切る

The Japanese verb 切る (kiru) is one of the most fundamental, versatile, and frequently used words in the entire Japanese language. At its most basic and literal level, 切る translates to the English verbs 'to cut' or 'to chop.' When you use a knife to slice vegetables in the kitchen, use scissors to cut a piece of paper for an art project, or go to a salon to have a stylist cut your hair, the action you are describing is 切る. However, limiting your understanding of this word to merely physical cutting would be a significant disservice to your Japanese learning journey, as its metaphorical and grammatical applications are vast and deeply embedded in daily communication.

Literal Cutting

This refers to physically severing an object using a tool like a knife, scissors, or a saw. Examples include cutting paper (紙を切る), cutting meat (肉を切る), or cutting hair (髪を切る).

Beyond the physical act of slicing or severing, 切る is extensively used to describe the termination or interruption of a continuous flow. For instance, when you hang up a telephone, you are literally 'cutting' the connection (電話を切る). Similarly, when you turn off an electrical appliance, you 'cut' the power supply (電源を切る). This conceptual leap from physical severing to interrupting a flow is crucial for mastering the word. It extends to abstract concepts as well, such as relationships. When you completely sever ties with someone, you 'cut the edge or bond' (縁を切る), a powerful idiom used in serious social contexts.

Interrupting Flow

Used when stopping a continuous process, such as hanging up a phone call, turning off electricity, or stopping a water supply.

Another fascinating dimension of 切る is its use in sports and games. When you shuffle a deck of cards before dealing, you use 切る (カードを切る). In sports like tennis or baseball, it can describe putting a sharp spin on the ball. Furthermore, in business and daily life, 切る is used to indicate falling below a certain numerical threshold. If a product's price drops below 1,000 yen, it is said to 'cut 1,000 yen' (1000円を切る). This is a very common way to express that a limit or boundary has been breached in a downward direction.

Grammatically, 切る acts as a powerful auxiliary verb. When attached to the stem of another verb (the pre-masu form), it adds the meaning of doing something completely, thoroughly, or to the very end. For example, the verb 食べる (taberu) means 'to eat.' If you change it to its stem 食べ (tabe) and add 切る, you get 食べ切る (tabekiru), which means 'to eat completely' or 'to finish eating everything.' This compound verb structure is highly productive in Japanese and allows speakers to express completion and exhaustion of an action with great nuance. If you say 疲れ切る (tsukarekiru), you are saying you are 'completely exhausted' or 'tired out.'

Auxiliary Usage

Attached to the stem of other verbs to indicate that an action has been completed entirely, leaving nothing behind, or done to an extreme degree.

Understanding when people use 切る requires paying attention to the context. In a kitchen, it's about food preparation. In an office, it might be about cutting costs (コストを切る) or ending a phone call. In personal relationships, it might carry the heavy weight of ending a friendship. The word is deeply woven into the fabric of Japanese society, reflecting a culture that values precision, clear boundaries, and the definitive completion of tasks. By mastering the various contexts in which 切る is employed, learners unlock a significant portion of natural, everyday Japanese expression.

Constructing sentences with 切る (kiru) involves understanding its conjugation patterns, the particles it interacts with, and its dual role as both a primary verb and an auxiliary verb. 切る is a Godan verb (Group 1 verb), which means its conjugation follows the standard pattern for verbs ending in 'ru' preceded by an 'i' or 'e' sound, though it is an exception because it looks like an Ichidan (Group 2) verb. Recognizing it as a Godan verb is the first critical step to using it correctly in sentences. For example, its negative form is 切らない (kiranai), not kikinai, and its polite form is 切ります (kirimasu).

Basic Conjugation

As a Godan verb, it conjugates to: 切ります (polite), 切って (te-form), 切った (past tense), 切らない (negative), and 切れる (potential form).

The most common particle used with 切る is the object marker を (o). Because 切る is a transitive verb (an action done to an object), you will frequently see the pattern '[Noun] を 切る'. For instance, ケーキを切る (to cut a cake), 指を切る (to cut one's finger), or 電話を切る (to hang up the phone). When you want to specify the tool or instrument used to perform the cutting action, you use the particle で (de). The pattern becomes '[Tool] で [Noun] を 切る'. For example, ナイフで肉を切る (to cut meat with a knife) or はさみで糸を切る (to cut thread with scissors). This structure is essential for clear, descriptive communication.

Particle Usage

Use を (o) to mark the object being cut, and で (de) to indicate the tool used for cutting. Occasionally, に (ni) is used for the resulting pieces (e.g., 半分に切る - cut into halves).

When using 切る as an auxiliary verb to mean 'to do completely,' it attaches directly to the pre-masu form (the stem) of another verb. This creates a compound verb. For example, the verb 使う (tsukau - to use) becomes 使い (tsukai). Adding 切る gives you 使い切る (tsukaikiru - to use up completely). This pattern is incredibly common in everyday Japanese. You might hear someone say シャンプーを使い切った (I completely used up the shampoo) or お金を使い切ってしまった (I ended up spending all my money). It emphasizes that nothing is left over, adding a strong sense of finality to the action.

