Translation guide
How to express the idea of something physically breaking into small pieces, or metaphorically falling apart, in Japanese.
Describing something solid (like a cookie, wall, or rock) breaking into crumbs or fragments.
Describing abstract things like plans, hopes, or organizations falling apart.
Emphasizing disintegration into very fine particles.
To be smashed to pieces, crumble into powder. Very common.
乾いた土が粉々になった。
The dry soil crumbled to dust.
崩れる (kuzureru) is for things losing their shape and collapsing, like a wall or a pile. 砕ける (kudakeru) is for hard things breaking into sharp pieces, like glass. For food like cookies, both can work, but 砕ける is more about shattering, while 崩れる is about falling apart.
General verb for something collapsing, crumbling, or losing its shape. Works for walls, cliffs, piles of things, etc.
古い壁が崩れ始めた。
The old wall started crumbling.
地震で建物が崩れた。
The building crumbled in the earthquake.
To break into pieces, shatter. Often used for hard objects like glass, ice, or cookies.
クッキーが手の中で砕けた。
The cookie crumbled in my hand.
To become crumbly, tattered, or fall apart. Describes the resulting state.
このパンはぼろぼろになる。
This bread crumbles easily.
Adjective meaning brittle, fragile, crumbly. Describes a material's tendency to crumble.
この石はもろくて、すぐに崩れる。
This stone is crumbly and breaks apart easily.
Also used metaphorically for plans, balance, or order breaking down.
計画が崩れた。
The plan crumbled.
彼の希望は崩れ去った。
His hopes crumbled away.
Formal/literary term for complete collapse, like a roof tile falling apart. Used for organizations, governments, systems.
その組織は内部から瓦解した。
The organization crumbled from within.
Collapse, breakdown. Stronger than 崩れる, often for total destruction of systems or structures.
経済が崩壊した。
The economy crumbled.
Crumbling away in bits and pieces, often with a sense of gradual decay.
古い城壁がぼろぼろと崩れている。
The old castle walls are crumbling away.