自 A 至 B
from A to B (a formal span of time, place or range)
Structure
自 起点 至 终点 · 自 某时 至今
What it means
Formal “from A to B”: 自 marks the starting point and 至 the end of a span of time, a stretch of space or a range.
How it is built
自 + start + 至 + end, as a time or place phrase before the verb: 本馆自上午九时至下午五时开放 (the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). 自…至今 means “from … up to now”.
When to use it
The written 从…到…: notices, opening hours, validity dates (营业时间自…至…, 有效期自…至…), history and formal reports. In conversation say 从…到…, or you will sound stiff.
Watch out
至 (to) and 致 sound the same, zhì; don’t mix them up in writing. ✗ 自南致北。 ✓ 自南至北。 For “until now” the set form is 至今.
Examples
本馆每天自上午九时至下午五时开放，周一除外。
The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Mondays.
北京中轴线自钟鼓楼至永定门，全长七点八公里。
Beijing’s Central Axis runs from the Bell and Drum Towers to Yongding Gate, 7.8 km in all.
这种做法自唐代至今，已经延续了一千多年。
The practice has lasted from the Tang dynasty to the present, more than a thousand years.
Learn this in Lesson 236 · HSK 9+: 敦煌 (Dunhuang: the Mogao Caves)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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