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JLPT N2Emphasis

にかぎって— Of All Times / Only This One

Singles out one particular case as special or exceptional. It has two flavors: (1) 'only/especially this one' to express confidence ('my child, of all people, would never…'), and (2) 'of all times/things' to lament unlucky timing ('on the very day I needed it, it broke'). にかぎり is a formal variant meaning 'only for this case'.

Grammar path · 練習

Practice this in the path

A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 3 · EMPHASIS

Structure · 形

[Noun] + にかぎって／にかぎり

Examples · 例文

  • うちの子にかぎって、そんな悪いことをするはずがない。

    Uchi no ko ni kagitte, sonna warui koto wo suru hazu ga nai.

    My child, of all people, would never do such a bad thing.

    にかぎって singles out one's own child with confident trust.

  • 急いでいる時にかぎって、電車が遅れる。

    Isoide iru toki ni kagitte, densha ga okureru.

    The train is delayed precisely when I'm in a hurry.

    にかぎって laments the unlucky timing of the very moment concerned.

  • 本日にかぎり、全品半額です。

    Honjitsu ni kagiri, zenpin hangaku desu.

    Today only, all items are half price.

    にかぎり restricts the offer to this one day ('only for today').

Usage notes · 注意

  • The '〜時にかぎって' pattern usually voices frustration at bad timing.
  • The 'うちの子にかぎって' pattern expresses firm confidence in one person/thing.
  • にかぎり is the formal 'only for this case' variant seen in sales/notices.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones にかぎって is tested against.

vsにかぎらず

にかぎらず means the opposite — 'not limited to'; にかぎって singles out and limits to one particular case.

vsだけ

だけ neutrally means 'only'; にかぎって adds emotional emphasis (confidence or lament) about that one special case.

More emphasis

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