別れる To Separate

Meaning

Primary

To Separate

Alternatives

To Be Divided, To Part From, To Break Up

Word Type

intransitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means separate, so you can guess the meaning is to separate or to be divided.

Reading

わかれる

Explanation

Remember the word 分ける? That word means "to separate" too. The reading is similar, though not the same, but we can at least use it as a jumping off point. We go from わける to わかれる. It's like we've "separated" the け and the る and combined them in the middle. け, making a かれ, which gets you to わかれる.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 〜別れる

  すぐ別れる

  will break up immediately, will break up soon

  もう別れる

  will break up soon, will part ways soon

  さっぱり別れる

  to break up completely

• 〜に別れる

  二つに別れる

  to split in two

  グループに別れる

  to separate into groups

  きれいに別れる

  to have a clean breakup

• 〜と別れる

  家族と別れる

  to part with one's family

  仲間と別れる

  to part with one's friends

  友人と別れる

  to part with a friend

Context Sentences

別れるのはイヤ！

I don't want to break up!

先月、彼氏と別れました。

I broke up with my boyfriend last month.

え、なんで別れたの？

Wait, why did you break up?

Kanji Composition

1. 別

   べつ Separate