All the way through: 〜きる・〜きれない
Verb ます-stem + きる / きれる / きれない
ます-stem + きる: do all the way through, completely (読みきる), or an extreme state (疲れきる). 〜きれない: impossible to do it all; there's too much.
In short
きる (切る, “to cut”) attached to a verb means “to do completely, to the end”: 読みきる, to read a book through to the last page. In the negative potential, 〜きれない means “impossible to do it all”, because there's too much: 食べきれない, “I can't eat it all”.
- この小説は長いが、二日で読みきった。このしょうせつはながいが、ふつかでよみきった。This novel is long, but I read the whole thing in two days.
- こんなにたくさん、一人では食べきれないよ。こんなにたくさん、ひとりではたべきれないよ。This much food — I'll never manage it all on my own.
- マラソンの後、選手たちは疲れきっていた。まらそんのあと、せんしゅたちはつかれきっていた。After the marathon, the runners were completely exhausted.
The basics
The image is a thread being cut: the action is carried through to its end, nothing is left. 読みきる is reading to the last page; 使いきる, using until it's all gone; 走りきる, running to the finish line — English “all the way through”, “use up”, “finish off”.
There's often an idea of effort or quantity: something long, big or hard that you've managed to finish completely.
I read a long novel all the way through in two days.
- noun
- verb
- grammatical form
- シャンプーを使いきったので、新しいのを買った。しゃんぷーをつかいきったので、あたらしいのをかった。I'd used up every last drop of shampoo, so I bought a new bottle.
How to form it
Take the ます-stem and add きる, which conjugates like a る-verb. In the potential, きれる / きれない: “can / can't do it all”. The kanji 切る exists, but the auxiliary is very often written in kana.
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜きる | 読みきる | read all the way through |
| 〜きった | 使いきった | I've used it all up |
| 〜きれる | 一日で読みきれる | you can read it all in a day |
| 〜きれない | 食べきれない | can't eat it all (too much) |
| 〜きっている | 疲れきっている | be completely exhausted |
- この量なら、一人でも食べきれる。このりょうなら、ひとりでもたべきれる。With this amount, I can finish it all, even on my own.
- 言葉では言いきれないほど感謝しています。ことばではいいきれないほどかんしゃしています。I'm more grateful than words can say.
Three uses
1. Finishing completely: 読みきる, 使いきる, 走りきる. 2. A state pushed to the extreme, with verbs of state: 疲れきる (exhausted), 困りきる (completely at a loss), 分かりきったこと (something obvious). 3. Doing something with total certainty: 言いきる, “to state categorically”.
- そんなこと、分かりきっているよ。そんなこと、わかりきっているよ。That's obvious — I know that perfectly well.
- 「必ず成功する」とは言いきれない。「かならずせいこうする」とはいいきれない。You can't say for sure that it'll succeed.
きる or てしまう?
〜てしまう (N4) says an action is over, often with regret. 〜きる stresses totality and effort: you've got to the end of something long or large. 全部食べてしまった can be “oops, I ate it all”; 全部食べきった is “I managed to finish it all”.
- 妹のプリンを食べてしまった。いもうとのぷりんをたべてしまった。I ate my little sister's pudding (oops).
Common mistakes
- Understanding きれない as “can't cut”: 食べきれない means “there's too much to eat it all”.
- Mixing up 食べきれない (too much to eat it all) and 食べられない (can't eat it at all, because of an allergy or dislike).
- Attaching きる to the て-form: it's the ます-stem (読みきる, not “読んできる”).
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N3 point is on the Eizan Line (The body and health) of the Kyoto lines.