たきり details
write + (past) + did X, and nothing has happened since
kaita kiri
did X, and nothing has happened since (often "never again")
兄は五年前に家を出たきり、一度も帰ってきていない。
ani wa gonen mae ni ie o deta kiri, ichido mo kaette kite inai.
My older brother left home five years ago, and he hasn't come back since. neutral
あいつとは一回飲んだきり、もう連絡取ってないな。
aitsu to wa ikkai nondakiri, mou renraku totte nai na.
I only ever had drinks with him that one time — haven't been in touch since. casual
- past
- polite
Examples
did X, and that was the last of it — no follow-up has happened since
兄は五年前に家を出たきり、一度も帰ってきていない。
ani wa gonen mae ni ie o deta kiri, ichido mo kaette kite inai.
My older brother left home five years ago, and he hasn't come back since. neutral
あいつとは一回飲んだきり、もう連絡取ってないな。
aitsu to wa ikkai nondakiri, mou renraku totte nai na.
I only ever had drinks with him that one time — haven't been in touch since. casual
担当者からは先月ご連絡いただいたきり、お返事がありません。
tantousha kara wa sengetsu go renraku itadaita kiri, o henji ga arimasen.
We received contact from the person in charge last month, and have had no reply since. formal
Formation
{V-ta}きりattaches to た-form
Notes
on a noun, unrelated to this verb-ta construction, which always implies
an expected-but-missing continuation.
Related patterns
Similar
たまま keeps the leftover state as backdrop to a separate ongoing action (窓を開けたまま出かけた); たきり drops that second action and makes the ABSENCE of any follow-up the whole point — 家[いえ]を出[で]たきり帰[かえ]ってこない says nothing since, not what happened alongside it.
Lookalikes
Both are V-ta plus a short trailing particle, but たばかり claims the event was RECENT (着いたばかり, "just arrived"), while たきり makes no recency claim at all and instead says nothing has followed since — 一度会ったきり can describe a meeting from decades ago.