折る

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 折る, read おる, describes applying force to fold or break something.
• Basic usage: The object determines the sense, as in folding paper or breaking a branch.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Folding and breaking
  • 手紙を折る means folding a letter, while 枝を折る means breaking a branch.
• Relation to 折れる
  • 枝を折る describes someone breaking a branch; 枝が折れる describes the branch breaking. Both may use ‘break’ in English, but Japanese distinguishes the two verbs.