Translation guide
Covers ending a romantic relationship, dispersing a group, breaking into pieces, and more. Japanese expressions vary widely by context.
To end a romantic relationship with someone.
The most common and general verb for breaking up with a romantic partner.
彼氏と別れた。
I broke up with my boyfriend.
先週、彼女と別れました。
I broke up with my girlfriend last week.
To dump someone; implies one-sided rejection. Often used when the speaker is the one ending it.
A formal or dramatic term for a breakup, often used for serious relationships or engagements.
二人は破局した。
The two broke up.
To cause a group of people to separate and go their own ways.
Used for disbanding a group, meeting, or organization.
会議は午後5時に解散した。
The meeting broke up at 5 p.m.
警察が群衆を解散させた。
The police broke up the crowd.
For people scattering or dispersing naturally, like after an event.
観客は試合後に散った。
The spectators broke up after the game.
To break up into scattered pieces or individuals; emphasizes disorder.
グループはばらばらになった。
The group broke up.
To separate something into smaller parts or fragments.
To break something physically; transitive verb.
彼は古い机を壊した。
He broke up the old desk.
To break or split something like glass, eggs, or a group into parts.
チョコレートを小さく割ってください。
Please break the chocolate into small pieces.
To crush or smash into small pieces; often for hard objects.
To stop a fight or argument between people.
To mediate or intervene in a dispute.
先生が生徒たちのけんかを仲裁した。
The teacher broke up the students' fight.
To stop a fight physically; often used in casual contexts.
彼がけんかを止めた。
He broke up the fight.
To divide something into smaller parts for organization or analysis.
To split or divide into sections; formal and common in business/tech.
データを小さなグループに分割した。
We broke up the data into small groups.
General verb for dividing or separating things.
クラスを三つのグループに分けた。
We broke up the class into three groups.
To suddenly start laughing or crying intensely.
To burst out laughing; literally 'explosive laughter'.
彼の冗談でみんな爆笑した。
Everyone broke up at his joke.
To burst into tears.
彼女は突然泣き出した。
She suddenly broke up crying.
When a school term or semester finishes and students go on vacation.
The term ends; standard expression.
学校は来週学期が終わる。
School breaks up next week.
To go on break/holiday; more about the start of vacation.
もうすぐ夏休みに入る。
We'll break up for summer soon.
When a phone or radio signal becomes intermittent.
For signals or connections that cut in and out.
電話が途切れています。
The phone is breaking up.
Colloquial; literally 'the signal is bad'.
ごめん、電波が悪くて聞こえない。
Sorry, you're breaking up, I can't hear you.
別れる (wakareru) specifically means ending a romantic relationship. For breaking up a meeting or group, use 解散する (kaisan suru).
壊す (kowasu) is general 'break/destroy'. 割る (waru) is for splitting or cracking something like glass or a group. 砕く (kudaku) is for crushing into small pieces, like ice or rocks.
Please break up the ice.