Another important grammatical aspect is the intransitive counterpart, 切れる (kireru). While 切る means 'to cut' (transitive), 切れる means 'to be cut,' 'to snap,' or 'to run out' (intransitive). Understanding the difference is vital. If you cut a string, you say 糸を切る. If the string snaps on its own, you say 糸が切れる. 切れる is also used when a subscription expires (期限が切れる) or when you run out of a supply like milk or battery power (電池が切れる). Mastering the transitive/intransitive pair of 切る and 切れる will significantly elevate your Japanese fluency and accuracy.

Intransitive Pair

切れる (kireru) is the intransitive form, used when something cuts, snaps, or runs out on its own, taking the particle が (ga) instead of を (o).

Finally, when constructing sentences with idioms involving 切る, the structure remains the same, but the meaning becomes figurative. For example, 自腹を切る (jibara o kiru) literally means 'to cut one's own stomach,' but it is used idiomatically to mean 'to pay out of one's own pocket.' When using these idioms, it is crucial to keep the specific noun and verb combination intact. You cannot substitute the noun and expect the idiom to retain its meaning. Practice these set phrases as single vocabulary units to ensure your sentences sound natural and culturally appropriate to native speakers.

The word 切る (kiru) is ubiquitous in Japanese daily life, echoing through various environments from the intimate setting of a home kitchen to the formal atmosphere of a corporate boardroom. One of the most common places you will hear this word is, unsurprisingly, in the kitchen or at a restaurant. Cooking shows on Japanese television constantly use phrases like 野菜を一口大に切る (cut the vegetables into bite-sized pieces) or 肉を薄く切る (slice the meat thinly). If you are helping a Japanese friend prepare a meal, they might hand you a knife and ask, これを切ってくれる？ (Can you cut this for me?). It is the foundational verb for food preparation.

Culinary Contexts

Heard constantly in recipes, cooking classes, and home kitchens to describe slicing, dicing, and chopping ingredients.

Another environment where 切る is unavoidable is the hair salon or barbershop. When you sit in the stylist's chair in Japan, you need to communicate how you want your hair cut. You might say, 前髪を少し切ってください (Please cut my bangs a little) or 全体的に短く切ってください (Please cut it short all over). The stylist might ask, どのくらい切りましょうか？ (How much shall I cut?). In this context, 切る is the primary verb used to negotiate your appearance, making it an essential vocabulary word for anyone living in or visiting Japan for an extended period.

Personal Grooming

The standard verb used at salons and barbershops to request haircuts, trims, and styling adjustments.

In the modern, technology-driven world, 切る has taken on a massive role in IT and telecommunications. When you finish a phone conversation, the standard phrase is 電話を切る (to hang up the phone). You will often hear people say, じゃあ、切るね (Okay, I'm hanging up now) at the end of a casual call. Furthermore, when dealing with electronics, turning off the power is expressed as 電源を切る. If a computer freezes, IT support might tell you to 一度電源を切って、再起動してください (Turn off the power once and restart). It is also used for disconnecting from the internet (接続を切る).

In business and financial news, you will frequently encounter 切る used to describe numerical values falling below a specific mark. A news anchor might report that the stock market index has 'cut' a certain psychological barrier, or that the exchange rate has fallen below a specific yen amount (1ドル100円を切る - the dollar falls below 100 yen). In corporate meetings, managers might discuss the need to cut costs (コストを切る) or set a firm deadline (期限を切る). These usages highlight the word's versatility in professional and analytical contexts, moving far beyond simple physical actions.

Business and Finance

Used to indicate dropping below numerical thresholds, cutting expenses, or establishing strict time limits.

Finally, in the realm of sports and games, 切る is an active, dynamic verb. If you are playing a card game like poker or uno with Japanese friends, someone will need to shuffle the deck, which is expressed as カードを切る. In sports like baseball, a pitcher might throw a breaking ball that 'cuts' sharply. In track and field, a runner breaking a record time is described using 切る, such as 10秒を切る (to break the 10-second mark). Whether you are in a kitchen, an office, a salon, or a sports field, listening for 切る will reveal just how deeply integrated this verb is into the rhythm of Japanese life.

Because the English word 'cut' has so many slang and idiomatic uses, English speakers learning Japanese frequently make mistakes by directly translating these English concepts into the Japanese verb 切る (kiru). One of the most common errors occurs when students try to say they 'cut class' or skipped school. In English, 'cutting class' is a standard idiom. However, if you say クラスを切る (kurasu o kiru) in Japanese, it sounds nonsensical, as if you are physically taking a pair of scissors to the classroom. The correct Japanese verb for skipping class or shirking a duty is サボる (saboru), derived from the word 'sabotage.'

Skipping Class

Do not use 切る for skipping school or work. The correct term is サボる (saboru) or 欠席する (kesseki suru).

