‘骨折’ (gǔ shé) literally means ‘bone break’ — ‘骨’ (gǔ) means ‘bone’, and ‘折’ (shé) means ‘to break’ or ‘to snap’. Together, they form a medical noun meaning ‘bone fracture’, referring to a partial or complete break in a bone caused by injury, disease, or aging. It is a formal, clinical term commonly used in hospitals, health reports, and conversations about injuries.

The word is neutral in register and appropriate for both spoken and written contexts — you’ll hear it from doctors, see it on medical forms, or use it when describing an accident. Unlike colloquial expressions like ‘骨头断了’ (gǔ tou duàn le), ‘骨折’ emphasizes the medical condition rather than just the physical event. It’s often paired with verbs like ‘发生’ (fā shēng, ‘to occur’), ‘造成’ (zào chéng, ‘to cause’), or ‘治疗’ (zhì liáo, ‘to treat’).