Are "と" and "から" equal when they mean "from"?


When "と" and "から" can both be translated as the English preposition "from", do
they have the exact same meaning/nuance and are they interchangeable?

For example, in the sentence 「 確【たし】かに中沢{なかざわ}部【ぶ】長【ちょう】 **と**
離【はな】れることは残【ざん】念【ねん】だ。」, can the "と" be replaced with "から"?

Likewise, in this sentence 「やめる前【まえ】に直【ちょく】接【せつ】彼女【かのじょ】 **から** 聞【き】きました。」, is
"から" replaceable with "と"?




That use of `と` should be conceptualized as “with”[1], and not “from”.

“Xと離れる” is “to separate[2] **with** X”. Since you can both separate **with**
and separate **from** something, both `と` and `から` work here (albeit with the
subtle difference between “separating with” and “separating from”
something[3]).

“Xから聞く” is “to hear **from** X”. Replacing this with `と` would change the
phrase to mean “to hear **with** X”, as in “I heard it with her (彼女と聞いた)”.
Alternatively, the `と` can function as a quotative particle, where “Xと聞く”
would mean “to hear that X”, as in “I heard that she is a girlfriend
(彼女と聞いた)”.

* * *

Footnotes:

  1. In the sense of either “accompanied by” ( _I will go **with** you_) or “in some particular relation to” ( _She agreed **with** me_), but not “by use of” ( _Cut **with** a knife_). See also: [Confusion with Japanese particle と in its multiple uses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/15363/confusion-with-japanese-particle-%E3%81%A8-in-its-multiple-uses).
  2. Verb as used [without object](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/separate). (When used with object, the verb is 離す)
  3. I understand that in English “separate **from** ” is the standard preposition choice here. I just wanted to illustrate the から/と difference. “To separate **from** my parents (親から離れる)” connotes a starting point in space/time from which I am the one moving away, while “to separate **with** my parents (親と離れる)” feels more like a mutual split where I am not necessarily the primary mover. (To complicate things a bit, since `と` can also mean _with_ as in “accompanied by”, you can say for example グループから親と離れる to mean “to separate from the group with my parents”.)




That use of `と` should be conceptualized as “with”[1], and not “from”.

“Xと離れる” is “to separate[2] **with** X”. Since you can both separate **with**
and separate **from** something, both `と` and `から` work here (albeit with the
subtle difference between “separating with” and “separating from”
something[3]).

“Xから聞く” is “to hear **from** X”. Replacing this with `と` would change the
phrase to mean “to hear **with** X”, as in “I heard it with her (彼女と聞いた)”.
Alternatively, the `と` can function as a quotative particle, where “Xと聞く”
would mean “to hear that X”, as in “I heard that she is a girlfriend
(彼女と聞いた)”.

* * *

Footnotes:

  1. In the sense of either “accompanied by” ( _I will go **with** you_) or “in some particular relation to” ( _She agreed **with** me_), but not “by use of” ( _Cut **with** a knife_). See also: [Confusion with Japanese particle と in its multiple uses](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/15363/confusion-with-japanese-particle-%E3%81%A8-in-its-multiple-uses).
  2. Verb as used [without object](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/separate). (When used with object, the verb is 離す)
  3. I understand that in English “separate **from** ” is the standard preposition choice here. I just wanted to illustrate the から/と difference. “To separate **from** my parents (親から離れる)” connotes a starting point in space/time from which I am the one moving away, while “to separate **with** my parents (親と離れる)” feels more like a mutual split where I am not necessarily the primary mover. (To complicate things a bit, since `と` can also mean _with_ as in “accompanied by”, you can say for example グループから親と離れる to mean “to separate from the group with my parents”.)

