roto vs quebrado

Question

What is the difference between roto and quebrado? How to use each one.

thanks for the answers! thats what i was thinking. we recently had a garage sale and i told a family looking at the cupboard that it was "roto". one of the ladies called to a man and asked him if he saw that it was "quebrado". just wondering why :) - alicia8, Sep 2, 2010

Answer 1

welcome to the forum ;

roto means : broken, torn , destoroyed...

Broken chair , something that is not working etc.

quebrado means : rough, uneven, broken(literature)

Quebrado, entrecortado ( emotionally )

Answer 2

roto: de romper broken, smashed, vestido; torn, ragged, hole, piece,worn part vida; shattered, destroyed,wasted estar ROTO de cansancio; to be exhausted debauched, dissipated southern part of America; cono sur...bad-mannered, ppor wretch, down-and-out

quebrado terreno; broken, rough, uneven linea irregular; zigzag de color....pale tez; pallid medical; ruptured financial; bankrupt mathematics; fraction

Hope all this helps!

Answer 3

The dictionary on this site gives a pretty clear distinction between the two if you read the entries. How are you seeing them as meaning the same thing? Can you explain a bit more?

The questions is probably because both words are translated into English as "broken". - arty8, Dec 3, 2015