从...到...
Reach for this when you want to mark a span — 'from X to Y.' It works for time (从早上到晚上 / from morning to night), space (从北京到上海 / from Beijing to Shanghai), and abstract ranges (从一到十 / from one to ten; 从普通员工到 CEO / from regular employee to CEO). It's the standard way to express any kind of 'start point and end point' in Chinese.
Structure
从 [START] 到 [END]
cóng... dào...
How to Think About It
Place this whole chunk BEFORE the verb, not after. English puts 'from X to Y' wherever it wants ('I worked from 9 to 5'), but Chinese pins it in front: '我从九点到五点工作'. Putting it after the verb ('我工作从九点到五点') sounds like a tag-on afterthought, not a properly framed time/space adverbial. Treat 从...到... as a setup before the action.
Examples
我从北京飞到上海。
Wǒ cóng Běijīng fēi dào Shànghǎi.
I flew from Beijing to Shanghai.
他从早上工作到晚上。
Tā cóng zǎoshang gōngzuò dào wǎnshang.
He works from morning to night.
从一年级到六年级, 他都是第一名。
Cóng yī niánjí dào liù niánjí, tā dōu shì dì yī míng.
From first grade to sixth grade, he was always first in class.
Common Mistake
Learners place 从...到... after the verb because English allows it. Chinese expects time and location adverbials in front of the verb. Trailing them feels broken.
我学习中文从去年到现在。
我从去年到现在一直学中文。
Don't Confuse With
从 (alone)
从 alone marks a starting point without an endpoint: '从今天开始' (starting today). Add 到 only when you need to specify where the span ends.
由...到...
Same meaning, formal/written register. 由 is what you'll see in official notices, schedules, and news. 从 is the everyday default.
离 + Place
离 measures DISTANCE between two points ('我家离公司很近'). 从...到... describes a span or path you travel. 离 doesn't take 到 — these are different jobs.
Practice
我 ___ 星期一到星期五都上班。
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从
他从家走 ___ 学校只要十分钟。
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到
Put in order: [从 / 到 / 二零二零年 / 我 / 中文 / 学 / 现在 / 一直]
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从二零二零年到现在, 我一直学中文。
Translate to Chinese: 'The store is open from 9 to 10.'
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这家店从九点到十点开门。
Describe your typical workday using 从...到....
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Example answer: 我从九点到六点在公司工作。 (I work at the office from 9 to 6.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 14 Fluentide episodes: