あかつち
noun
red clay; red soil
1. red clay; red soil; reddish earth
Reddish-brown soil or clay colored by iron oxides. Common on volcanic terrain and used for pottery, bricks, and athletic-field surfaces.
この(あた)りは赤土(あかつち)(おお)い。
There is a lot of red soil around here.
(あめ)赤土(あかつち)がぬかるんで(ある)きにくい。
The rain has turned the red clay muddy and hard to walk on.
沖縄(おきなわ)赤土(あかつち)(あめ)(うみ)(なが)()し、サンゴに影響(えいきょう)(あた)える。
Okinawa's red soil washes into the sea with the rain and affects the coral.

Reddish soil colored by iron compounds, characteristic of volcanic regions such as the Kanto loam layer and Okinawa.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 赤土(あかつち)(みち): a red-clay road
  • 赤土(あかつち)(なが)()す: red soil washes out (erosion)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 粘土(ねんど): clay — defined by texture/plasticity rather than color
  • 土壌(どじょう): soil — a technical term for soil as a growing medium