train."

Indicate materials

から (kara) can also indicate materials. Also in this case, you can translate it as "from."

Let's hear an example:

1. ぶどうからワインを作る。
Budō kara wain o tsukuru.
"I make wine from grapes."
ぶどうから (Budō kara) is the expression which indicates the material.

In a previous lesson, we saw another particle that could be used for the same purpose. The
difference is that で (de) also indicates the material something is made of or from, while か
ら (kara) is only used when the material doesn't appear to be in its original state.

So when the nature of the material is obvious, you should use で (de).

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When the product is the result of material going through a somewhat complex process, you
can mark the material either with で (de) or から (kara).

Let's take a look at a few more examples with the same particle used to indicate materials:

1. ⽶からお酒を作ります。
Kome kara o-sake o tsukurimasu.
"I make sake from rice."

2. 私は、⽊から和紙を作りました。
Watashi wa ki kara washi o tsukurimashita.
"I made Japanese washi paper from wood."

3. このセーターはペットボトルから作られています。
Kono sētā wa pettobotoru kara tsukura rete imasu.
"This sweater is made from plastic bottles."

JAPANESEPOD101.COM ULTIMATE JAPANESE PARTICLE GUIDE #11 - から (KARA): THE STARTING POINT MARKING PARTICLE 4