～かぎり(は) — As Long As, So Long As
Expresses that a situation in the main clause holds true for as long as a certain condition continues. It means 'as long as / so long as X (is true), Y.' The condition sets a boundary within which the result remains valid — once the condition ends, so does the result.
Structure
[Verb dictionary/ない/ている form / い-adj / な-adj な・である / Noun である] + かぎり(は)
Examples
体が健康なかぎり、働き続けたい。
Karada ga kenkō na kagiri, hataraki tsuzuketai.
As long as I'm healthy, I want to keep working.
健康な (な-adj + な) + かぎり sets the condition under which the wish holds.
諦めないかぎり、成功のチャンスはある。
Akiramenai kagiri, seikō no chansu wa aru.
As long as you don't give up, there's a chance of success.
諦めない (ない-form) + かぎり = 'so long as you don't give up.'
私が知っているかぎりは、彼はまだ独身です。
Watashi ga shitte iru kagiri wa, kare wa mada dokushin desu.
As far as I know, he's still single.
知っている (ている-form) + かぎりは = 'to the extent that I know.'
• Frequently pairs with knowing/seeing verbs: 知るかぎり, 見るかぎり, 調べたかぎり ('as far as I know/see/have investigated'). • With ない-verbs, means 'as long as (something) doesn't happen.' • Register: neutral to formal; common in both speech and writing.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～かぎり(は) is tested against.
vs あいだ(は)
あいだは marks a time span during which something happens; かぎりは marks a condition/limit that keeps a result valid, with more of a 'provided that' logic.
vs うちは
うちは stresses acting 'while' a favorable state lasts (before it changes); かぎりは stresses the logical dependence of the result on the condition continuing.
More conditionals
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