きり
Only
Noun/Counter + きり
きり is the ます stem of きる, to end.
It is a suffixing noun that is used to express “Just/Only some small number”.
Its basically identical to だけ in this meaning, but has a sense of exclusiveness to it.
Examples include: “just that one time” or “Just the two of us”.
Examples
- 許すのは今回きりだ
I’ll forgive you just this once. - 二人きりに出掛けよう
Let’s go out with just the two of us. - チャンスは1度きりだ
You just have one chance. - それきり、会っていない
Since then, I’ve not seen them.* - 一度きりのチャンスだ
A chance you get just once.
*それきり is an expression using きり, and is not interchangeable with だけ.
それきり means “Not done since then”. (see below).
たきり
Not since then
Simple Past Tense Verb + きり
きり may be used with a plain past tense verb to indicate the last time an action was done.
The final verb tends to be present progressive or past tense.
Examples
- 2-3年前に行ったきり、行っていない
I went 2 or 3 years ago and haven’t been since. - 卒業の祝いで会ったきり、顔を見ていない
Haven’t seen them since the graduation party. - あのアニメは一度見たきりで、名前を忘れた
I saw that anime only once and forgot its name.