Work and breaks
Idioms, Stage 1chunk 10 of 21Effort, ease & difficulty
The arc of a workload: a mountain to do, no end in sight, a good place to stop, and a breather.
- yama hodo aruthere's tons of itliterally “there's a mountain's worth”
- hitoiki tsukutake a breather, have a short breakliterally “take one breath”
- kiri ga naithere's no end to itliterally “there's no cut-off point”
- kiri ga iiat a good stopping point; a nice round numberliterally “the cut is good”
Mix-ups kiri ga nai and kiri ga ii share kiri with opposite meanings: 'there's no end to it' versus 'a good point to stop'.
yama hodo aru
polite yama hodo arimasu
“there's a mountain's worth”
there's tons of it
In English: a mountain of
Everyday exaggeration for a huge amount, most often of work or things to do: yaru koto ga yama hodo aru. Yama hodo also goes before other verbs (yama hodo katta, iitai koto ga yama hodo aru).
Plain alternative: takusan aru, ippai aru.
yaru koto ga yama hodo aru n da yo
I've got tons to do.
やることが山ほどあるんだよ
yaru koto ga yama hodo aru n desu yo
I've got tons to do.
やることが山ほどあるんですよ
Written 山ほどある · やまほどあるHeard 208× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list aru (Stage 1), hodo (Stage 4)
hitoiki tsuku
polite hitoiki tsukimasu
“take one breath”
take a breather, have a short break
In English: take a breather
Pausing after a stretch of work or a rush (chotto hitoiki tsukou), or feeling the pressure lift (yatto hitoiki tsuketa, I can finally breathe). Not yasumi o toru, which is taking days off.
Also hitoiki ireru (take a short break); hotto hitoiki = a sigh of relief.
chotto hitoiki tsukou ka
Shall we take a breather?
ちょっと一息つこうか
chotto hitoiki tsukimashou ka
Shall we take a breather?
ちょっと一息つきましょうか
Written 一息つく · ひといきつくHeard 51× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
kiri ga nai
polite kiri ga nai desu
“there's no cut-off point”
there's no end to it
Said when something could go on forever, so you have to stop somewhere, usually after a -tara clause: ittara kiri ga nai (I could go on and on), ki ni shitara kiri ga nai. Not kiri ga ii, which is a good place to stop.
Casually kiri nai; kiri ga arimasen is the formal, written-sounding version.
ki ni shidashitara kiri ga nai yo
Once you start worrying, there's no end to it.
気にしだしたらキリがないよ
ki ni shidashitara kiri ga nai desu yo
Once you start worrying, there's no end to it.
気にしだしたらキリがないですよ
Written キリがない · きりがないHeard 47× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kiri ga iiMain list aru (Stage 1), -tara (Stage 2)
kiri ga ii
polite kiri ga ii desu
“the cut is good”
at a good stopping point; a nice round number
At work or study, a natural place to stop: kiri no ii tokoro de yasumou. Also a round number (kiri ga ii kara sen'en de ii yo); not kiri ga nai, which is endless.
Also kugiri ga ii, same meaning.
kiri ga ii kara, kyou wa koko made ni shiyou
Good place to stop, let's call it a day.
キリがいいから、今日はここまでにしよう
kiri ga ii node, kyou wa koko made ni shimashou
This is a good place to stop, let's call it a day.
キリがいいので、今日はここまでにしましょう
Written キリがいい · きりがいいHeard 6× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kiri ga naiMain list ii (Stage 1)