din / de la / până la

Source and Limits

Level 2

Romanian uses din (from inside), de la (from a point), and până la (until/up to) to describe movement and time ranges.

How It Works

In Romanian, expressing 'from X to Y' requires choosing the correct starting preposition based on the nature of the source and the destination.

  • Din: A contraction of de + în. It is used when something comes from inside a container, building, or defined space. It also indicates permanent origin (e.g., Sunt din București).
  • De la: Used for a general starting point, a person, or a temporary point of departure (e.g., Vin de la București - I am coming from there right now).
  • Până la: Used to mark the endpoint for distance, specific dates (până la 15 mai), or specific hours (până la ora cinci). Note: The 'la' is omitted before adverbs (până mâine) and days of the week (până luni).
  • Până în: Used instead of 'până la' when the destination is an interior space (până în casă) or broader time units like months and years (până în ianuarie).

Grammar Note: These prepositions govern the Accusative case. Nouns usually drop the definite article after these prepositions unless they are determined or modified (e.g., din casă vs. din casa mare).

Examples (5)

  1. Trenul merge de la București până la Constanța.

    The train goes from Bucharest to Constanța.

    Word by Word: The train goes from Bucharest until at Constanța.

    Here, 'de la' and 'până la' mark the start and end points of a journey between cities.

  2. Am scos banii din buzunar.

    I took the money out of the pocket.

    Word by Word: I have taken the money out of pocket.

    We use 'din' because the money was inside the pocket (an interior space).

  3. Lucrăm de la ora nouă până la ora cinci.

    We work from nine o'clock until five o'clock.

    Word by Word: We work from the hour nine until at the hour five.

    This shows the temporal use of the pattern to define a work schedule.

  4. Am primit un cadou de la bunica.

    I received a gift from grandma.

    Word by Word: I have received a gift from at grandma.

    Use 'de la' when the source is a person.

  5. Mergem dintr-un oraș în altul.

    We are going from one city to another.

    Word by Word: We go from-a city in other.

    'Din' becomes 'dintr-un' before the masculine indefinite article 'un'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'din' for people.

    Am un mesaj din Andrei.
    Am un mesaj de la Andrei.

    In Romanian, 'din' implies the message came out of Andrei's physical body. Use 'de la' for people as sources.

  • Keeping the definite article after the preposition.

    Vin din școala.
    Vin din școală.

    Nouns following 'din', 'de la', or 'până la' typically lose their definite article unless the noun is determined or modified (e.g., by an adjective or a possessive).

  • Using 'la' with adverbs or days of the week after 'până'.

    Merg până la acasă luni.
    Merg până acasă luni.

    While 'până' requires 'la' before most nouns, the 'la' is dropped before adverbs of place (like 'acasă'), adverbs of time (like 'mâine'), and days of the week (like 'luni').

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

din / de la / până laLevel 2Source and Limits

Learn This First

To learn 'din', 'de la', and 'până la', you first need a solid grasp of basic Romanian prepositions, particularly 'la', as these new patterns extend those spatial concepts to indicate origin and destination. Additionally, since these prepositions are frequently used with specific locations, you should be comfortable with how definite articles attach to nouns.

Words in This Pattern

de lapânăla