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JLPT N2Verb Forms

～きる／きれる／きれない— Doing It All the Way

Attached to a verb stem, きる expresses doing something completely or thoroughly, to the very end. The potential form きれる means 'to be able to finish/do completely,' and its negative きれない means 'cannot finish' or 'there is too much to do completely.' It emphasizes that an action reaches its limit or full extent.

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Pro lessonUNIT 22 · VERB FORMS

Structure · 形

[Verb ます-stem] + きる／きれる／きれない

Examples · 例文

  • マラソンを最後まで走りきった。

    Marason o saigo made hashirikitta.

    I ran the marathon all the way to the end.

    走る (run) + きった shows the action was carried through to completion

  • この料理は多すぎて食べきれない。

    Kono ryouri wa oosugite tabekirenai.

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

    食べる + きれない (negative potential) = unable to finish because it's too much

  • 彼女はうれしさを隠しきれない様子だった。

    Kanojo wa ureshisa o kakushikirenai yousu datta.

    She looked unable to fully hide her joy.

    隠す (hide) + きれない = cannot completely do the action

Usage notes · 注意

  • きる = complete fully; きれる = can complete; きれない = cannot complete / too much to complete.
  • Often pairs with 数えきれない (countless), 使いきる (use up), 疲れきる (be exhausted).
  • Can also express reaching an emotional or physical extreme (疲れきる = utterly worn out).

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～きる／きれる／きれない is tested against.

vs～おわる

おわる simply states an action ended; きる adds the nuance of doing it thoroughly, to the limit, or completely exhausting it.

vs～ぬく

ぬく stresses persevering through hardship to the end; きる stresses reaching full completion or the total extent, without the struggle nuance.

More verb forms

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