残骸(ざんがい)

ざんがい
noun
wreckage; wreck; remains
change
1. wreckage; wreck; remains
What is left of something after it has been destroyed — a burned-out car, a crashed plane, a collapsed building. The word keeps the shape of the original object in view, so it suggests a recognizable wreck rather than formless debris.
車(くるま)の残骸(ざんがい)が残(のこ)っていた。
The wreckage of a car was left there.
火事(かじ)の後(あと)、家(いえ)は残骸(ざんがい)をさらしていた。
After the fire, the house stood there as a burned-out shell.
墜落(ついらく)した飛行機(ひこうき)の残骸(ざんがい)から、事故(じこ)の原因(げんいん)が調(しら)べられている。
The cause of the accident is being investigated from the wreckage of the crashed plane.

Also used figuratively for what survives of something abstract that has broken down, as in 帝国(ていこく)の残骸(ざんがい) (the remnants of an empire).

Common collocations

Similar words

Related Words

Related: 瓦礫(がれき) (rubble; formless debris)
Compare: 廃墟(はいきょ) (ruins)
Compare: 燃(も)え殻(がら) (cinders)
Compare: 散乱物(さんらんぶつ) (scattered objects)
general
Added 2026.8.10 9:22 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
30500/30528_zangai