壊す vs 折るｩ

[pacerier]

Heys all, i was wondering what may be the differences between the usage of 壊す vs 折る, and if i were to say "I broke his computer" which verb would be more appropriate?

 

[Mike Cash]

The former means to break something in the sense of damaging or destroying it. The damage may or may not be visible to the eye. For example, you could 壊す the computer by spilling coffee inside it.

The latter has a more specific usage and refers to either folding something (such as a sheet of paper) or physically breaking/snapping into two or more pieces. For example, breaking a bone.

 

[pacerier]

heys thanks for the reply. btw if my arm is dislocated (aka i broke my arm) is 折る the correct verb to use (but of course my arm is not really broken in a way that it is folded in two), or is 壊す more appropriate?

 

[Mike Cash]

heys thanks for the reply. btw if my arm is dislocated (aka i broke my arm) is 折る the correct verb to use (but of course my arm is not really broken in a way that it is folded in two), or is 壊す more appropriate?

If the bone is broken, then use 折る. If the joint is dislocated, use 脱臼 (だっきゅう).

Also, as with so many other verb pairs, be aware of the need to distinguish between transitive/intransitive verbs. For example: 壊す/ 壊れる

 

[pacerier]

ok thanks for the help!