区切る (くぎる, kugiru) Japanese meaning: divide | Kotomora

区く切ぎる

く

ぎ

る

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

区切る · godan verb (-ru)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	区く切ぎる	区く切ぎらない
Polite	区く切ぎります	区く切ぎりません
Past polite	区く切ぎりました	区く切ぎりませんでした
Past	区く切ぎった	区く切ぎらなかった
Te-form	区く切ぎって	区く切ぎらないで
Desire	区く切ぎりたい	区く切ぎりたくない
Potential	区く切ぎれる	区く切ぎれない
Passive	区く切ぎられる	区く切ぎられない
Causative	区く切ぎらせる	区く切ぎらせない
Causative passive	区く切ぎらせられるalso 区く切ぎらされる	区く切ぎらせられないalso 区く切ぎらされない
Volitional	区く切ぎろう
Polite volitional	区く切ぎりましょう
Imperative	区く切ぎれ	区く切ぎるな
Conditional	区く切ぎれば	区く切ぎらなければ
Tara conditional	区く切ぎったら	区く切ぎらなかったら

Meanings

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

divide; separate; partition; mark off

Used for physically or conceptually dividing space, time, or groups into sections; also for demarcating boundaries.

部屋

Kanji

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

Related words

分わけるN4sense 1
分ける is the general verb for splitting or dividing something into parts, while 区切る specifically stresses marking clear boundaries or sections.
仕し切きるN1sense 1
仕切る often means to partition a space with a physical divider or to manage/organize an event, whereas 区切る focuses on marking off sections or intervals.
区く分ぶんN2sense 1
区分する is a more formal, classificatory term for dividing things into categories, while 区切る is used more concretely for marking boundaries in space, time, or text.
分ぶん割かつN1sense 1
分割する emphasizes splitting something into separate pieces (often for practical purposes like payments), while 区切る emphasizes marking off distinct sections.
画かくするN1
区切る means to divide something into sections in ordinary everyday contexts, while 画する is a more formal verb used for marking off boundaries or categories.

Opposites

つなげるN2sense 1
繋げる means to connect or join things together, the opposite of 区切る's meaning of dividing or separating them.

Don't confuse with

切きるN5sense 1
切る is the general verb for 'cut' in many senses, while 区切る specifically means to divide something into sections or mark boundaries, not simply to sever it.

Word family· 8

区く切ぎりN1
pause; break; punctuation · break; end; stopping point; milestone
一ひと区く切ぎり
break; pause; stopping point
区く切ぎり子し
delimiter
区く切

Built from

区く+切きる

Written forms

区く切ぎるUsage93%
Standard kanji spelling for dividing, partitioning, and punctuating.
くぎるUsage7%
句く切ぎるUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 区切る is preferred.

Etymology

Compound of 区 (ku, 'section') + 切る (kiru, 'to cut'), with rendaku voicing to ぎる. The kanji 区 suggests division into sections, while 切る contributes the sense of cutting or separating.

Meanings

Usage patterns