瓦 礫

がれき

noun

rubble; debris; wreckage

1. rubble; debris; wreckage

The broken concrete, tiles, timber and other material left when a building collapses. Strongly associated with earthquakes, fires, and war damage.

瓦礫(がれき)を片付(かたづ)ける。

They clear away the rubble.

町(まち)は瓦礫(がれき)の山(やま)になっていた。

The town had been reduced to mountains of rubble.

救助隊(きゅうじょたい)は瓦礫(がれき)の下(した)に取(と)り残(のこ)された人(ひと)を探(さが)し続(つづ)けた。

The rescue team kept searching for people trapped under the rubble.

Written 瓦(が) (roof tile) + 礫(れき) (small stone), but very often written がれき in kana, including in newspaper headlines, because 礫(れき) is outside the common-use kanji list.

Common collocations

瓦礫(がれき)の山(やま): mountain of rubble
瓦礫(がれき)の下(した): under the rubble
瓦礫(がれき)撤去(てっきょ): debris removal
瓦礫(がれき)と化(か)す: to be reduced to rubble

Similar words

残骸(ざんがい): wreckage, remains — used of a single destroyed object such as a plane or a car
ゴミ: trash — ordinary refuse, with no sense of destruction

Related Words

Compare: 残骸(ざんがい) (wreckage, remains)

Compare: ゴミ (trash)

Compare: 散乱物(さんらんぶつ) (scattered objects)

Compare: 土石(どせき) (earth and stone)

general

Added 2026.8.9 12:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

30500/30524_gareki