掲示板 Forums - Remembering 割る and 割れる and 分ける and 別れる?

A way to separate them could be how they are used

Like

割る seems to be saying divide like just by itself or a definition of itself

割れる kinda feels like how shattering glass sounds, like it feels sharp so might be used in a more extreme form shattering??
分ける has ke sound which reminds me 分け前/わけまえ, like cutting things neatly to share

別れる I think may be separating clothes, state A separated from state B, they separated from the head family.. something like that maybe?

I don't know if its right or makes sense but thats what the difference seems like to me.

I'm not sure if this will help you with remembering necessarily but it might help with keeping track of the meanings :)

First, we must establish that all these verbs belong to an interconnected semantic field dealing with division/separation. Their core meaning can be traced back all the way to proto-Japanese. I will spare you the details and cut right to the chase here by showing the semantic layers through both their usage patterns and kanji meanings:

割る/割れる (waru/wareru) - 割

• Physical: Most concrete meaning - physical breaking, splitting, cracking
• Kanji composition: 害 (harm or injury) + 刀 (blade)
• Used for: Breaking glass, splitting wood, cracking eggs (but also abstract as for division of numbers, percentages (割合)
  

分ける/分かる (wakeru/wakaru) - 分

• Physical: Division of physical objects, sorting items (you can imagine this like a cake being cut in equal slices; non violent connotation; sharing)
• Kanji composition: 八 (eight or separate) + 刀 (blade)
• Used for: Distributing items, sectioning spaces

Abstract uses are mostly:

• wakeru: Categorization, classification, distinction
• wakaru: Understanding (cognitive separation/distinction; Complexity is broken down in your mind to make sense)
  

-Now things get interesting-

別れる/別る (wakareru/wakaru) - 別

• Physical: Physical separation of previously connected things (a connection was in place before)
• Kanji composition: 刂(knife) + 口 (mouth) - historically showing splitting/distinction and the mouth part adds a sense of humanity and between human bonds to it
• Used for: Physical parting of ways, connections

Important:

• Strongest social/emotional implications
• Parting from people (お別れ)
• Divorce (別れる) (or getting dumped by someone)
• Emotional weight reflected in terms like 別れ

In short:

• 割: Stays mostly in physical domain
• 分: Bridges physical and abstract (especially cognitive) domains
• 別: Strongest in social/emotional domain
  

The Kanji reflect this:

• 割: Focus on physical cutting/division
• 分: Emphasis on branching/distinction
• 別: Emphasis on separation/distinctness

You may be able to use a mnemonic that builds on the Kanji. I personally see 割る/わる and 割れる/われる very rarely.