break up和break down的区别

一、break up
break up的关键词是up,up有“散开”之意,朗文现代英语词典的解释是“used after some verbs to show that something is cut, broken etc into pieces or divided into parts”。所以,break up意为“使分开,使分解”,可以比喻“分手”等含义。例:
They broke up the big company into several smaller ones. 他们把这个大公司分解为三个小公司。(注:ones=companies)
相关词汇:
tear up,撕破,如:Why did you tear up the letter? 你为什么撕了这封信?
cup up,切碎,如:cut up the wood into small pieces 把这块木头砍成小块
二、break down
break down意为“出问题,出毛病,坏了”,可比喻为“不成功”等,如:
The car broke down just north of Paris. 车在巴黎以北坏了。
Negotiation broke down after only two days. 只过了两天谈判就出了问题。

break up 是分崩离析了，或者感情破裂了
break down是坏掉了，比如电器不工作了