〜を限りに: 'As Of This Point, No More' (Meaning + Examples)
Marking the last time something happens
Nを限りに says that N is the final point before an activity, role, or era ends. It's formal and appears often in speeches, notices, and news about retirements or closures.
今シーズンを限りに、彼は現役を引退する。
こんしーずんを かぎりに、かれは げんえきを いんたいする。
As of the end of this season, he is retiring from active competition.
A common sports-retirement pattern.
本日を限りに、この店は閉店いたします。
ほんじつを かぎりに、この みせは へいてん いたします。
As of today, this store is closing for good.
Typical store-closure announcement.
やったんは今日を限りに、夜更かしをやめると宣言した。
やったんは きょうを かぎりに、よふかしを やめると せんげんした。
Yattan declared that, as of today, he was done staying up late.
Original example: a personal 'no more' declaration.
Form: Noun + を限りに
を限りに attaches directly to a noun marking a time, event, or occasion — the point after which something ends.
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (time/event) | N + を限りに | 今日を限りに = as of today (the last day) |
| Noun (event) | N + を限りに | この公演を限りに = as of this performance (the last one) |
この公演を限りに、彼女は歌手活動を休止する。
この こうえんを かぎりに、かのじょは かしゅかつどうを きゅうしする。
As of this performance, she is taking a break from her singing career.
Not the same as 〜を皮切りに
を限りに marks an ending; 〜を皮切りに marks a beginning that kicks off a series of similar events. Both attach to a noun of time or occasion, but they point in opposite directions — don't swap them just because both feel "formal and event-based."
The short version
- 〜を限りに = "as of X, this is the last time" — X is the final cutoff before something ends.
- Attaches to: Noun (a time, event, or occasion).
- Nuance/register: formal, written or ceremonial speech; common in retirements and closures.
- Don't confuse with: 〜を皮切りに, which marks the start of a series, not the end.
Practice it
Choose the correct use of 〜を限りに to mark the last time something happens.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
今シーズン＿＿＿、彼は現役を引退する。
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜を兼ねて — 〜を兼ねて means doing one thing that also serves a second purpose: 散歩を兼ねて買い物に行く ('go shopping, which doubles as a walk'). Learn the noun+を兼ねて pattern, the 〜を兼ねる verb form, and how the main action and the side purpose line up.
- 〜を皮切りに — 〜を皮切りに means 'starting with X' — the first in a string of similar events that follow, like a tour's opening city. It attaches to a noun and always implies more of the same are coming.
- 〜を機に — 〜を機に means 'taking X as the occasion' — a formal way to say someone used an event as the opportunity to make a decisive change. It attaches to a noun and often carries a positive, deliberate nuance.
- 〜を除いて / を除き — 〜を除いて marks an exception before a general statement, and in formal writing shortens to the literary conjunctive 〜を除き; at N1 it often pairs with totality words like 全員・ほぼ全て in news and report style.
- 〜をおいて — 〜をおいて, almost always paired with a negative like いない or ない, means 'other than X, there is no one/nothing' — an emphatic, rhetorical way of saying X is the only one truly qualified.
- 〜を余儀なくされる — 〜を余儀なくされる means 'to be forced/compelled to (do)' by circumstances beyond one's control. Formal written Japanese, always passive in feeling — the subject has no real choice.