(でんちゅう)

でんちゅう
noun
utility pole; telephone pole
building
1. utility pole; telephone pole
A tall wooden or concrete pole used to support overhead power lines and telephone cables. A common feature of Japanese streets and neighborhoods.
電柱(でんちゅう)(くるま)ぶつかった
A car crashed into a utility pole.
この(とお)電柱(でんちゅう)(おお)すぎる。
There are too many utility poles on this street.
The city is promoting the undergrounding of utility poles to improve the landscape.

Usage

Utility poles are a distinctive feature of Japanese cityscapes. In recent years, there has been a movement to bury power lines underground (無電柱化(むでんちゅうか) or 電柱(でんちゅう)地中化(ちちゅうか)) to improve aesthetics and disaster resilience. The word covers both power poles and telephone poles.

Common collocations

  • 電柱(でんちゅう)地中化(ちちゅうか) (undergrounding of utility poles)
  • 電柱(でんちゅう)ぶつかる (to crash into a pole)
  • 電柱(でんちゅう)() (a pole stands)