- Basic forms
- 別れる — to separate; to part; break up / base form
- 別れます — separate; part / masu form
- 別れた — separated; parted / ta form
- 別れて — separate and …; part and … / te-form
- 別れない — do not separate / negative form
- 別れれば — if (they) separate / conditional
- 別れろ・別れよ — break up!; separate! (rare) / imperative
- Other common forms
- 別れたい — want to break up; want to part / 〜たい form
- 別れられる — can separate; be able to part / potential
- 別れられた — could separate (rare) / past potential
- 別れられない — cannot separate; cannot break up / negative potential
- More
- 別れよう — let’s part; let’s break up / 〜よう form
- 別れなかった — didn’t separate / past negative
- 別れている — are separated; have broken up / progressive/state
別れる(わかれる) is an ichidan verb. Drop る to add endings such as ます, た, て, ない. Used for parting ways (友だちと別れる), separating into groups (二つに別れる), or breaking up (恋人と別れる).
- 特別 — special
- 区別 — distinction / differentiation
- 別々 — separately / individually
- 別れ — parting / farewell
- 差別 — discrimination
More examples ▼
The kanji 別 combines 刀 (sword) with 另 (separate, another). The image is of cutting apart, which gave the meaning “to divide” or “to separate.” Over time, it came to express distinctions and also “special” in words like 特別.
