까지: All the Way To / Up To | Korean Grammar

까지 is the particle of extent — the far end of a stretch, whether that stretch runs through space ("all the way to Busan") or through time ("until midnight"). English hands this idea to two different words, to and until, but Korean uses one 까지 for both, because the underlying meaning is the same: the point up to which something reaches. It has no allomorph — always 까지, after any noun — and it very often works as one half of a pair, bracketing a range with 부터 or 에서 at the near end. This page teaches 까지 as a spatial-temporal endpoint and, crucially, shows why it is not interchangeable with the plain destination 에.

The core meaning: the far endpoint of a stretch

까지 marks how far something reaches — the outer limit of a distance or a duration. Read it as "up to," "as far as," or "until."

다섯 시까지 오세요.

daseot sikkaji oseyo

Come by five. (temporal limit — no later than 5)

이 버스는 시청까지 가요.

i beoseuneun sicheongkkaji gayo

This bus goes as far as City Hall. (spatial limit)

주말까지 기다려 주세요.

jumalkkaji gidaryeo juseyo

Please wait until the weekend.

In each case 까지 tells you the boundary: no later than five, as far as City Hall, up to the weekend. It is the endpoint that closes off a span.

The classic frame: 부터/에서 … 까지

까지 rarely lives alone for long — its natural partner marks the near end of the range. Korean uses two different "from" particles for the starting point, and which one you pick depends on whether the range is time or space:

time range: 부터 … 까지 (from a time … until a time)
space range: 에서 … 까지 (from a place … to a place)

아침부터 밤까지 일했어요.

achimbuteo bamkkaji ilhaesseoyo

I worked from morning till night. (time range)

서울에서 부산까지 얼마나 걸려요?

Seoureseo Busankkaji eolmana geollyeoyo

How long does it take from Seoul to Busan? (space range)

처음부터 끝까지 다 읽었어요.

cheoeumbuteo kkeutkkaji da ilgeosseoyo

I read it from beginning to end.

Hold onto the split at the near end: place → 에서, time → 부터. The far end is 까지 either way. Getting the near-end particle wrong (×서울부터, ×아침에서) is the commonest 까지 error, and it is addressed in the mistakes below. The two-sided pattern gets its own dedicated treatment on the 부터 … 까지 ranges page.

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The far end is always 까지. The near end depends on type: a place takes 에서 (서울에서 … 까지), a time takes 부터 (아침부터 … 까지). Same 까지, two different "from"s.

Why 까지 is not just "to": extent vs bare goal

This is the insight that separates 까지 from the plain destination 에, and it is where English intuition needs correcting. Both can be translated "to a place," but they say different things:

에 states a bare goal — you go to school, full stop. (학교에 가요)
까지 stresses the full extent reached — all the way there, the whole distance covered. (학교까지 걸어요)

집까지 걸어왔어요.

jipkkaji georeowasseoyo

I walked all the way home.

집까지 걸어왔어요 carries a flavor that 집에 걸어왔어요 does not: it foregrounds the whole journey — the entire distance was covered on foot, perhaps further than you'd expect. Swap in 에 and you simply state the destination of the walking, no emphasis on extent. That is why you cannot treat 까지 as a neutral "to." When you just want to name where you're going, use 에. When you want to stress how far — the entire stretch, "all the way" — reach for 까지.

열두 시까지 숙제를 끝내야 해요.

yeoldu sikkaji sukjereul kkeunnaeya haeyo

I have to finish my homework by 12.

다음 주 금요일까지 끝낼게요.

daeum ju geumyoilkkaji kkeunnaelgeyo

I'll finish it by next Friday.

Note the temporal 까지 here means "by / no later than" a deadline. Don't confuse it with 에 ("at a point"): 세 시에 만나요 means "let's meet at three," while 세 시까지 오세요 means "come by three (any time up to then)." A point takes 에; a deadline you must not exceed takes 까지.

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까지 = extent or deadline, not a neutral goal. 학교에 갔어요 = "I went to school" (plain). 학교까지 갔어요 = "I went all the way to school" (stresses the full distance). For an ordinary destination, use 에.

Beyond distance: the "even" sense (a pointer)

까지 has a second life as a focus particle meaning "even / to the point of" — 너까지 그렇게 말해? ("Even you talk like that?"), where it marks something surprising being included. That inclusive/"even" sense belongs to the focus-particle family and is treated on the 까지: up to / even page. This page stays on the spatial-temporal endpoint; just be aware that a bare 까지 on a person or an unexpected item, rather than a place or time, is usually the "even" 까지, not the distance one.

Common Mistakes

1. Using 까지 as a neutral "to." For a plain destination, use 에. 까지 adds "all the way / the full extent," which is not always what you mean.

❌ 어제 학교까지 갔어요.

eoje hakgyokkaji gasseoyo

Odd — this stresses 'all the way to school'; for 'I went to school,' use 학교에.

✅ 어제 학교에 갔어요.

eoje hakgyoe gasseoyo

I went to school yesterday.

2. Using 에서 for the "from" of a time. A time range starts with 부터, not 에서.

❌ 아침에서 밤까지 일해요.

achimeseo bamkkaji ilhaeyo

Incorrect — a time 'from' takes 부터, not 에서.

✅ 아침부터 밤까지 일해요.

achimbuteo bamkkaji ilhaeyo

I work from morning till night.

3. Using 부터 for the "from" of a place. A place range starts with 에서, not 부터.

❌ 서울부터 부산까지 가요.

Seoulbuteo Busankkaji gayo

Incorrect — a place 'from' takes 에서, not 부터.

✅ 서울에서 부산까지 가요.

Seoureseo Busankkaji gayo

I'm going from Seoul to Busan.

4. Using 까지 for a point in time (should be 에). 까지 is "until/by" (a deadline); a single point takes 에.

❌ 세 시까지 만나요.

se sikkaji mannayo

Incorrect for 'meet at 3' — 까지 means 'until 3'; a point takes 에.

✅ 세 시에 만나요.

se sie mannayo

Let's meet at three.

Key Takeaways

까지 has no allomorph and means "up to / as far as / until" — the far endpoint of a spatial or temporal stretch.
The near end depends on type: place → 에서 … 까지, time → 부터 … 까지.
까지 stresses full extent (집까지 걸어왔어요 "walked all the way home"); a bare goal takes 에 (집에 왔어요).
Temporal 까지 = "by / until" a deadline; a point in time takes 에 (세 시에 vs 세 시까지).
The "even" sense of 까지 (너까지?) is a separate, focus-particle use — see 까지: up to / even.

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