Meaning
Vます＋きる means carrying an action through to the end, leaving nothing: 食べきる is to eat it all. The form きれない means "can't get all the way through — there's too much": 数えきれない, too many to count. With state verbs it means "utterly, completely": 疲れきった, worn out to the limit.
Formation
- Vます＋きる: 食べます → 食べきる／食べきった
- Vます＋きれる (potential): 食べます → 食べきれる
- Vます＋きれない (can't finish it all): 数えます → 数えきれない
- Vます＋きらない (didn't all get done, as a fact): 入ります → 入りきらない
- Vます＋きった＋N／きっている (extreme state): 疲れます → 疲れきった顔, 冷えます → 冷えきっている
When to use it
- Where to use it
- For an amount you did or didn't manage — 一人で食べきれない, 三日で使いきる, 最後まで走りきる — and for an extreme state — 疲れきる, 冷えきった部屋, 分かりきったこと.
- Where not to use it
- Not for simply finishing a process where quantity doesn't matter — "finished eating and went out" is 食べ終わって出かけた. And not for "can't at all" (allergy, rules) — that's 食べられない.
Examples
20 sentences-
このピザ、一人で食べきれますか？
Can you finish this whole pizza by yourself?
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夜空には数えきれないほどの星が光っていた。
Countless stars were shining in the night sky.
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初めてのマラソンで、最後まで走りきりました。
In my first marathon, I ran all the way to the finish.
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残業続きで、みんな疲れきった顔をしている。
After weeks of overtime, everyone looks completely worn out.
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牛乳は開けたら、三日以内に使いきってください。
Once opened, please use up the milk within three days.
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週末の旅行が楽しみで、待ちきれない。
I'm so excited about the weekend trip — I can't wait.
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宿題が多すぎて、一日ではやりきれない。
There's too much homework to get through in one day.
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そんな分かりきったことを、何度も聞かないでよ。
Stop asking me something so obvious over and over.
12 more examples
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このかばんには、お土産が入りきらなかった。
The souvenirs wouldn't all fit in this bag.
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冬の朝は部屋が冷えきっていて、なかなか起きられない。
On winter mornings the room is freezing cold, and it's hard to get out of bed.
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頂上まで登りきると、きれいな景色が広がっていた。
When I made it all the way to the summit, a beautiful view spread out before me.
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一日で、京都の有名なお寺を全部回りきれますか？
Can you get around all the famous temples in Kyoto in one day?
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新しい部屋は狭くて、引っ越しの荷物が置ききれない。
The new room is so small that I can't fit all my things from the move.
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我慢しきれなくて、ケーキを二つも食べてしまった。
I couldn't hold out and ended up eating two pieces of cake.
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まだ目が覚めきらないので、冷たい水で顔を洗った。
I still wasn't fully awake, so I washed my face with cold water.
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雨の中で、弱りきった子猫を見つけた。
I found a kitten, completely weak and exhausted, out in the rain.
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毎朝の満員電車にも、もう慣れきっている。
I've gotten completely used to the packed trains every morning.
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主人公になりきって、セリフを読んでみよう。
Let's read the lines as if we've completely become the main character.
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家のローンを払いきるまで、あと十年もある。
There are still ten more years until the house loan is fully paid off.
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この博物館は、半日ではとても見きれませんよ。
You'll never see all of this museum in half a day.
Important notes
- きる conjugates as a godan verb — きった, きって, きらない; the potential is きれる／きれない. "I can't wait" is always 待ちきれない.
- The "utterly" meaning works only with certain verbs: 疲れる, 困る, 冷える, 澄む, 分かる, 信じる — most often as きった before a noun.
- Vられない（可能形）: Without a quantity cue, 食べられない often means ‘cannot eat it’ (allergy, bad taste). 食べきれない explicitly means ‘cannot finish it all’; 全部は食べられない is also possible.
Common mistakes
- ✗ 疲れ終わった → ✓ 疲れきった — 終わる only follows actions that last and then end (食べ終わる); "completely, to the limit" is きる.
- ✗ 旅行が楽しみで待ちきらない → ✓ 待ちきれない — "can't wait" expresses inability, so it needs きれない.
- ✗ 三日で使いきれてください → ✓ 三日で使いきってください — the potential きれる can't be used in a request with ください.
Check yourself
Pick the translation of each sentence. The wrong options translate similar patterns, so watch the grammar rather than the words.
Similar grammar
- Vます + 終わる終わる marks the end of a process (食べ終わる = finish eating), with no sense of "every last bit" and no "utterly" meaning: ✗ 疲れ終わる.
- てしまうてしまう marks completion or regret (食べてしまった = I ate it, oops), but it has no "can't get through" form: "I can't eat it all" is 食べきれない or 全部は食べられない.
- ～かける・～かけのThe opposite: かける means starting and stopping halfway, きる means finishing completely.
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