山火事(やまかじ)

山火事(やまかじ) refers to an uncontrolled fire that spreads through mountainous or forested terrain, typically caused by drought, lightning, or human carelessness. It is the everyday word for wildfires and forest fires in Japanese, while the more formal equivalent is 森林(しんりん)火災(かさい).

Etymology

A compound of 山(やま) (mountain) + 火事(かじ) (fire).

Common collocations

• 山火事(やまかじ)が発生(はっせい)する: a wildfire breaks out
• 山火事(やまかじ)を消(け)す: to extinguish a wildfire
• 山火事(やまかじ)が広(ひろ)がる: a wildfire spreads

Related words

• 火事(かじ): fire (general)
• 森林(しんりん)火災(かさい): forest fire (formal term)
• 野火(のび): brushfire, grass fire