까지
kka-ji
까지 is a wall — and the wall is inside
The picture You are drawing a line and you set a wall down: stop here. Everything up to and including the wall counts. 부터 is where the line starts, 까지 is the wall it runs into — 두 시부터 sets off at two, 두 시까지 ends at two.
Where the picture shows up in 까지
-
a wall in time
여섯 시까지 끝낼게요.
yeo-seot si-kka-ji kkeun-nael-ge-yo
I'll finish by six.
A wall stands just past the six-o'clock mark, and inside it a pair of hands is finishing the job
-
the end of the road
서울역까지 가 주세요.
seo-ul-lyeok-kka-ji ga ju-se-yo
To Seoul Station, please.
The road streaming past the taxi window stops dead in front of Seoul Station and the car pulls up
-
the wall called a deadline
서류는 내일까지 주세요.
seo-ryu-neun nae-il-kka-ji ju-se-yo
Give me the papers by tomorrow.
A wall goes up right behind tomorrow's square, and the papers are pushed into the square in front of it
내일까지 includes tomorrow itself. It is not 'before tomorrow'.
-
the end of the range
이 페이지까지 읽고 오세요.
i pe-i-ji-kka-ji il-go o-se-yo
Read up to this page before you come.
You turn pages, hook your finger at the end of this page, and close the book there
-
a wall it should not have crossed
늦었는데 비까지 오네요.
neu-jeon-neun-de bi-kka-ji o-ne-yo
Late, and now it's raining on top of that.
Being late was already enough, and now rain comes over the wall and lands on your shoulders
도 just adds one more; 까지 adds 'I never expected it to come this far'.
All of it in one picture
까지 draws a line and then sets a wall down: stop here. Put the wall past six and the job gets finished inside it; let the road stop dead at Seoul Station and that is the end of the ride. Put the wall behind tomorrow's square and tomorrow is the deadline, tomorrow included; hook your finger at the end of this page and that is the end of the reading. Let rain come over the wall on top of being late, and you get 'I never expected it to come this far'. So when you see 까지, there is a wall standing — and the wall itself is on the inside.