auxiliary N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜切れない — cannot finish ~ing / too many to ~
〜切れない ・ きれない
Meaning
- can't finish ~ing / too much (or many) to ~ — the potential negative of 〜切る: the amount exceeds what you can complete
Key sentence
資料が多すぎて、一日では読み切れない。
There are too many documents to finish reading in a day.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ます-stem) | V(stem) + 切れない | 数え切れない / 食べ切れない / 待ち切れない |
Examples
夜空には数え切れないほどの星があった。
There were countless stars in the night sky — too many to count.
うれしくて、感謝の気持ちを言葉にし切れない。
I'm so happy I can't fully put my gratitude into words.
Easily confused with
See 〜切れない in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜切れない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.