区切り・句切り|くぎりkugiri[3]odaka (tail-high)

1. nounpause (in speech, writing, etc.); punctuation
2. nounbreak; end; (place to) stop; pause; milestone (e.g. in a project)

• Synonym一段落いちだんらくNeutralReaching a stopping point, as in 「仕事が一段落する」; stresses completing a stage, while 「区切り」 stresses the dividing point or pause you mark.
• Synonym切れ目きれめNeutralA place where something continuous breaks off, as in 「雲の切れ目」「話の切れ目」; points to where the break occurs rather than a marked stage.
• Synonym切り目きりめNeutralA cut or notch, and by extension the point where something comes to an end; its core image is the trace left by cutting.
• Related絶え間たえまWrittenWritten style: an interval or gap; mostly seen in 「絶え間なく」, meaning without interruption.
• Related中断ちゅうだんNeutralStopping partway through something, deliberately or not, as in 「会議を中断する」; 「区切り」 is about dividing things into stages.
• Related休止きゅうしWrittenWritten style: a suspension or halt, as in 「運転休止」; stresses stopping to rest rather than marking a stage.
• Related間断かんだんWrittenWritten style: a break or interruption in time; mostly in the negative 「間断なく」, without a break.
• Related小止みこやみWrittenWritten style: a temporary lull when rain or snow weakens or stops, as in 「雨が小止みになる」; mostly used for weather.
• Related一切りひときりWrittenWritten style: a stage or stretch of time; little used in modern Japanese.
• Related途切れとぎれNeutralAn intermittent pause in something ongoing, as in 「会話の途切れ」; stresses a natural break rather than one deliberately marked.
• Related途絶えとだえWrittenWritten style: an interruption of something ongoing such as news or correspondence; stresses a complete cutoff.

Use 「区切り」 for a stage or dividing point in events, or a pause in speech or writing, as in 「区切りをつける」「一区切り」. For reaching a stopping point say 「一段落」, for where something breaks say 「切れ目」, and for stopping midway say 「中断」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 物事ものごとの段落だんらく。切れ目きれめ。
2. 文章ぶんしょうなどの切れ目きれめ。
3. 土地とちなどの境界きょうかい。表ひょうなどにおける文字列もじれつや数値すうちなどの切れ目きれめ。