As ccc pointed out, break light bulb has 2 filaments. 1 for normal brightness, and another 1 for extra brightness when braking.
One of the filament burned, which cause it does not light up during normal operation. The second filament still not burned yet, therefore you still see light when you braking.
The normal filament is the one that has shorter life span because it is on whenever you turn on your light. Therefore, it is common that is burn first.
Please replace the bulb. It is illegal to operate a car with burn light bulb