# break



## Gavril

There are at least four Finnish verbs that (in my understanding) mean "break": _rikko(utu)a, mennä rikki, murtaa/murtua _and _särkyä_. I'm not sure how these verbs differ in meaning, except that I think _särkyä _is closer to "shatter" (i.e., moniksi paloiksi) than the other three. Can anyone help clarify?

Kiitos


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## Grumpy Old Man

My English dictionary gives 88 meanings for "break" as a verb. Some transitive uses:
_Hän rikkoi ikkunan. = He broke a/the window.
Hän katkaisi oksan. = He broke a twig.
Se mursi sydämeni. = It broke my heart. _("Murtaa" can be used in concrete meanings too.)

Intransitive uses:
_Maljakko särkyi. = The vase broke into pieces.(_You are right about _särkyä_.) 
_Automme meni rikki. = Our car broke down. _(We often say: _Autoomme tuli vika._)

There is no end as to how these Finnish verbs can be used just as there is no end to the various uses of _break_. Hopefully my examples will get you started.


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## Gavril

If you'll indulge me a little further, which of the following would have _murtua _in Finnish and which ones would have _rikkoutua _or similar? :
_
It broke into two separate pieces
It broke into three separate pieces
The bone broke in three places (but stayed intact)
_

K


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## Grumpy Old Man

If "it" is a rod, a javelin or something similar in shape, we say:

_Se katkesi [kahdeksi osaksi]. _
The part in square brackets is totally unnecessary since a Finn understands the sentence correctly without it. If a rod breaks into more than two pieces, you need a numeral to indicate that: 
_Se katkesi kolmeksi osaksi. _Or:  _Se katkesi kolmeen osaan._

For your last sentence you need _murtua: Luu murtui kolmesta kohdasta._


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## Gavril

In general, would it be fair to say that

_särkyä _= "break into (two or more) separate pieces"
_murtua / murtaa _= "break (while staying/keeping intact)"
_rikko(utu)a = _"break" in all senses (including "stop working")

?

I'm not including _katketa_ / _katkoa _in this list, but it seems fairly close to English _snap (off, _etc.).


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## Grumpy Old Man

All your definitions apply in many cases, at least if we talk about a bone or something similar. I can think of cases in which these verbs are used differently from your definitions, though. For example:

_Berliinin muuri murtui vuonna 1989.

_As the Berlin Wall was brought down, I'm sure there were millions of pieces.


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