JLPT N1 grammar

〜きりがない: meaning and usage

Meaning

There's no end to A; there are no bounds to A

How to form it

  • verb (ba-form)きりがない
  • verb (ta-form)らきりがない
  • verb (te-form)もきりがない
  • verb (dictionary form)ときりがない

How it is used

Doing A would go on forever, so it is better to stop or be content at some point; common in 「言えばきりがない」 and 「上を見ればきりがない」. Used in speech and writing; also written 「切りがない」.

Examples

  1. 推測ばかりで根拠のない話をしていてもきりがない。

    If we're just making baseless guesses, there'll be no end to the conversation.

  2. 欲しい物を数えたらきりがないので、必要な物だけ買うことにした。

    There's no end to the things I want, so I decided to buy only what I need.

  3. 細かいところまで直していたらきりがないから、今日はここまでにしよう。

    If we keep fixing every little detail, we'll never finish, so let's stop here for today.