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一人っきり (ひとりっきり) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

一人ひとりっきり

Meanings

1

noun, adverb

all alone; by oneself

Emphasizes being completely alone, with no one else present. Often used adverbially.

See also: 一人きり

彼かれは一人ひとりっきりで部屋へやにいた。
He was all alone in the room.
一人ひとりっきりで旅りょ行こうするのが好すきだ。
I like traveling by myself.

Written forms

一人ひとりっきり
Standard kanji spelling using 一人.
独ひとりっきり
Alternative kanji spelling emphasizing aloneness.
一人ひとりっ切きり
Variant with 切り instead of きり.
独ひとりっ切きり
Variant combining 独り and 切り.
１ひと人りっきり
Numeral variant of 一人っきり.
１ひと人りっ切きり
Numeral variant of 一人っ切り.

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
人person
独single, alone, spontaneously
切cut, cutoff, be sharp

Similar words

一人ひとりきり
Same meaning, but 一人っきり is more emphatic and colloquial with the geminated っ.
独ひとり
Simply 'one person' or 'alone'; 一人っきり adds stronger emphasis on being completely alone.

Etymology

Emphatic form of 一人きり (hitorikiri), with gemination (っ) adding colloquial emphasis. きり derives from 切り (cut off, limit), implying 'only' or 'just'.