Difference between これから、いまから


What is the difference between `これから` and `いまから`？ Both seem to have the
meaning of 'from now on'.

> これから、食べます。  
>  いまから、食べます。

Do the sentences above carry the same meaning?




`これから` is saying "after this", as in, after the activity or thing you are
doing right then. If you're having a coffee with a friend, you're talking
about what you'd do after coffee.

`いまから` is saying "from now", as in, after this moment of time. If you just
bumped into a friend on the street, you're talking about what you're going to
do soon in terms of time, since there's no specific activity you're engaged
in.

Usually `いまから` is written in hiragana, but the `いま` refers to the kanji
`今{いま}(now)`. Which most people probably knew, but I thought I'd be thorough.

In real life the two overlap so much, that you will find that they are used
interchangeably. It's hard to imagine a situation where saying one in place of
the other would cause any confusion, though if one thought hard enough, it
might be possible.

Hope that helps.

