1.
wasteland; barren land; uncultivated land
Land that is abandoned, overgrown, or otherwise unsuitable for cultivation. Can refer to naturally barren terrain or formerly productive land that has fallen into disuse.
荒れ地を耕す。
To cultivate wasteland.
この辺りは昔荒れ地だった。
This area used to be wasteland.
放棄された農地が荒れ地になってしまった。
The abandoned farmland has turned into wasteland.
Composed of 荒れ (rough, wild — from the verb 荒れる) + 地 (land). Describes land that is wild, uncultivated, or deteriorated.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 荒れ地を耕す: to cultivate wasteland
- 荒れ地を開拓する: to reclaim wasteland
- 荒れ地になる: to become wasteland
- 荒れ地が広がる: wasteland spreads
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 不毛の地: barren land — emphasizes lack of productivity; also used figuratively
- 空き地: vacant lot — unused urban land, not necessarily barren
- 原野: wilderness, open field — natural uncultivated land; more neutral than 荒れ地
- 廃墟: ruins — abandoned buildings or structures, not just land
USAGE:
Also written as 荒地 without the okurigana. T.S. Eliot's famous poem "The Waste Land" is known in Japanese as 荒地. In modern Japan, the issue of abandoned farmland (耕作放棄地) becoming 荒れ地 is a growing social concern in rural areas.