'Broke' in Spanish: How to Translate It Correctly for Money, Objects, and News
By Chloe Bennett
The grammatical boundary separating roto vs quebrado creates constant friction for non-native speakers attempting broken object translation. Both words function as past participles of transitive verbs (romper and quebrar), yet native speakers do not treat them as interchangeable synonyms.
Roto is the past participle of the irregular verb romper. It acts as the default Spanish term for anything that is torn, cracked, worn out, or non-functional. If an appliance abruptly halts operation, Spanish speakers declare it roto or, more formally, descompuesto:
- El televisor está roto. (The television is broken / out of order.)
- Se me rompió el pantalón. (My pants tore.)
- Tengo el corazón roto. (I have a broken heart.)
Quebrado derives from the regular verb quebrar. It applies almost exclusively to rigid, brittle materials that fracture under pressure, such as bones, hardwood, slate, or thick glass. If someone trips on an uneven sidewalk and snaps an arm, a physician describes the limb as un brazo quebrado (or fracturado).
Applying quebrado to a broken computer or a torn sheet of printer paper sounds fundamentally incorrect across the Spanish-speaking world. A car engine cannot be quebrada; it is descompuesta or arruinada.
| English Context | Accurate Spanish Equivalent | Regional or Stylistic Variance | Common Translation Trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financially Broke (Informal) | Estar sin dinero / sin un centavo | Andar bruja (Mexico)Estar sin blanca (Spain)Estar pelado (Colombia/Chile) | Using estoy roto, which means "I am physically exhausted" or "hungover." |
| Legally Bankrupt | En bancarrota / En quiebra | Universal across judicial and corporate filings | Confusing legal insolvency with temporary liquidity loss. |
| Mechanically Broken (Appliance/Car) | Descompuesto / Averiado / Roto | Averiado preferred in Peninsular Spain; descompuesto in Latin America | Translating literally as quebrado, which native speakers reject for engines. |
| Broken Bones or Rigid Glass | Quebrado / Fracturado | Roto works informally; fracturado for clinical diagnosis | Using descompuesto on solid, non-mechanical items. |
| Breaking a Record (Sports/Music) | Romper récords / Batir récords | Batir is heavily favored in journalistic journalism and sports media | Translating as quebrar récords, which sounds clumsy in print. |
| Burglary / Break-In | Forzar la entrada / Allanamiento | Allanamiento de morada (Legal term)Entrar a robar (Street term) | Attempting direct phrasing like romper adentro, which has no meaning. |
Chloe Bennett explores the intersection of pop culture, streaming entertainment, digital trends, and contemporary lifestyle. Her weekly commentary reaches thousands of culture enthusiasts.
