กระดูกหัก

Explanation

กระดูกหัก consists of กระดูก “bone” and หัก “to break.” Its literal structure is therefore “a bone breaks” or “a bone is broken.” Although dictionaries commonly classify the whole expression as a noun meaning “bone fracture,” it is also frequently used as a predicate describing someone's condition, as in เขากระดูกหัก, “He broke a bone.” When the injured body part is clear, everyday Thai often omits กระดูก. For example, ขาหัก means “to break one's leg,” แขนหัก means “to break one's arm,” and นิ้วหัก means “to break a finger.” กระดูกแขนหัก explicitly states that an arm bone is broken.

Usage

It is commonly used when discussing fractures caused by falls, traffic accidents, or sports injuries. It also appears when describing symptoms at a hospital, reporting test results, or explaining the consequences of an accident.

Caution

Do not treat หัก as a transitive verb directly acting on the person. Thai normally says เขากระดูกหัก for “He broke a bone” or เขาขาหัก for “He broke his leg.” If the injury is specifically a crack rather than a complete break, กระดูกร้าว is more precise.

1 bone fracture synonyms

• กระดูกร้าว

  กระดูกร้าว means that a bone is cracked. กระดูกหัก is the broader everyday expression for a broken or fractured bone.

• กระดูกแตก

  กระดูกแตก often suggests that a bone has split or shattered. กระดูกหัก is the more general everyday term for a fracture.