至grammar point · tier 1 · range connector X 至 Y (from X up to Y)
· zhì
Connects two endpoints of a span; the value runs from the first up to the second, X 至 Y.
字源 FORM what the parts do
Something comes down and stops at the ground line (一) — arrived, at its far edge. Set between two numbers, that far edge becomes the top of the span: the count climbs from the lower number and lands on the higher.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A line climbs from a floor mark and lands on the ceiling mark above it. Take the ceiling away and the line has no top to stop at.
字源記憶法自撰
框 · Frame
[lower bound] 至 [upper bound]
觸 · Trigger
Stating a span between two endpoints — a salary band, an age range, page 30 to 45 — where both ends are named at once.
序 · The move
1Name the two endpoints and put the smaller before 至, the larger after.Is the value before 至 the floor and the value after it the ceiling?
2Use 至 for the connector and leave the unit on the second number alone (三萬五千至四萬).Does it read 'up to', not 'and' or 'or'?
例 · Examples
1本公司徵求zhēngqiú — to recruit, seek行銷人員，薪水三萬五千至zhì — up to (range connector)四萬。
Our company is recruiting marketing staff; salary thirty-five to forty thousand.
到 is the everyday 'from X to Y' in speech and over time or place (從一到十、從台北到高雄). 至 is the same span move in a written, formal register, common in figures and notices. Same job, higher register.