particle N2 uncommon casualpolitewritten

〜に限って — of all ~ / (precisely) this one

〜に限って・にかぎって

Meaning

of all ~ / precisely this one ~ — singles one thing out as special, usually with ironic bad luck or with confident trust

に限かぎって picks out one noun as the singular exception, and it almost always carries an attitude. The unlucky sense complains that the worst thing happened *at the one time it shouldn't have*: 急いそいでいる時ときに限かぎって、電車でんしゃが来こない ('the train won't come precisely when I'm in a hurry'). The trusting sense vouches for someone against suspicion: うちの子こに限かぎって、そんなことはしない ('my child, of all people, would never do such a thing'). Either way it isolates one case as different from all the rest.

Key sentence

日曜にちように限かぎって、雨あめが降ふる。

It rains on Sundays, of all days.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Noun + に限って (+ は for extra emphasis)	N + に限って(は)	今日きょうに限って / 彼かれに限って

When: Conversational complaint about bad timing, or a confident defence of someone's character. The clause that follows says what (annoyingly or reassuringly) is true of just that one case.

Examples

お金かねがない時ときに限かぎって、欲ほしい物ものが見みつかる。

It's exactly when I'm broke that I find things I want.

彼女かのじょに限かぎって、嘘うそをつくはずがない。

She, of all people, would never lie.

傘かさを持もって来こなかった日ひに限かぎって、土砂降どしゃぶりだ。

Of all days, it pours on the day I didn't bring an umbrella.

Easily confused with

〜に限かぎるに限かぎる is the verbal 'nothing beats ~' verdict (疲つかれた時ときは寝ねるに限かぎる); に限かぎって is the て-form particle that singles one case out as special — usually ironic bad luck or trust, not a recommendation. に限かぎらず Direct opposite in scope: に限かぎらず = 'not limited to ~ (but more widely)'; に限かぎって = 'limited to *exactly* this one ~'. 〜限かぎり / を限かぎりに限かぎり / を限かぎりに limits to one *occasion or amount* ('only this once', 'as of today'); に限かぎって singles out one item as the special exception, with attitude attached.

Notes

The に限かぎって〜ない pattern ('precisely this one would never ~') is the standard trusting-denial frame: うちの子こに限かぎって。

See 〜に限って in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜に限って the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.

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