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Grammar detail: verb stem + 切れない(きれない)

verb stem + 切れない(きれない)  unable to finish something
114 words
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verb stem
+
きれない
expresses the idea of being unable to complete or finish something, typically because it is too much, or there is too much of it etc.
すごい
りょう
ひとり
一人
べきれない

There's so much there's no way I can eat it all by myself!
きれない is the negative potential form of
る, which is most commonly used to mean 'cut', but actually has many meanings, often related to cutting (through) something in a broader sense. One of the less common meanings is to finish or complete something, so きれない literally means 'cannot finish'.
In this construction する becomes しきれない, which is almost a set phrase meaning 'impossible to do', so it is not uncommon to see しきれない following a verb stem (instead of just きれない):
かれ
じぶん
自分
かぞく
家族
すら
しきれないのにまして
いちこく
一国
おさ
める
なんて
He can't run his own family, let alone a nation!
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Words used in this grammar

1
suffix, 'ru' godan verb, transitive verb
1. to cut; to cut through; to perform (surgery)
2. to sever (connections, ties)  (see also: 縁を切る)
(click the word to view an additional 21 meanings, useful expressions, examples and links)

Kanji used in this grammar

セツ   サイ   き to cut   きれる to break, to snap   
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リョウ   はか to measure   
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イチ   イツ   ひと    ひと- one   
ジン   ニン   ひと person   
ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   く to eat   
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ヒ   かれ he   
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ジ   シ   みずか self   
ブン   ブ   フン   わける to divide, to distinguish   わかる to understand   わかれる to be divided   わかつ to share, distribute   
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カ   ケ   house   いえ    や    
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ゾク    tribe   
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シュ   と to take   
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コク   くに country   
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ジ   チ   おさめる to govern   おさまる to be at peace   なお to get better   なお to cure   
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