てから — Only After (Sequence)
Marks a strict sequence: action B happens only after action A is finished. It stresses that A is a necessary first step before B.
Structure
[Verb te-form] + から、[Action B]
Examples
手を洗ってから、食べなさい。
Te o aratte kara, tabenasai.
Eat after you wash your hands.
洗って (wash, te-form) + から (after) — washing must come first
大学を卒業してから、結婚したい。
Daigaku o sotsugyou shite kara, kekkon shitai.
I want to get married after I graduate from university.
卒業して (graduate) + から — graduation is the prerequisite
宿題をしてから、テレビを見ます。
Shukudai o shite kara, terebi o mimasu.
I watch TV after doing my homework.
して (do, te-form) + から (after) — homework must come first
• てから vs たあとで: both mean 'after', but てから emphasises A as a trigger/prerequisite and implies B follows fairly directly. たあとで simply states that B happened at some point after A, with a weaker sense of connection. • This から (after) is different from the から that means 'because'.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones てから is tested against.
vs 〜たあとで
たあとで just marks 'after A' neutrally; てから stresses that A is a necessary first step and that B follows on from it.
vs から (because)
Same word, different grammar: after a te-form verb it means 'after'; after a plain clause it gives a reason ('because').
More conjunctions
Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki
Everything on this page, free to browse
- 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio
- 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
- 444 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
- Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio
Get the Android app