Korean Words for "Broken": 고장 나다, 깨지다, 부러지다

Quick answer: There is no single Korean word for "broken." Use 고장 나다 (gojang nada) for machines and devices that stopped working, 깨지다 (kkaejida) for glass, ceramic and phone screens, 부러지다 for long stiff things that snap (bones, pencils), and 망가지다 for anything that's been wrecked and no longer works right. "My phone is broken" is 휴대폰이 고장 났어요; "my screen is cracked" is 액정이 깨졌어요.

English lets you be lazy. The TV is broken, the cup is broken, my arm is broken, the zipper is broken — one word covers all of it. Korean makes you say how it broke, and if you pick the wrong verb, the sentence doesn't just sound off, it paints a strange picture. Say 에어컨이 깨졌어요 and a Korean listener imagines your air conditioner lying on the floor in pieces.

Here's the one idea to take away: choose the verb by the way the object failed, not by the object itself.

고장 나다 — it stopped working

This is for anything with moving parts, electricity or a function: appliances, cars, elevators, vending machines, laptops. The object may look perfectly fine. It just doesn't do its job anymore.

Note the spacing — 고장 나다 is written as two words.

에어컨이 고장 났어요. — The air conditioner is broken.

세탁기가 고장 나서 빨래를 못 했어요. — The washing machine broke, so I couldn't do laundry.

엘리베이터가 고장 났어요. 계단으로 가야 해요. — The elevator is out of order. We have to take the stairs.

If you caused it, the transitive partner is 고장 내다: 제가 복사기를 고장 냈어요 — I broke the copier.

깨지다 — it cracked or shattered

Hard, brittle things: glass, ceramic, mirrors, eggs, phone screens.

설거지하다가 컵이 깨졌어요. — The cup broke while I was washing dishes.

휴대폰 액정이 깨졌어요. — My phone screen is cracked.

The transitive form is 깨다 (or 깨뜨리다): 제가 접시를 깼어요 — I broke a plate. A cracked screen is one of the most common reasons learners walk into a shop in Korea, so it pairs naturally with knowing how to ask about a refund or exchange.

부러지다 — it snapped in two

Long, stiff things that break across: bones, pencils, branches, chopsticks, heels.

넘어져서 손목이 부러졌어요. — I fell and broke my wrist.

연필이 부러졌어요. — The pencil snapped.

Transitive: 부러뜨리다. 동생이 제 연필을 부러뜨렸어요 — My younger sibling snapped my pencil.

A bone is never 깨지다 in everyday speech and never 고장 나다. 다리가 부러졌어요 is the sentence you want.

망가지다 — it got wrecked

The broadest one. 망가지다 covers things that got bent, crushed, worn out or otherwise ruined to the point of being unusable — bags, umbrellas, toys, furniture, zippers, shoes. It overlaps a little with 고장 나다 for electronics, but 망가지다 suggests physical damage, while 고장 나다 is about function.

가방 지퍼가 망가졌어요. — The zipper on my bag is broken.

바람이 너무 세서 우산이 망가졌어요. — The wind was so strong my umbrella got wrecked.

Transitive: 망가뜨리다. 제가 의자를 망가뜨렸어요 — I broke the chair.

찢어지다 — it tore

Paper, cloth, plastic bags, packaging.

봉투가 찢어졌어요. — The bag tore.

청바지가 무릎에서 찢어졌어요. — My jeans tore at the knee.

Transitive: 찢다. 종이를 찢었어요 — I tore the paper.

끊어지다 — it snapped apart (string, line, connection)

For things shaped like a line: rope, necklace chains, shoelaces, and also phone calls and internet connections.

목걸이 줄이 끊어졌어요. — The chain on my necklace snapped.

통화 중에 전화가 끊겼어요. — The call cut off in the middle.

The active verb 끊다 means to cut something off on purpose — and it sits in a whole family of Korean words for cutting that split up what English calls "cut."

안 돼요 / 안 켜져요 — it's just not working

Sometimes you don't know what's wrong, and you don't need to. Koreans very often say simply that it doesn't work.

인터넷이 안 돼요. — The internet isn't working.

불이 안 켜져요. — The light won't turn on.

리모컨이 안 돼요. — The remote isn't working.

This is the safest sentence in the article. If you can't decide between 고장 나다 and 망가지다, 안 돼요 is natural and never wrong. 켜지다 and 꺼지다 are the "it turns on / it goes off by itself" partners of the turn-on and turn-off verbs 켜다 and 끄다.

The pairs you should learn together

Korean separates "it broke" from "someone broke it" with two different verbs. English uses one word for both (the cup broke / I broke the cup), so this is the part learners skip — and it's the part that makes you sound fluent.

Why Koreans say "it broke" even when they broke it

Here's the nuance a dictionary won't tell you. When something breaks and the speaker is responsible, Korean very often still uses the intransitive verb. You drop a plate at a friend's house and you say:

어떡해요, 접시가 깨졌어요. — Oh no, the plate broke.

Saying 제가 접시를 깼어요 is perfectly grammatical, and you would use it when you're owning up to it clearly — apologizing to a shop owner, telling your boss. But in casual conversation, the "it broke" version is softer. It reports the damage without putting a spotlight on who did it. This is the same instinct behind so many Korean sentences that leave out 'I' and 'you': the situation is stated, the person stays quietly in the background.

One more thing. For food, none of these verbs work. Spoiled food is 상하다: 우유가 상했어요 — The milk has gone bad.

FAQ

How do you say "my phone is broken" in Korean?

It depends on what's wrong with it. If the phone won't turn on or has stopped functioning, say 휴대폰이 고장 났어요. If the screen is cracked, say 액정이 깨졌어요. If you just mean something isn't responding right now, 휴대폰이 안 돼요 works and is very common.

What's the difference between 깨지다 and 부러지다?

깨지다 is for brittle things that crack or shatter into pieces — glass, mugs, mirrors, screens. 부러지다 is for long stiff things that snap in two across their length — bones, pencils, tree branches, chopsticks. A bone is always 부러지다, never 깨지다 in ordinary conversation.

How do you say "I broke it" in Korean?

Use the transitive partner: 제가 깼어요 (glass), 제가 부러뜨렸어요 (something stiff), 제가 망가뜨렸어요 (an object), 제가 고장 냈어요 (a machine). But know that Koreans often prefer the softer 깨졌어요 / 망가졌어요 unless they are deliberately taking responsibility.

Practice

Fill in the blank with the right verb in 해요체 past tense.

1. 어제 넘어져서 손목이 _____. (I fell yesterday and broke my wrist.)
2. 설거지하다가 접시가 _____. (A plate broke while I was washing dishes.)
3. 노트북이 _____. 그래서 수리를 맡겼어요. (My laptop broke. So I sent it in for repair.)
4. 바람이 너무 세서 우산이 _____. (The wind was so strong my umbrella got wrecked.)
5. 가방에 넣어 둔 종이가 _____. (The paper I put in my bag got torn.)

Answers

1. 부러졌어요
2. 깨졌어요
3. 고장 났어요
4. 망가졌어요
5. 찢어졌어요