荒(あ)れ地(ち)

Composed of 荒(あ)れ (rough, wild — from the verb 荒(あ)れる) + 地(ち) (land). Describes land that is wild, uncultivated, or deteriorated.

Common collocations

• 荒(あ)れ地(ち)を耕(たがや)す: to cultivate wasteland
• 荒(あ)れ地(ち)を開拓(かいたく)する: to reclaim wasteland
• 荒(あ)れ地(ち)になる: to become wasteland
• 荒(あ)れ地(ち)が広(ひろ)がる: wasteland spreads

Similar words

• 不毛(ふもう)の地(ち): barren land — emphasizes lack of productivity; also used figuratively
• 空(あ)き地(ち): vacant lot — unused urban land, not necessarily barren
• 原野(げんや): wilderness, open field — natural uncultivated land; more neutral than 荒(あ)れ地(ち)
• 廃墟(はいきょ): ruins — abandoned buildings or structures, not just land

Usage

Also written as 荒地(あれち) without the okurigana. T.S. Eliot's famous poem "The Waste Land" is known in Japanese as 荒地(あれち). In modern Japan, the issue of abandoned farmland (耕作放棄地(こうさくほうきち)) becoming 荒(あ)れ地(ち) is a growing social concern in rural areas.