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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "broken" in Japanese?
壊れてる
koware teru
In Japanese, "broken" is 壊れてる (koware teru).
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Pronunciation
Ko-wa-re-te-ru, five syllables, built from the verb kowasu (to break) plus an ongoing-state ending, said in a smooth run.
Writing and usage
壊れてる is written using kanji. It's a adjective, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
椅子が壊れている。
isu ga koware teiru.
The chair is broken.
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How to remember 壊れてる
Kowareteru shares its root with kowasu (break) — once broken, it stays in that broken state, -teru marking it.
Related words
- hard 硬い katai
- smooth 滑らかな nameraka na
- rough ざらざらした zarazarashita
- loud うるさい urusai
- thick 厚い atsui
- thin 薄い usui
- fresh 新鮮 shinsen
- rotten 腐った kusatsu ta
- ripe 熟した jukushi ta
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 壊れてる
How do you pronounce 壊れてる?
Ko-wa-re-te-ru, five syllables, built from the verb kowasu (to break) plus an ongoing-state ending, said in a smooth run.
Is 壊れてる formal or casual?
壊れてる is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 壊れてる written in Japanese?
壊れてる is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as koware teru.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Broken" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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