This is where Everything Starts から in Japanese
から in Japanese, pronounced kara tells you where or when something starts. It also tells you the source that something was made from, it can tell you someones perspective, explain the order of things and a lot more.
It is a pretty straightforward particle in Japanese. The closest word to translate it to in English is from. There are many situations in Japanese where から means the same thing as from. However, there are specific ways that it is used in Japanese. Let’s take a look at how it is used in Japanese.
INDEX
The Starting Point
A starting point could be anything from a time to begin, a place to start moving from, or the first person to start doing something.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/Time and Space, from a thing
から in Japanese tells you where or when something starts.
ここから道路が見える
I can see the road from here
京都から出発したバス
A bus that departed from Kyoto
水滴が屋根の上から垂れ落ちた
water-droplets dripped from onto of the roof
朝早くから仕事が始まる
work starts from early in the morning
Order of action
A starting point can also mean the first point in an action taken in order.
左から順に文字を並べ替える
to rearrange the letters in order from the left
先に着いた人からバスに乗る
to ride the bus in the order that people arrived
If we look at the first example this means that we are writing letters starting from the left. Example two says that the first person that arrives will get on the bus first, followed by the second person that arrived, and so on.
Starting at or at Least
Another way that から can tell you a starting point is with quantity. For example, you could say that the cost of something starts at a certain price. Just like the sentence below:
1万円からする商品
a product which costs a minimum of 10,000 yen (starting at 10,000 yen)
The Source of Something
Second, a source is similar to a starting point but does not suggest there is a destination. から in this situation tells you where something originated. That could be a physical object, information, or whatever.
Physical Place or Thing
The source can be a place, or from a group of things
この袋から好きな物を選んで
pick what you like from this bag
Made from
から in Japanese can also mean something was made from something else.
このスープは人参やキャベツなどから作られている
this soup is made from carrots, cabbage and so on
Heard from or Got Something from Someone
People just as easily as things can be a source. When we talk about people as a source, usually they are providing us with information or we are receiving something from them.
その話は弟から聞いた
I heard that story from my little brother
この帽子は妹からもらった
I got this hat from my little sister
The Cause of Something
When we talk about a cause, that can be a physical reason something happens or it could be an emotional goal.
Reason
You can say the reason for something happening with から.
勘違いから生じた大惨事
a disaster that occurred from a misunderstanding
Motivation
Motivation is a type of reason based on someone’s emotion or goals. So, you can use an emotion word such as happiness, sadness, anger, or curiosity with から in Japanese.
猫は好奇心から行動するものだ
cats do things out of curiosity
Evaluating from one’s Perspective with から in Japanese
Finally, から can also tell you how someone evaluates something or what they see from their perspective.
私から見れば、こっちのリンゴが美味しそうだ
this apple looks tasty to me (Looking from me, this apple looks tasty)
このひびからすると、だれかがこのお皿を落としたように見える
from this crack, it looks like someone dropped this plate
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