まるきり

ま

る

き

り

Meanings

completely; absolutely; totally; (not) at all

usually written using kana alone

Used with negative expressions to mean 'not at all' or 'completely not'. The positive glosses 'completely', 'absolutely', 'totally' are possible but less common; the core usage is emphatic negation. Compare with まるっきり, which is a variant with the same meaning.

Kanji

丸round, full (month), perfection
切cut, cutoff, be sharp

Related words

まるっきりN1
まるきり and 丸っきり mean the same 'completely/not at all', but 丸っきり is the more colloquial, emphatic form heard in casual speech.
全まったくN3
丸きり is a slightly old-fashioned synonym of 全く used almost exclusively with negative expressions to mean 'not at all.'

Written forms

まるきりUsage100%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 丸きり and 丸切り are rare.
丸まるきり
Rare kanji form; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.
丸まる切きり
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; the kana spelling is strongly preferred.

Etymology

Derived from 丸 (まる, 'round, whole') + きり (from 切る, 'to cut off'), literally 'cut off completely', emphasizing totality. The exact historical development is uncertain.