土木(どぼく)

どぼく
noun
civil engineering; construction work
1. civil engineering; construction work; earthworks
Engineering work involving the construction of roads, bridges, dams, and other infrastructure. Also refers broadly to construction and earthwork.
土木(どぼく)工事(こうじ)が始(はじ)まった。
The civil engineering work has started.
彼(かれ)は大学(だいがく)で土木(どぼく)工学(こうがく)を専攻(せんこう)している。
He is majoring in civil engineering at university.
地震(じしん)の後(あと)、道路(どうろ)や橋(はし)の復旧(ふっきゅう)のために大規模(だいきぼ)な土木(どぼく)工事(こうじ)が行(おこな)われた。
After the earthquake, large-scale civil engineering work was carried out to restore roads and bridges.

Composed of 土(ど) (earth, soil) + 木(ぼく) (wood, timber) — the two fundamental materials of traditional construction. In modern usage, it refers specifically to civil engineering as opposed to building construction (建築(けんちく)).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 土木(どぼく)工事(こうじ) (civil engineering work, construction work)
  • 土木(どぼく)工学(こうがく) (civil engineering as an academic discipline)
  • 土木(どぼく)作業(さぎょう) (construction labor)
  • 土木(どぼく)技術者(ぎじゅつしゃ) (civil engineer)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 建築(けんちく) — architecture, building construction (focuses on buildings)
  • 建設(けんせつ) — construction (broader term covering both civil engineering and building)
  • インフラ — infrastructure (loanword, refers to the completed systems rather than the engineering work)
general
Added 2026.3.30 4:21
20500/20599_doboku