決 壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)

けっかいぐち

noun

breach (in a levee or embankment); break point

1. breach in a levee, dike, or embankment; the point where a barrier has given way

The physical gap where a levee, dike, or other water-retaining structure has collapsed under pressure, allowing water to flow through. Appears often in disaster and flood reporting, especially after heavy rain or typhoons in Japan.

決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)を塞(ふさ)ぐ。

To block the breach in the levee.

決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)から大量(たいりょう)の水(みず)が町(まち)に流(なが)れ込(こ)んだ。

A large volume of water poured into the town from the breach.

台風(たいふう)の影響(えいきょう)で堤防(ていぼう)に決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)が生(しょう)じ、周辺(しゅうへん)の住民(じゅうみん)は避難(ひなん)を余儀(よぎ)なくされた。

A breach formed in the embankment because of the typhoon, forcing nearby residents to evacuate.

Compound of 決壊(けっかい) ('collapse, bursting — of an embankment or levee') + 口(ぐち) ('opening, mouth'). The second element reads as 'ぐち' (rendaku from くち) because it is the second element of a compound. A term almost exclusive to flood and disaster reporting.

Common collocations

決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)を塞(ふさ)ぐ: to plug/block the breach
決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)から水(みず)が流(なが)れ込(こ)む: water flows in through the breach
決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)を修復(しゅうふく)する: to repair the breach
決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)が広(ひろ)がる: the breach widens
決壊(けっかい)口(ぐち)が生(しょう)じる: a breach forms/arises

Related words

決壊(けっかい): (noun/する-verb) collapse or bursting of a levee or embankment
堤防(ていぼう): levee, embankment, dike
土(ど)のう: sandbag — commonly used to block a breach
氾濫(はんらん): flooding; overflowing of a river
浸水(しんすい): flooding, inundation (of an area with water)
越水(えっすい): water overtopping a levee (without breaking it) — contrast with 決壊(けっかい)

Usage

Highly specialized to flood-disaster contexts. Heard frequently on NHK disaster bulletins and in newspaper coverage of typhoon damage.

Related Words

Related: 堤防(ていぼう) (levee, embankment, dike)

Related: 氾濫(はんらん) (flooding)

Related: 浸水(しんすい) (flooding, inundation)

general

Added 2026.4.15 3:04 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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