gebrochene

Gebrochene is a German adjective formed from the past participle gebrochen of the verb brechen. It describes something that has been fractured or broken, either in a physical sense (a bone, glass, a chair) or in a figurative sense (a relationship, a system).

As an attributive adjective, gebrochene agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case. With a definite article or determiner that triggers the weak declension, the singular forms are typically gebrochene across genders in common contexts: der gebrochene Arm, die gebrochene Hand, das gebrochene Bein. In plural, the form changes to gebrochenen: die gebrochenen Knochen, die gebrochenen Gläser. With an indefinite article, the endings differ: ein gebrochenes Bein, eine gebrochene Schulter, ein gebrochener Arm.

Predicative use uses the short form gebrochen: Das Glas ist gebrochen. Here the participle functions as a predicate adjective and does not take the attributive endings.

Common contexts and nuances: physically damaged objects (glas, knochen, equipment), as in medical or everyday language, or metaphorically, such as gebrochene Beziehungen, gebrochene Versprechen, the sense of something damaged or impaired beyond simple function. The term is widely used across domains including medicine, engineering, and literature, as well as in discussions of music or art where gebrochene Akkorde (broken chords) or other figurative phrases may appear.

See also: Brechen (verb), Bruch (fracture), gebrochene Formen in grammar.