から作る vs で作る — Made from / Made of
Two patterns for describing what something is made of. から = a raw material transformed into the product (the original is no longer visible). で = a material directly used, still identifiable in the finished thing.
Structure
[Material] + から + 作る / できている | [Material] + で + 作る / できている
Examples
ワインはぶどうから作られます。
Wain wa budou kara tsukuraremasu.
Wine is made from grapes.
ぶどう→ワイン: chemical transformation — grapes no longer visible → から
パンは小麦粉から作られている。
Pan wa komugiko kara tsukurarete iru.
Bread is made from wheat flour.
Transformation: the flour changes form completely → から
この椅子は木で作られています。
Kono isu wa ki de tsukurarete imasu.
This chair is made of wood.
木で = wood as material, still visibly wood → で
• から (transformation — original material unrecognizable): ぶどう→ワイン, 大豆→豆腐. • で (composition — material identifiable): 木→椅子, 石→壁, 金→指輪. • This is a common N4 exam point. • できている = 'is made of' (state of completion).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones から作る is tested against.
vs で (means / location)
Here で marks a physically identifiable building material; contrast with から, which marks a raw material that has been chemically/physically transformed.
vs でできている
でできている describes a still-visible material composition; からできている describes a transformed raw material.
More expressions
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