N3 Compound Verbs and Suffixes

~切きる/~切きれる: meaning, usage and examples

~切きる/~切きれる means: to do completely / to manage to do.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. フルマラソンを走はしり切きった。

   I managed to run the full marathon.

2. ご飯はんが多おおくて、食たべ切きれませんでした。

   There was so much rice, I couldn't eat it all.

3. このシャンプーは一いっか月げつで使つかい切きりました。

   I used up this shampoo in a month.

4. 夜空よぞらには数かぞえ切きれないほど星ほしがありました。

   There were more stars in the night sky than I could count.

When to use it

切きる after a verb stem means doing something all the way to the end, with nothing left: 使つかい切きる (use up), 読よみ切きる (read to the end), 走はしり切きる (run the whole way). 切きれる is the potential form, and its negative 切きれない is very common: 食たべ切きれない means there is too much to finish, and 数かぞえ切きれない means too many to count.

Nuance

Neutral; used in speech and writing. 切きる often carries a sense of effort or finishing something big. 切きれない is used for amounts that are too large and also for feelings: あきらめ切きれない means you cannot fully give up. Do not confuse it with the verb 切きる, to cut.

Compare

~切きる vs ~終おわる: 終おわる just marks the end of an action (読よみ終おわった = I finished reading). 切きる stresses that it was done completely, often despite difficulty (一日いちにちで読よみ切きった = I read the whole thing in one day). ~切きれない vs ~られない: 食たべられない can mean you are not allowed or do not like it; 食たべ切きれない means there is too much.

Tip: Learn 使つかい切きる, 売うり切きれ (sold out), and 数かぞえ切きれない as a set. All three share the idea of reaching the very end.