Another frequent mistake involves the concept of 'cutting in line.' In English, if someone pushes ahead of you in a queue, you say they 'cut in line.' Translating this literally to 列を切る (retsu o kiru) would mean physically severing the line of people, perhaps by walking straight through it, but it does not convey the act of unfairly taking a spot ahead of others. The correct Japanese expression for cutting in line is 割り込む (warikomu), which literally means to wedge oneself in or interrupt. Using the correct verb here is crucial for expressing frustration accurately in public situations.

Cutting in Line

Never use 切る to describe someone jumping a queue. The appropriate verb is 割り込む (warikomu).

Learners also stumble when trying to express 'cutting corners,' meaning to do a job poorly to save time or money. A literal translation like 角を切る (kado o kiru) just means physically cutting the corner off an object, like a piece of paper or a block of wood. To convey the idea of doing sloppy work or skipping necessary steps, Japanese uses the idiom 手を抜く (te o nuku), which literally translates to 'pulling out one's hands.' This idiom perfectly captures the essence of withdrawing effort from a task, whereas using 切る in this context will only cause confusion.

Grammatically, a major pitfall is confusing the transitive verb 切る (kiru - to cut) with its intransitive counterpart 切れる (kireru - to be cut/to snap). English often uses the same word for both: 'I cut the string' and 'The string cut.' In Japanese, you must distinguish between your action upon an object (糸を切る - I cut the string) and the object's state changing on its own (糸が切れる - The string snapped). Using the transitive 切る when you mean something broke or ran out naturally (like a battery dying) is a glaring grammatical error that immediately marks you as a beginner.

Transitive vs Intransitive

Always use 切れる (kireru) with the particle が (ga) when something cuts or runs out on its own, not 切る.

Finally, there is a common orthographic mistake regarding the kanji itself. While 切る is the standard kanji for general cutting, Japanese has specific kanji for specific types of cutting that are pronounced the same way. For example, 斬る (kiru) is used specifically for cutting with a sword, often in historical or samurai contexts (人を斬る - to slay a person). 伐る (kiru) is used for cutting down trees (木を伐る). 剪る (kiru) is used for pruning branches. While writing everything as 切る is generally acceptable in modern daily life, using the wrong specific kanji in formal writing or literature is considered a mistake. Stick to 切る unless you are certain of the specialized context.

While 切る (kiru) is the most general and widely used verb for 'to cut,' the Japanese language is incredibly rich in vocabulary that describes specific types of cutting, dividing, or severing. Relying solely on 切る can sometimes make your Japanese sound repetitive or slightly unnatural in specific contexts. One of the most common alternatives you will encounter, especially in the kitchen, is 刻む (kizamu). While 切る means to cut generally, 刻む specifically means to chop finely, mince, or engrave. If a recipe calls for finely chopped onions or minced garlic, the verb used will almost always be 刻む, not just 切る.

刻む (kizamu)

Used for chopping things very finely, mincing, or carving/engraving into a surface. Often used for herbs, garlic, or ticking time.

Another important alternative is 割る (waru), which translates to 'to divide,' 'to split,' or 'to break.' You use 割る when you are breaking something into pieces using force rather than a sharp blade, or when dividing a whole into parts. For example, you 'break' an egg (卵を割る), you 'split' firewood (薪を割る), and in mathematics, you 'divide' numbers (10を2で割る). If you are sharing the cost of a meal equally among friends, you use the noun form 割り勘 (warikan - splitting the bill). Confusing 切る and 割る is a common mistake, as both involve separating a whole into parts, but the method and nuance are entirely different.

割る (waru)

Used for splitting, breaking, or dividing. Applies to fragile things like glass or eggs, splitting wood, or mathematical division.

When dealing with paper, cloth, or other thin materials, you might encounter verbs like 裂く (saku) or 破る (yaburu). 裂く means to tear or rip something forcefully, often along a grain or seam, like tearing a piece of cloth in half (布を裂く). 破る means to tear, rip, or break through, often used for paper (紙を破る) or metaphorically for breaking a promise or rule (約束を破る). While you can use scissors to 切る (cut) paper, if you use your hands to rip it apart, you are using 破る or 裂く. Understanding these distinctions adds a layer of precision to your descriptive abilities.

For actions involving shaving, scraping, or whittling away material, the verb 削る (kezuru) is the appropriate choice. You use 削る when sharpening a pencil with a knife (鉛筆を削る), shaving ice for a summer treat (氷を削る), or metaphorically, when shaving down a budget or reducing time (予算を削る). It implies removing small amounts from the surface of a larger object. This is quite different from 切る, which usually implies a clean, complete severing through the object. Using 削る correctly shows a high level of vocabulary mastery.

削る (kezuru)

Used for shaving, scraping, or whittling. Metaphorically used for cutting down budgets, time, or unnecessary elements.

Lastly, in formal or technical contexts, you will see Sino-Japanese compounds (kango) that incorporate the kanji 切. For example, 切断する (setsudan suru) means to amputate or sever completely, often used in medical or industrial contexts. 裁断する (saidan suru) means to cut cloth or paper professionally, often in manufacturing. These compound verbs carry a much heavier, more formal tone than the native Japanese verb 切る. While you might use 切る in daily conversation, a news report about a severed cable or a factory process will likely use these more precise, formal alternatives.