Kiri in Japanese: Only, Ever Since, and Kiri ga Nai Explained

What kiri means

Kiri is the noun form of kiru, to cut, and it is usually written in hiragana as きり. The written kanji form 切り exists, but in grammar uses you will see hiragana far more often. The core image is a line being cut: up to here, and nothing beyond.

That image produces three meanings. After a noun or number, kiri limits the amount: only this, and no more. After the ta form of a verb, it cuts the timeline: this happened, and after that, nothing. In the phrase kiri ga nai, the same kiri means a limit or an end point, so kiri ga nai is there is no end.

Kiri often carries emotion. Hitori kiri can sound lonely, sore kiri can sound regretful, and ichido kiri can sound precious. That emotional colour is what separates it from the neutral dake.

Forms of kiri at a glance

Kiri attaches directly to nouns and numbers and to the plain past of verbs. It then behaves like a noun, so it can take da, desu, no or ni after it. The doubled kkiri form works in every slot below and is the natural choice in speech.

Only: futari kiri, hitori kiri, ichido kiri

With people and numbers, kiri means only that many and nobody else. Hitori kiri is all alone, futari kiri is just the two of us, and the pair is the most common use of kiri in everyday Japanese. It often suggests privacy or isolation: futari kiri de hanasu is to talk privately, without anyone else there.

With counters for times, kiri stresses that there is no second chance. Ichido kiri, only once, and ikkai kiri, just one time, appear in phrases about opportunities, promises and life itself. Kore kiri, only this, and kore kiri ni suru, to make this the last time, are also very common, especially as a warning.

Kiri can also follow a small amount to stress how little is left: senen kiri shika nai, I only have a thousand yen. When kiri is combined with shika like this, the negative ending is required, just as with shika alone.

Since then, nothing: the ta form plus kiri

After the plain past of a verb, kiri means the action happened and then the situation froze. What we expected to follow, a return, a reply, a second meeting, never came. The second half of the sentence is usually negative or describes an unchanged state: itta kiri kaette konai, went and has not come back; kiita kiri henji ga nai, asked and have had no answer.

Kiri da at the end of a sentence packs the same idea into one clause. Kare to wa gakusei no koro ni atta kiri da means the last time I saw him was when we were students. The listener understands that there has been no contact since.

This pattern often has a note of regret, worry or mild complaint. It is not used for neutral sequences: tabeta kiri, neta, I ate and then slept, is odd because nothing expected is missing. Use te kara or ato de for simple order.

Netakiri, bedridden, is a fixed word built on this pattern: lay down and never got up again. You will see it in news about ageing and care.

Sore kiri and are kiri: that was the last time

Sore kiri and are kiri, usually pronounced sorekkiri and arekkiri, work as adverbs meaning after that, never again. They start a sentence and point back to an event just described. Sorekkiri kare wa kaette konakatta, after that he never came back, is a line you will find in novels and dramas.

They can also end a sentence with da to mean that was all or that was the end of it: hanashi wa sorekkiri datta, and that was the end of the conversation.

Kiri ga nai and kiri no ii tokoro

In kiri ga nai, kiri is a noun meaning a limit or a place to stop, so the phrase means there is no end. It usually follows a conditional: ieba kiri ga nai, if I start listing them, it's endless; ue o mireba kiri ga nai, if you look at those better off than you, there's no end. It is a common way to close a list politely or to talk yourself out of comparing.

The positive side is kiri ga ii or kiri no ii tokoro, a natural stopping point. Kiri no ii tokoro de yasumimashō, let's take a break at a good point, is everyday office Japanese. Kiri ga ii kazu is a round number.

Verb stem plus kiri: fully devoted

A smaller group of words uses the verb stem plus kiri to mean doing one thing exclusively. Tsukikkiri, from tsuku, to be attached, means staying at someone's side the whole time. Kakarikiri, from kakaru, means being fully occupied with one task. Omoikiri, as much as you can, looks similar but is built on the verb kiru and works as a separate adverb.

Treat these as vocabulary rather than a productive pattern. You cannot freely attach kiri to any verb stem, but the common ones appear often in conversation about care, work and children.

Kiri vs dake and shika

Dake is the neutral word for only and works almost everywhere. Shika... nai stresses that the amount is less than expected. Kiri sits between them: it means only, but with a feeling of finality or isolation, and it prefers numbers, kore, sore and are, and past verbs.

For time sequences, compare kiri with te kara and ato. Te kara and ato simply order events. Ta kiri says the second, expected event never came.

Common mistakes with kiri

• Using the dictionary form before kiri for since: iku kiri kaette konai is wrong; it must be itta kiri.
• Using ta kiri for a neutral sequence: gohan o tabeta kiri, terebi o mita sounds strange; use tabete kara.
• Following ta kiri with a positive new event: dekaketa kiri, sugu kaette kita contradicts the meaning of nothing since.
• Forgetting the negative when kiri is combined with shika: senen kiri shika aru is wrong; say senen kiri shika nai.
• Using kiri with large or open amounts: takusan kiri does not work; kiri limits things to a small, closed amount.
• Confusing kiri ga nai with shikata ga nai: kiri ga nai means endless, shikata ga nai means it can't be helped.