Romper vs. Quebrar

[laepelba]

Here are a couple more verbs for you, Perikles.

Differences? Similarities? Nuances?

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Here are a couple more verbs for you, Perikles.

Differences? Similarities? Nuances?

Generally speaking, quebrar is something like glass or some kind of surface, that breaks.

on the contrary if it is a toold that you are hanlding like a wrench and say you exert force on it and the handle breaks that's romper.

Difficult to explain, but that's more or less how I use it.

Also when an engine breaks, that for me is "echar a perder"

[laepelba]

So, would it be okay to consider (generally speaking) that "quedar" is more passive (something breaks), while "romper" is more active (someone breaks something)? Thanks, Chileno!

[JPablo]

Probably that's right, in the case of the "romperse" or "quebrarse" (as more pasive than "romper/quebrar")

I give you the examples from Oxford bilingual, if that helps. (I put few bracketed translations of my own... but if you have any question on the examples, let us know...)
quebrar
1 (esp AmL)
a ‹ lápiz/palo › [pencil/stick] to snap
b ‹ vaso/plato › [glass/plate] (romper) to break; (rajar) to crack
c ‹ diente ›(tooth) to chip
2 (AmL) ‹ cartulina › [card] to crease
3 (México fam) (matar) to kill, cut … down (colloq)

quebrar vi
1 (Company) « empresa » to go bankrupt, fail, go into liquidation; « persona » to go bankrupt
2 a (cambiar de dirección) to turn
b (mover las caderas) to sway at the hips
3 (AmC) (romper una relación) to break up; quebrar CON algn to break up WITH sb
quebrarse v pron
1 (esp AmL)
a « lápiz/rama » to snap
b « vaso/plato » (romperse) to break; (rajarse) to crack
c (refl) ‹ pierna/brazo › to break; se quebró un diente he chipped a tooth
2 (Col) (arruinarse) to go bankrupt

romper vt
1 a ‹ taza › to break; ‹ ventana › to break, smash; ‹ lápiz/cuerda › to break, snap; ‹ juguete/radio/silla › to
break
b ‹ hoja/póster › (rasgar) to tear; (en varios pedazos) to tear up
c ‹ camisa › to tear, split
2 a ‹ silencio/monotonía › to break; ‹ tranquilidad › to disturb
b ‹ promesa/pacto › to break; ‹ relaciones/compromiso › to break off

romper vi
1 a « olas » to break
b (liter) « alba/día » to break; « flores » to open, burst open, come out; salimos al romper el día = we left at daybreak o at the crack of dawn
c (empezar): cuando rompa el hervor = when it reaches boiling point, when it comes to the boil o starts to boil;
romper A + INF = to begin o start to + INF; rompió a llorar/reír she burst into tears/burst out laughing; romper EN algo: romper en llanto to burst into tears; romper en sollozos to break into sobs, to start sobbing
2 « novios » to break up o split up; romper CON algn ‹ con un novio › to split o break up WITH sb; ‹ con un amigo › to fall out WITH sb; romper CON algo ‹ con el pasado › to break WITH sth; ‹ con una tradición › to break away FROM sth, break WITH sth; hay que romper con esas viejas creencias we have to break away
from those old beliefs; este verso rompe con la estructura general del poema this verse departs from the general structure of the poem; de rompe y rasga: me lo dijo así, de rompe y rasga he told me like that, straight out (colloq); no se puede decidir así de rompe y rasga you can’t just decide like that on the spur of the moment; mujeres de rompe y rasga strong-minded women
3 (RPl vulg) (molestar) to bug (colloq)
romperse v pron
a « vaso/plato » to break, smash, get broken o smashed; « papel » to tear, rip, get torn o ripped; «televisor/lavadora/ascensor » (RPl) to break down
b « pantalones/zapatos » to wear out; se me rompieron los calcetines por el talón my socks have worn through o gone through at the heel
c ‹ brazo/pierna/muñeca › to break; se rompió el tobillo = he broke his ankle
d (RPl fam) (esforzarse): no te rompas demasiado don’t kill yourself (colloq); no se rompieron mucho con el regalo = they didn’t go to a lot of trouble or expense over the gift (colloq)

[laepelba]

Thanks, Ookami ... are there situations in which one is used more often than another?

Whoops - Pablo, you and I clicked "submit" at the same time. I will go back and read your thread, and the moderators will probably have to merge my back-to-back posts.

So, Pablo - it almost sounds like "quebrar" can be used for something that could potentially be put back together or mended, where as "romper" would be used for something destroyed by its breakage...?

[JPablo]

Mmmm... (I thought I had seen Ookami's post with the DRAE definitions... but he may be modifying it?)
As he said both terms are very close synonyms... I believe "romper" is more general term with more usages... but in the case of a "plate" or a "glass"... it seems hard to put back together any way...

[laepelba]

Yeah - where did that post go? Ookami???

[Perikles]

I think the above covers it all without my dictionary.

[laepelba]

Don't worry, Sir Perikles, I have many more verb-y questions for your dictionary.