区く切ぎり

く

ぎ

り

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun

pause; break; punctuation

A pause or break in speech, writing, or a sequence; also used for punctuation marks that create such breaks.

文ぶん章しょうに区く切ぎりを入いれて読よみやすくする。
I add punctuation to the text to make it easier to read.
彼かれの話はなしには自し然ぜんな区く切ぎりがあった。
His story had natural pauses.

noun

break; end; stopping point; milestone

A point where something ends, stops, or is divided; often used for temporal or project milestones.

今日きょうの作さ業ぎょうはここで区く切ぎりにしよう。
Let's make this a stopping point for today's work.
プロジェクトの区く切ぎりとして、来らい月げつまでに試し作さく品ひんを完かん成せいさせる。
As a milestone for the project, we will complete the prototype by next month.

See all 48 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉に区く切ぎりをつけるto bring something to a stopping point / mark an ending
このプロジェクトに区く切ぎりをつけて、次つぎの仕し事ごとに進すすみたい。
I want to bring this project to a stopping point and move on to the next job.
区く切ぎりがつくto reach a natural stopping point
話はなしが長ながかったが、ここで区く切ぎりがついた。
The talk went on for a while, but it reached a natural stopping point here.
区く切ぎりのいい〈時とき〉a convenient breaking point in time
区く切ぎりのいい時じ間かんに休きゅう憩けいを取とりましょう。
Let's take a break at a convenient stopping point.
文ぶんの区く切ぎりで読よむto read pausing at the natural breaks in a sentence
子こ供どもに文ぶんの区く切ぎりで読よむように教おしえた。
I taught the child to read, pausing at the natural breaks in the sentence.

Kanji

区ward, district
切cut, cutoff, be sharp
句phrase, clause, sentence

Related words

節ふし目め sense 2
節目 emphasizes a turning point or milestone in a longer process, while 区切り is the more general word for any pause, break, or stopping point.
切きれ目めN1sense 1
切れ目 usually refers to a physical gap or cut, while 区切り is more abstract and often intentional, like a planned pause or division.
句く読とう点てんN2sense 1
句読点 refers specifically to punctuation marks like periods and commas, while 区切り is the broader concept of a break or pause that such marks create.
一いち段だん落らくN1
区切り is a general word for a break or dividing point in anything, while 一段落 specifically describes work or a situation calming down to a manageable pause.

Opposites

連れん続ぞくN3sense 1
連続 means an unbroken continuation with no pauses, the opposite of 区切り, which marks a break or division in something.

Don't confuse with

仕し切きり
仕切り means a partition or dividing something (like a room or business deal), while 区切り is a pause, break, or milestone in speech, writing, or a process.
区く間かんN1
区間 is a continuous stretch or segment itself, while 区切り is the break or demarcation point that divides something into segments.
途と切ぎれ
区切り refers to a boundary or dividing point marking sections, while 途切れ specifically means an unwanted interruption or gap in something continuous.

Word family· 7

一ひと区く切ぎり
break; pause; stopping point
区く切ぎり子し
delimiter
区く切ぎり点てん
breakpoint
タブ区く切ぎり
tab delimited
区く切ぎり文も字じ
delimiter

Show 2 more

区く切ぎり記き号ごう
delimiter; separator
ページ区く切ぎり
page break

Written forms

区く切ぎりUsage98%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
くぎりUsage1%
句く切ぎりUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 区切り is preferred.
区く切ぎりUsage<1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard spelling.

Etymology

The noun of 句切る, originally “to place a break in a phrase or sentence,” from 句, “phrase,” and 切る, “cut.” The spelling 区切り later extended the word to divisions generally.