从…到… (cóng…dào…): How to Say “From… To…”
For “from X to Y” — times or places — Chinese pairs 从 (from) with 到 (to): 从 + Start + 到 + End. 从北京到上海 (“from Beijing to Shanghai”), 从九点到五点 (“from 9 to 5”). The phrase goes before the verb.
Why this trips learners up
To say “from… to…” in Chinese — whether across time or across space — you pair two words: 从 (cóng) for the start and 到 (dào) for the end. The frame is 从 + [Start] + 到 + [End]: 从北京到上海 (“from Beijing to Shanghai”), 从星期一到星期五 (“from Monday to Friday”), 从九点到五点 (“from 9 to 5”). It lines up almost exactly with the “from… to…” you already know.
Two handy extras. The endpoints don't have to be clock times — they can be any event: 从开始到结束 (“from start to finish”). And dropping a 都 after the range (从…到…都) adds the sense of “the whole time through / all of it”: 从周一到周日都开门 (“open every day, Monday through Sunday”).
The one thing to watch is word order: the whole 从…到… phrase is an adverbial, so it sits before the verb (or leads the sentence) — 我从星期一到星期五上班, never trailing at the end. And don't mix up 从 (a starting point — “from here”) with 离 (the static gap between two places — “far from”): a journey start-to-end is 从…到…; a standing distance is 离 (我家离公司很远).
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
wǒ 我 Subject cóng 从 Pattern xīngqīyī 星期一 Other dào 到 Pattern xīngqīwǔ 星期五 Other shàngbān 上班 Verb
I work from Monday to Friday.
cóng 从 Pattern wǒ jiā 我家 Other dào 到 Pattern xuéxiào 学校 Other hěn 很 Adverb jìn 近 Adjective
From my home to school is very close.
shāngdiàn 商店 Subject cóng 从 Pattern zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn 早上九点 Other dào 到 Pattern wǎnshang shí diǎn 晚上十点 Other yíngyè 营业 Verb
The shop is open from 9am to 10pm.
cóng 从 Pattern Běijīng 北京 Other dào 到 Pattern Shànghǎi 上海 Other zuò 坐 Verb gāotiě 高铁 Object yào 要 Verb wǔ gè xiǎoshí 五个小时 Time
From Beijing to Shanghai, the high-speed train takes five hours.
zhè jiā diàn 这家店 Subject cóng 从 Pattern zhōuyī 周一 Other dào 到 Pattern zhōurì 周日 Other dōu 都 Adverb kāimén 开门 Verb
This shop is open all week, Monday through Sunday (从…到…都).
wǒ 我 Subject cóng 从 Pattern qùnián 去年 Other dào 到 Pattern jīnnián 今年 Other xué 学 Verb le 了 Function word hěn duō 很多 Other
From last year to this year I've learned a lot.
cóng 从 Pattern dìtiězhàn 地铁站 Other dào 到 Pattern wǒ jiā 我家 Other bù tài 不太 Adverb yuǎn 远 Adjective
From the subway station to my home isn't too far.
cóng 从 Pattern kāishǐ 开始 Other dào 到 Pattern jiéshù 结束 Other zhěnggè huìyì 整个会议 Subject zhǐ 只 Adverb yǒu 有 Verb bàn gè xiǎoshí 半个小时 Time
From start to finish, the whole meeting was only half an hour (the endpoints can be events).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 从…到… is a pair. For “from X to Y” you need the 到, not just 从 — “from Beijing to Shanghai” is 从北京到上海, not 从北京上海. (从 on its own, with no 到, just means “from” a single starting point.)
Why it happens: The 从…到… phrase is an adverbial, so it comes BEFORE the verb — 我从星期一到星期五上班, not 我上班从星期一到星期五. Parking it at the end is the English-order slip.
Why it happens: Don't confuse 从 with 离. 从 marks a starting point or one end of a range (从我家出发, 从…到…); 离 measures the static gap between two points and sits next to 远/近. “It's far from my home” is 离我家很远, not 从我家很远.
Compare & contrast
| 从…到… — a range / journey (start → end) | 离 — the static gap between two points | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 从我家到公司很远。cóng wǒ jiā dào gōngsī hěn yuǎn. = home to work is far (the trip) | 我家离公司很远。wǒ jiā lí gōngsī hěn yuǎn. = home is far from work (the gap) | 从我家到公司很远 = “it's a long way from home to work” — the journey, two ends. 我家离公司很远 = “home is far from work” — the standing distance. |
| 从这儿到机场要一个小时。cóng zhèr dào jīchǎng yào yí gè xiǎoshí. = here to the airport takes an hour | 这儿离机场很近。zhèr lí jīchǎng hěn jìn. = here is close to the airport | 从这儿到机场要一个小时 = “from here to the airport takes an hour”. 这儿离机场很近 = “here is close to the airport”. |
Try it yourself
Say “I work from 9 to 5.” — tap the words into order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
从…到… (cóng…dào…): How to Say “From… To…” grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.