から has two jobs at N5. After a sentence, it gives a reason: “because”. After a noun, it marks a starting point: “from”. The two uses look identical on paper, so the word in front of から tells you which one you are reading. This lesson focuses on reason から and shows you how to keep it apart from “from” から.
Reason first, から, result second: 雨だから、行きません。 Japanese puts the "because" part at the start, the opposite of the usual English order.
What does から mean?
Reason から connects a cause to a result: [reason] から, [result]. English usually puts “because” in the middle (“I won’t go because it’s raining”), but Japanese almost always puts the reason first:
- 雨が降っていますから、行きません。 — It’s raining, so I won’t go.
That is why “so” is often a better English translation than “because”. Read から as “…, so …” and the Japanese word order stops feeling backwards.
Starting-point から attaches to a noun of place, time, or person and means “from”:
- 駅から歩きます。 — I’ll walk from the station.
- 九時から勉強します。 — I’ll study from nine.
- 先生から聞きました。 — I heard it from the teacher.
How to form から
For reasons, から attaches to a complete sentence — plain or polite, present or past.
- Verb: 行くから / 行きますから / 行ったから
- い-adjective: 忙しいから / 忙しいですから
- な-adjective: 暇だから / 暇ですから
- Noun: 雨だから / 雨ですから
The key detail is the だ after nouns and な-adjectives. 雨だから means “because it’s raining”; 雨から without だ would mean “from the rain”. The だ turns the noun into a sentence, and only sentences can be reasons.
For starting points, から attaches straight to the noun: 日本から, 三時から, 友だちから. It pairs naturally with まで (“until / as far as”): 九時から五時まで (from nine to five).
When is から used?
- Explaining your choices: why you’re not coming, why you’re tired, why you chose something.
- Answering どうして / なぜ: the answer ends in からです. 「どうして来ませんでしたか。」「忙しかったからです。」
- Backing up a request or suggestion: 危ないから、止まってください。 から works well with commands, requests, invitations, and “let’s”, where the reason pushes the listener to act.
- Afterthought reasons: in speech you can state the result first and add the reason as a second sentence: 今日は行きません。疲れていますから。
から is neutral and very common in speech. In polite conversation, ですから / ますから before から keeps the whole sentence polite.
から example sentences
雨が降っていますから、今日は出かけません。
It's raining, so I'm not going out today.
明日はテストだから、早く寝る。
I have a test tomorrow, so I'm going to bed early.
この店は安いから、よく来ます。
This shop is cheap, so I come here often.
「どうして遅れましたか。」「バスが来なかったからです。」
"Why were you late?" "Because the bus didn't come."
暑いから、窓を開けてください。
It's hot, so please open the window.
授業は九時から十二時までです。
Class is from nine to twelve.
Nuance of から
Reason から sounds personal and direct. It presents the reason as the speaker’s own judgement: “this is why, as far as I’m concerned.” That is useful when you give advice or ask someone to do something, but it can sound like an excuse when you apologize. Telling your boss 電車が遅れたから、遅れました can come across as “the train was late, so it’s not my fault”. In apologies, ので sounds softer.
Sentence-final からです answers “why” questions and focuses on the reason itself. If someone asks どうして, answer with …からです, not just …から, in polite speech.
In casual speech, people often leave the result unsaid: 時間がないから… (“Since I don’t have time…”). The listener fills in the obvious conclusion, which makes the sentence sound softer than stating it outright.
から vs ので
Both give reasons and both come after the reason clause. The difference is tone and what kind of result can follow. The full breakdown is in ので.
When you are unsure, use ので with teachers and strangers and から with friends. Only から can end a sentence as an answer: からです is natural, while のでです is not.
Common mistakes with から
な-adjectives and nouns need だ (or です) before reason から. Without it, the sentence reads as "from free time".
から is not a word you put in front of the reason like English "because". It always comes right after the reason clause, and the reason usually comes first.
た-form + から means "because I ate". For "after doing", you need the て-form: てから.
Is から on the JLPT?
Yes. から is core JLPT N5 grammar, both as "because" and as "from". Reading passages use it to explain why a character did something, and the listening section often asks "why?" questions whose answer is hidden in a から clause.
- Tell reason から (after a sentence) from "from" から (after a noun)
- Add だ after nouns and な-adjectives: 雨だから, 静かだから
- Recognize からです as the answer to どうして
- Keep から (because) apart from てから (after)
Practice questions for から
Show answer
疲れましたから、帰ります。 — I'm tired, so I'll go home.
Show answer
おなかがすいていないからです。 — Because I'm not hungry.
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明日は日曜日だから、海に行きましょう。 — Tomorrow's Sunday, so let's go to the sea.
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店は十時から八時までです。 — The shop is open from ten to eight.
Learning path for から
Related grammar to review next
- ので — the softer, more objective “because”; the choice between the two is tested constantly.
- まで — the partner of starting-point から in from…to phrases.
- てから — looks like reason から but means “after doing”; the verb form decides.
- どうして — the “why” question that からです answers.
- それから — contains から but means “and then”, linking events rather than reasons.
Learn から with Hane
Hane gives you short sentence drills where you choose between から, ので, and てから in context. Start practicing with Hane.
FAQ about から
What does から (kara) mean in Japanese?
から (kara) means “because; since”. It is JLPT N5 grammar. Reason から connects a cause to a result: [reason] から, [result].
How do you form から (kara)?
For reasons, から attaches to a complete sentence — plain or polite, present or past.
What is the difference between から and ので?
から: subjective, direct. ので: objective, softer.
What is an example sentence with から (kara)?
雨が降っていますから、今日は出かけません。 — It's raining, so I'm not going out today.