Meaning

Primary

To Be Broken

Alternative

To Get Broken

Word Type

intransitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

壊す is "to break something." 壊れる is when something just gets broken or is broken, and you're not doing the breaking. This is to be broken.

Reading

こわれる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The reading comes from 壊す, so try not to break any of your memories and remember this.

Context

Context Sentences

時計が壊れたので修理に出すつもりです。

My watch is broken so I'm going to send it in for repair.

大事に使っていたニンテンドーDSがついに壊れてしまった。

My Nintendo DS, which I had been using with great care, finally broke.

寝過ごして朝ごはんを食べ損ねた上に、車が壊れたんだ。本当に今日はついてないよ。

I overslept, missed my breakfast, and then my car broke down. It’s really not my day today.

Kanji Composition