きり means only or since that one occurrence; っきり is a colloquial variant with additional fixed uses. 二人きり means just two people. 出かけたきり帰らない means someone left and has not returned. 立ちっきり describes remaining on one’s feet for a long stretch. These readings depend on the form and context.
also written kiri / takiri / kkiri / 二人きり / 寝たきり
きり — only that, and nothing beyond it · たきり — did it, and nothing since · っきり — the spoken form, often 'nonstop'
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
きり · only that many times
plain
。
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · the person met, marked と for 'with'
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と
と
with; and
particle · joins nouns, or marks who you did it with
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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一度
いちど ［3］
once
counter · 一 ＋ 度, one occasion
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会った
あった
met
plain past of 会う · the meeting that is being limited
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きり
きり
only, and no more
suffix from 切る · cuts off any further meetings
きりN2only · and no more
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だ
だ
is
plain copula · closing the statement
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I've only met him once.
たきり · and nothing since
plain
、。
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · the one who left
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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出かけた
でかけた
went out
plain past of 出かける · the action nothing has followed
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きり
きり
and nothing since
suffix · cuts off everything after the leaving, including the return
たきりN2and nothing since
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帰ってこない
かえってこない
hasn't come back
negative of 帰ってくる · the expected thing that did not happen
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He went out and hasn't come back.
きり · nobody else present
plain
。
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二人
ふたり ［3］
two people
counter · read ふたり, irregularly
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きり
きり
just the two
suffix · cuts off everyone else, which is what makes it private
きりN2just — nobody else
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で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
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話した
はなした
talked
plain past of 話す · the thing done in that privacy
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We talked, just the two of us.
っきり · without a break
plain
。
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息子
むすこ ［0］
my son
noun · your own son, spoken about outside the family
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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部屋
へや ［2］
room
noun · where he is shut in, marked に
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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こもりっきり
こもりっきり
shut in without a break
ます-stem of こもる ＋ っきり · the 'nonstop' sense, not 'only'
っきりN2nonstop · without a break
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だ
だ
is
plain copula · stating it as the situation
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My son has been shut in his room the whole time.
これっきり · the set phrase
plain
。
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これ
これ
this
demonstrative · the thing being cut off
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っきり
っきり
and no more
suffix · in this fixed phrase it means the final time
これっきりN2the last time
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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しよう
しよう
let's make it
volitional of する · proposing it to the other person
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Let's make this the last time.
寝たきり · the fixed term
polite
。
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祖母
そぼ ［1］
my grandmother
noun · your own grandmother, spoken about outside the family
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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三年
さんねん ［0］
three years
counter · 年 counts years, read ねん
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も
も
as much as
particle · marking the length as more than expected
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寝たきり
ねたきり
bedridden
fixed term · たきり at its most literal — lay down, never got up
たきりN2and nothing since
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です
です
(polite ending)
copula · stating the situation politely
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My grandmother has been bedridden for three whole years.
Structure
The three shapes
二人 / 一度＋きり
二人きり. Only that many, with nobody and nothing else — which is why it reads as intimate.
会った / 出かけた＋きり
出かけたきり. The action happened once and nothing has followed it since.
Noun / stem＋っきり
つきっきり, 立ちっきり. Spoken, and it leans towards 'without a break' as much as 'only'.
これ＋っきり
これっきりにしよう — let's make this the last time. A set phrase worth knowing whole.
Meaning
Everything comes from 切る
The suffix cuts off what follows. That single image explains all three. 一度きり cuts off any further times. 出かけたきり cuts off everything after the leaving. 二人きり cuts off everyone else.
たきり carries an expectation that was not met.出かけたきり帰ってこない — he went out and has not come back, and coming back was the expected thing. That is why the pattern so often sounds worried or resigned.
二人きり is not the same as 二人で.二人で話した just says two people talked. 二人きりで話した says nobody else was there, which may feel private or intimate in context.
っきり adds a second sense in speech. Alongside "only," it means without interruption: 朝から立ちっきり, on my feet since morning; つきっきりで看病する, nursing someone without leaving their side.
Watch out
Where these go wrong
Reading 二人きり as just 二人で
きり excludes everyone else, which may feel private or intimate in context. For a neutral "the two of us," 二人で is the phrase.
Using たきり without an unmet expectation
The pattern implies something should have followed and did not. 出かけたきり works because returning was expected; for a plain sequence, 出かけてから.
Missing the second sense of っきり
つきっきり and 立ちっきり mean without a break, not "only." Context decides which sense you are hearing.
Writing っきり in formal Japanese
The doubled consonant marks it as spoken. In writing use きり, or だけ where plain limitation is all you need.
Also asked
Questions people ask about きり
きり or だけ?
だけ states a limit neutrally. きり cuts off what might have followed, so it carries a sense of finality — 一度きり hints that once was not enough or will not be repeated.
Why does 二人きり sound romantic?
二人きり says only two people were present; a romantic reading comes from context, not the suffix itself.
Is 寝たきり a grammar point or a word?
Both, and in practice a word. It is the たきり pattern frozen into the standard term for bedridden, and it appears in medical and care contexts as a noun.
きり or っきり?
Same suffix. っきり is the spoken form and leans towards "nonstop"; きり is neutral and safe in writing.
