What 限り means in 日本語?

Question

甘い物ばかり食べている限り、やせるわけがない。

彼と付き合っている限り、幸せにはなれない。

時間が許す限り、話し合いましょう。

Answer 1

限り means "limit". It's from the verb 限る which means "to limit".

In your example sentences, 限り means something like "to the extent of", "to the limit of", "to the degree of", "as long as", etc.

So, for example 甘い物ばかり食べている限り、やせるわけがない could be translated as "As long as you eat nothing but sweets, there's no way you lose weight" or "If you keep eating only sweets, you'll never lose any weight."

The other two sentences would be something like

"As long as you keep dating him, you'll never be happy"

"As much as time permits, let's talk things over"

My English translations might sound a little awkward, so you can rephrase them into some more a little more natural sounding if you want.