割れます（われます、waremasu）
- to break (intransitive

The Japanese verb 割れます (pronounced waremasu) primarily means "to break," "to crack," or "to shatter" in a passive sense. It describes a situation where something breaks or cracks on its own or due to an external force, without explicitly stating who or what caused the action. This contrasts with the active verb 割る (waru), which means "to break" or "to crack" (something) intentionally. 割れます emphasizes the result of the action: the state of being broken. It's often used with objects that are brittle or prone to breaking. The degree of breaking can vary, from a small crack to complete shattering.

⚫︎ コップが割れました。 Translation: The glass broke. ⚫︎ お皿が割れてしまいました。 Translation: The plate broke (and it's unfortunate). ⚫︎ 窓ガラスが割れています。 Translation: The window glass is broken.

⚫︎ Use 割れます when something breaks passively or spontaneously, or when the agent of the breaking is unknown or unimportant. ⚫︎ Often used to describe objects made of glass, ceramic, or similar materials. ⚫︎ It is frequently used with particles like が (ga) to indicate the subject. ⚫︎ The tense of 割れます (present: 割れます, past: 割れました) indicates when the breaking occurred or the state of being broken.

⚫︎ The base form of the verb is 割れる (wareru). ⚫︎ The polite form is 割れます (waremasu). ⚫︎ It's written in hiragana as われます (waremasu) and uses the kanji 割 for the base form. ⚫︎ The okurigana is always れます (remasu) in the polite form.

⚫︎ 壊れます (kowaremasu): to break (generally), used for a wider range of objects and a wider range of damage. ⚫︎ 砕けます (kudakemasu): to shatter, crumble (into small pieces). ⚫︎ 破れます (yaburemasu): to tear, rip (more for flexible materials like paper).

⚫︎ 直ります (naorimasu): to be repaired, to be fixed. ⚫︎ 治ります (naorimasu): to be cured (for illness, more specific).

地震で、窓ガラスが割れました。 ・Translation: The window glass broke in the earthquake. ・Explanation: The sentence describes the passive breaking of the window glass as a result of the earthquake.

落としたら、陶器の器が割れちゃった。 ・Translation: When I dropped it, the ceramic dish broke. ・Explanation: This sentence explains that the ceramic dish broke after it was dropped. The use of ちゃった (chatta) shows regret.

The verb 割れる is derived from the verb 割る (waru), which means "to break," "to split," or "to divide." The passive form 割れる is created by the passive suffix ～れる (reru) being attached to the stem. The original meaning relates to breaking or splitting something into pieces. The kanji 割 itself originally meant "to split" or "to divide".