限り details
write + not + as long as
kakanai kagiri
as long as; unless — a condition treated as the outer limit of what holds
動ける限り、自分でやりたい。
ugokeru kagiri, jibun de yaritai.
As long as I can still move, I want to do it myself. casual
謝らない限り、もう口きかないから。
ayamaranai kagiri, mou kuchi kikanai kara.
I'm not speaking to you again unless you apologize. casual
- formal
Examples
as long as; while X continues to hold — a condition treated as the outer boundary of what's true
動ける限り、自分でやりたい。
ugokeru kagiri, jibun de yaritai.
As long as I can still move, I want to do it myself. casual
予算が許す限り、いい機材を揃えたい。
yosan ga yurusu kagiri, ii kizai o soroetai.
As long as the budget allows, I want to get good equipment. neutral
私の知る限り、その報告書に誤りはございません。
watashi no shiru kagiri, sono houkokusho ni ayamari wa gozaimasen.
As far as I know, there are no errors in that report. formal
ない限り — unless; not unless X changes — the most commonly taught sense, a negative limit blocking the outcome
謝らない限り、もう口きかないから。
ayamaranai kagiri, mou kuchi kikanai kara.
I'm not speaking to you again unless you apologize. casual
許可を得ない限り、この部屋には入れません。
kyoka o enai kagiri, kono heya ni wa hairemasen.
You can't enter this room unless you get permission. neutral
特別な事情がない限り、締め切りの延長は認められません。
tokubetsu na jijou ga nai kagiri, shimekiri no enchou wa mitomeraremasen.
Deadline extensions are not granted unless there are special circumstances. formal
Formation
plain clause + 限りattaches to plain clause{V-nai}かぎりattaches to ない-form
Variant notes
- 限りでは — では softens the claim into a hedge — 私[わたし]の知[し]る限[かぎ]りでは "as far as I know" — at home in cautious, formal claims and written reports.
Notes
学生である限り); verbs and i-adjectives attach bare. ない限り
pairs naturally with a negative main clause, giving its classic
double-negative "won't happen unless" shape.
Related patterns
Similar
と states an automatic, exceptionless consequence with no boundary of its own; 限り marks the boundary itself — 生[い]きている限[かぎ]り働[はたら]く reads as a scope claim ("for as long as X remains true"), not a trigger-and-result pair, so と cannot substitute in it.
The double negative in ない限り〜ない often paints the same picture as なければならない (許可[きょか]を得[え]ない限[かぎ]り入[はい]れない ≈ 許可[きょか]を得[え]なければならない), but ない限り stays a conditional limit stated from the outside — it never itself asserts an obligation, only that the door stays shut until the condition is met.
Both bound a stretch of time before which something holds, but うちに races a window that WILL close (act before it does); 限り states an unchanging condition that holds only as long as its own premise stays true, with no closing implied and no urgency to act now.