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JLPT N3Verb Forms

～きれない— Too Much To Finish

Attaches to a verb stem to say an action cannot be completed or exhausted — there is simply too much of it, or it is beyond one's capacity. It is the negative of ～きる (to do completely). Use it when a quantity is so large that finishing is impossible, as in 'too many to count' or 'can't eat it all'.

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Pro lessonUNIT 19 · VERB FORMS

Structure · 形

[Verb ます-stem] + きれない

Examples · 例文

  • 料理が多すぎて食べきれない。

    Ryouri ga oosugite tabekirenai.

    There's so much food I can't finish it all.

    食べ (eat stem) + きれない = unable to eat completely

  • 星が数えきれないほどある。

    Hoshi ga kazoekirenai hodo aru.

    There are so many stars they're too many to count.

    数え (count stem) + きれない = impossible to finish counting

  • この本は一日では読みきれない。

    Kono hon wa ichinichi de wa yomikirenai.

    I can't finish reading this book in one day.

    読み (read stem) + きれない = cannot read to completion

Usage notes · 注意

  • Positive form ～きる means 'to do thoroughly / to the end' (食べきる = eat it all up).
  • Common in the pattern ～きれないほど / ～きれない + くらい to stress overwhelming quantity.
  • Register: neutral; fine 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 ～きれない is tested against.

vs～られない (potential negative)

Plain 食べられない just means 'cannot eat' (e.g. allergy, dislike); 食べきれない specifically means one can't finish the whole amount because there is too much.

vs～にくい

～にくい means an action is difficult/awkward to perform; ～きれない means it can be done but not completed in full.

More verb forms

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