GrammarJLPT N5
→ after doing something
After doing something
JLPT N5Compound particleNeutral
～てから is used to express that one action is completed before another action begins. It connects two clauses by attaching to the て-form of a verb and adding から, explicitly marking a sequential relationship where the first action must finish before the second one starts. Unlike ～たあとで, which can sound more detached or simply describe temporal ordering, ～てから often carries a stronger nuance that the completion of the first action is a necessary condition or deliberate prerequisite for the second. For example, "eating and then leaving" with ～てから implies you intentionally finish eating first. It is used across all registers—casual, neutral, and formal—and is one of the most fundamental ways to sequence events in Japanese. Learners should note the difference from ～て alone, which also chains actions in order but does not emphasize that the first action is fully completed before moving on.
Examples
Example #1
手を洗ってから、ごはんを食べます。
Here ～てから shows that the speaker first completes the action of washing their hands, and only then proceeds to eat. The grammar point emphasizes that hand-washing is finished as a prerequisite before the meal begins. This is a very common everyday usage where the order of actions matters for practical or hygienic reasons.After washing my hands, I eat.
Structures
- Verb
- Verb (て-form) + から + Second clause
Common mistakes
A common mistake is confusing ～てから with ～たあとで. While both mean "after," ～てから more strongly implies that the first action must be completed before the second begins, whereas ～たあとで is more neutral about the connection between the two events. Another frequent error is using the た-form instead of the て-form before から, producing incorrect forms like 「食べたから」 when the intended meaning is "after eating" rather than "because I ate." Note that ～たから means "because" (giving a reason), which is an entirely different grammar point and can cause significant confusion. Finally, some learners omit から and use just the て-form to connect actions; while 「食べて、出かけた」 is grammatical, it does not carry the same emphasis on completion that ～てから provides.
Related
～たあとで～てからでないと～て（から）～たら～前に