разбирать vs разобрать

razbirat' vs razobrat' — take apart/analyze vs take apart completely

What it really means

Разбирать is imperfective for taking something apart, sorting it, or analyzing it as an ongoing or repeated activity. Разобрать is perfective for completing that task, and it also means understand or decipher a specific item. The same aspect pair spans physical disassembly, organization, and comprehension.

Examples in natural speech

Мастер разбирает старый компьютер.
The technician is taking apart the old computer.
Нужно разобрать шкаф до вечера.
The wardrobe needs to be dismantled by evening.
Я разбираю документы по папкам.
I sort the documents into folders.
Ты разобрал, что он сказал?
Did you understand what he said?
Она хорошо разбирается в истории.
She knows a lot about history.

Common mistakes

Do not assume разобрать only means dismantle: разобрать почерк means decipher handwriting. The reflexive разбираться means understand/be knowledgeable or sort itself out, not simply “be taken apart.”

Memory tip

Разбирать opens and studies; разобрать finishes the opening or finally understands.

Frequently asked questions

What case follows разобрать in “understand”?

The object is usually accusative: разобрать текст, речь, почерк; a что-clause can state the content.

What does разбираться в mean?

It means be knowledgeable about a field, with в + prepositional: разбираться в технике.

Can разобрать mean sort out a problem?

Yes: разобрать ситуацию means analyze it thoroughly, while разобраться в ситуации means come to understand it.

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