あらん限かぎり

あ

ら

ん

か

ぎ

り

Meanings

expression, adverb, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

all one has; as much as possible; with all one's might

Used to express doing something with all the strength, resources, or effort one can muster. Often appears in set phrases like あらん限りの力で or あらん限りの声で.

彼かれはあらん限かぎりの力ちからを振ふり絞しぼって走はしった。
He ran with all his might.
あらん限かぎりの声こえで助たすけを呼よんだ。
I called for help at the top of my lungs.

Kanji

限limit, restrict, to best of ability
有possess, have, exist

Related words

精せい一いっ杯ぱい
精一杯 is more common in everyday speech and means 'to the best of one's ability', while あらん限り is more literary and emphasizes using every last bit of one's resources.
力ちからの限かぎり
力の限り is similar but more directly means 'to the limit of one's strength', whereas あらん限り can apply to non-physical resources like voice or effort.

Written forms

あらん限かぎり
Standard kana-kanji mixed spelling; the most common written form.
有あらん限かぎり
Kanji spelling using 有; less common and somewhat literary.

Etymology

From the classical verb あり (to be, to exist) in its attributive form あらん (archaic volitional/presumptive) combined with 限り (limit). Literally 'as far as there is', it came to mean 'all that one has'.