Translation guide
A broken piece of a hard material like glass, pottery, or metal. In Japanese, the most common word is 破片 (hahen), but the specific term depends on the material and context.
Referring to a sharp, broken fragment of something brittle.
General term for a fragment or splinter of a broken object, especially glass, pottery, or metal. Safe for most contexts.
床にガラスの破片が落ちている。
There are shards of glass on the floor.
彼は陶器の破片で指を切った。
He cut his finger on a shard of pottery.
A more casual, everyday word for a fragment or piece. Often used for small, irregular pieces of broken objects.
コップの欠片が散らばっている。
Shards of the cup are scattered around.
Literary or technical term for a fragment, often implying something shattered into small pieces. Less common in daily speech.
爆発で建物の砕片が飛び散った。
Shards of the building flew everywhere after the explosion.
Emphasizing that the shard is made of glass.
Explicitly 'glass shard'. Use when the material is important.
ガラスの破片が足に刺さった。
A shard of glass got stuck in my foot.
A more compact compound meaning 'glass fragment'. Common in written descriptions.
事故現場にはガラス片が散乱していた。
Glass shards were scattered at the accident scene.
Specifically a broken piece of pottery, earthenware, or ceramic.
Standard term for a pottery shard, often used in archaeology or art contexts.
遺跡から古代の陶片が発掘された。
Ancient pottery shards were excavated from the ruins.
Everyday term for a piece of broken ceramic or earthenware. 瀬戸物 (setomono) is a common word for pottery.
瀬戸物の破片を踏んでしまった。
I stepped on a shard of pottery.
A sharp, broken piece of metal.
General term for a metal fragment or shard.
爆発で金属片が飛んできた。
Metal shards came flying from the explosion.
Specifically an iron or steel shard.
工事現場で鉄片を拾った。
I picked up a shard of iron at the construction site.
Using 'shard' metaphorically for a fragment of something abstract.
Used for fragments of memories, stories, or abstract concepts. Not for physical shards.
彼は記憶の断片を辿っていた。
He was piecing together shards of memory.
Can also be used figuratively for a small remnant of something abstract, like hope or light.
破片 is for hard, brittle materials like glass, metal, or pottery. For broken pieces of food, wood, or plastic, use かけら or more specific words like 木片 (wood fragment).
破片 is more formal and often implies sharp, dangerous fragments. かけら is casual and can be used for any small broken piece, including non-sharp ones. In everyday conversation, かけら is more common for small, harmless fragments.
Not even a shard of hope remains.