The particle まで

N まで N made Until; as far as

まで (made) marks an end point in place or time: "to the station", "until five". Add に and it becomes a deadline: までに, "by".

Level: JLPT N5, beginner
Type: Particles
English links: until and by, prepositions of time, prepositions of movement

What it means

まで marks where something ends. With a place, it is "to" or "as far as": 駅まで歩きます (I walk to the station). With a time, it is "until": 五時まで (until five).

It often pairs with から, the start point: 月曜日から金曜日まで (from Monday to Friday). The range includes Friday.

Add に and the meaning changes. までに means "by", a deadline: 金曜日までに出してください (Please hand it in by Friday). まで is for an action that keeps going up to that time. までに is for a single action that happens some time before it.

In my classes, the まで / までに pair explains most of the "until" and "by" mix-ups. Once students see the two Japanese forms side by side, the English makes sense.

How to build it

Pattern	How it works
Place + まで place + made	End of a trip: 駅まで (to the station, as far as the station).
Time + まで time + made	The action continues up to that time: 五時まで働きます (I work until five).
A から B まで A kara B made	A range of place or time: 九時から五時まで (from nine to five).
Time + までに time + made ni	A deadline: 金曜日までに (by Friday). The action happens once, before that time.

Examples

毎日五時まで学校にいます。 mainichi goji made gakkou ni imasu. I'm at school until five every day.
駅までバスで行きます。 eki made basu de ikimasu. I take the bus to the station.
授業は月曜日から金曜日までです。 jugyou wa getsuyoubi kara kinyoubi made desu. Classes are from Monday to Friday.
昨日は夜十一時まで勉強しました。 kinou wa yoru juuichiji made benkyou shimashita. Yesterday I studied until eleven at night.
宿題は金曜日までに出してください。 shukudai wa kinyoubi made ni dashite kudasai. Please hand in your homework by Friday.

How English says it

English uses different words for place and time. For a place, it says "to" or "as far as": "I walked to the station". For a time, it says "until" (or "till" in speech): "I waited until six". "Until" is not used for places.

For a deadline, English uses "by": "Finish it by Friday". "Until" only works when the action continues the whole time: "Stay until Friday".

For a range, English says "from Monday to Friday". American English also says "Monday through Friday" to make it clear that Friday is included.

Why it can make English hard

まで covers both place and time, so some students use "until" for places: "I walked until the station".
まで and までに look almost the same. Students who learn "まで = until" often use "until" for deadlines too: "Please finish until Friday".
"By" is a small word with many uses in English, so students do not expect it to mean a deadline.

Mistakes you will hear

Please submit your homework until Friday. Please submit your homework by Friday. 金曜日までに. A deadline is "by", not "until".
I walked until the station. I walked to the station. 駅まで歩きました. For a place, English uses "to" or "as far as".
I will be back until 3. I will be back by 3. Coming back happens once, before 3, so it is "by".

In the classroom

Draw two timelines with a vertical line at "Friday". For "until", draw a long bar that runs right up to the line. For "by", draw one dot anywhere before it. Students say which picture fits each sentence.
Give your class instructions in both forms: "Work on this until the bell" and "Finish it by 10:30". Students soon hear the difference.
Write まで and までに on the board, one above the other, with "until" and "by" next to them. Point to it whenever the mix-up comes up.

Practice

Try each one, then open it to check.

1. Fill the gap: 図書館は七時＿開いています。 (The library is open until seven.)

Answer: まで

Being open continues up to seven, so it is まで.
2. Fill the gap: レポートは月曜日＿出してください。 (Please hand in the report by Monday.)

Answer: までに

A deadline needs までに. The report is handed in once, before Monday.
3. A student writes "Wait here by I come back." Fix it.

Answer: Wait here until I come back.

Waiting continues the whole time, so English needs "until".
4. Translate: 駅まで歩きましょう。

Answer: Let's walk to the station.

With a place, まで is "to" or "as far as", not "until".