Grammar › Extent & Frequency
きり — “only; ever since (and nothing since)”
Marks a single instance as the last, with nothing following it since
きり (often written っきり) after a past-tense verb says that was the last time something happened, with nothing similar occurring since — 会ったきり、もう会っていない (haven't seen them since that one meeting). After a number or noun, it can also mean “only” (一人きり — all alone, just one person), close to だけ but with a lonelier, more final nuance.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Past plain + きり | 去年会ったきり、連絡がない — I haven't heard from them since we met last year |
| Noun + きり | 二人きりで話した — We talked, just the two of us |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 彼とは一度会ったきりです。 | かれとはいちどあったきりです。 karetohaichidoattakiridesu。 | I've only met him that one time. |
| 母は出て行ったきり、戻ってこなかった。 | はははでていったきり、もどってこなかった。 hahahadeteittakiri、modottekonakatta。 | My mother left and never came back. |
| 家に一人きりでいるのが好きです。 | いえにひとりきりでいるのがすきです。 ienihitorikirideirunogasukidesu。 | I like being home all alone. |
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Watch out
きり's “only once, and nothing since” sense implies an ongoing gap up to now — for a single completed action with no such implication, plain だけ or a simple past tense is more natural.