pieces; scraps; fragments
Describes something broken or cut into small, irregular pieces. Often used with に to mean 'in pieces' or 'in fragments'.
The paper was torn into pieces.
disconnected; intermittent; fragmentary
Used for speech, memories, or signals that are broken or not continuous. Often appears as 切れ切れに (in a disconnected manner).
I gathered scraps of cloth and sewed them together.
His story was so fragmentary that I couldn't understand it well.
Intermittent music came from the radio.
Standard kanji spelling; reduplication of 切れ (piece).
Kana spelling is common in informal writing and when the kanji repetition is considered heavy.
Reduplication of 切れ (きれ, 'piece, cut'), from the verb 切る (きる, 'to cut'). The repetition emphasizes a state of being in many small pieces or disconnected fragments.