折れる|おれるoreru[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
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Definitions
- ichidan verb, intransitive verbto break; to be broken; to snap; to fracture
- ichidan verb, intransitive verbto be folded
- ichidan verb, intransitive verbto give in; to back down; to yield; to submit
- ichidan verb, intransitive verbto turn (a corner)
Conjugation
| Dictionary form | 折れる（おれる） |
|---|---|
| Polite (masu) | 折れます（おれます） |
| Negative (nai) | 折れない（おれない） |
| polite (masen) | 折れません（おれません） |
| classical zu / nu | 折れず・折れぬ（おれず・おれぬ） |
| Past (ta) | 折れた（おれた） |
| polite (mashita) | 折れました（おれました） |
| Past negative (nakatta) | 折れなかった（おれなかった） |
| polite (masen deshita) | 折れませんでした（おれませんでした） |
| Te form | 折れて（おれて） |
| Potential | 折れられる（おれられる） |
| Passive | 折れられる（おれられる） |
| Causative | 折れさせる（おれさせる） |
| Causative passive | 折れさせられる（おれさせられる） |
| Conditional (ba) | 折れれば（おれれば） |
| tara | 折れたら（おれたら） |
| Volitional | 折れよう（おれよう） |
| polite (mashou) | 折れましょう（おれましょう） |
| Imperative | 折れろ（おれろ） |
Common forms generated by rule; see the senses for honorific or irregular usage.
Transitive / intransitive pair
枝が折れる
枝を折る
折れる presents the breaking as something that happens to the subject (e.g., a branch snapping), while 折る describes an agent actively breaking something.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Synonyms & antonyms
- SynonymきれるNeutralString-like things coming apart, e.g. 「ひもが切れる」; the focus is on severing, not necessarily on bending.
- Synonym屈するくっするWrittenWritten style for yielding or bowing to pressure, matching the give-in sense of 「折れる」; in speech, 「折れる」 is the usual word for giving in.
- Related割れるわれるNeutralHard objects splitting into pieces, e.g. 「皿が割れる」; 「折れる」 is for long thin things snapping, and also for bending or giving in.
- Related破れるやぶれるNeutralAs 「破れる」, it means bursting or splitting open; it also covers divisions in opinions or votes, e.g. 「票が割れる」. 「折れる」 is for long thin things snapping or giving in.
- RelatedしなるWrittenSame meaning as 「撓う」: bending elastically under force without snapping, e.g. 「枝がしなる」; 「折れる」 is for snapping, folding, or turning.
- RelatedしなうWrittenWritten style: bending elastically without breaking, e.g. 「竹がしなう」; different from the snapping of 「折れる」.
- Related折損せっそんFormalFormal term for mechanical parts or equipment snapping, e.g. 「部品の折損」; 「折れる」 is an everyday native word not limited in what it describes.
- Antonym頑なかたくなWrittenWritten style; the opposite of the give-in sense of 「折れる」 — stubbornly refusing to yield.
- Antonym曲がらないNeutralNegative form meaning not bending; contrasts with the bending sense of 「折れる」, and can figuratively mean refusing to give in.
Use 「折れる」 for long thin things snapping, bending, or giving in. For hard objects shattering use 「割れる」, for strings being severed 「切れる」, for bending without breaking 「しなる」, for parts breaking 「折損」, for yielding in writing 「屈する」, for stubbornness 「頑な」.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese definitions
Kanji in this word
English equivalents
See also
