How to say "cliff" in Japanese

• 崖がけJLPT N1approx.Common
  nounThe general word for a cliff of any size or shape; use it whenever you simply mean 'a cliff', as in talking about falling from one or a house standing near the edge.
  その崖がけは道路どうろの上うえに突き出つきでている。↗

  The cliff hangs over the road.
• 断崖だんがいCommon
  nounEmphasizes a sheer, abruptly dropping cliff — a precipice; it is also the natural choice for 'bluff'. Picture a dramatic coastline or mountainside where the land falls away almost vertically.
  断崖だんがいのてっぺんに古ふるい城しろが立たっている。↗

  An old castle stands on top of the cliff.
• 絶壁ぜっぺきCommon
  nounDepicts a cliff as a sheer, wall-like rock face; it is the word that stresses the vertical stone surface itself, as of a towering rock wall on a mountain.

Use 崖 as the all-purpose word for a cliff; pick 断崖 to stress a sheer, dramatic drop (it also covers 'bluff'), and 絶壁 for a steep, wall-like rock face.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 崖がけcliff
• 断崖だんがいprecipice
• 絶壁ぜっぺきprecipice
• クリフcliff
• 切り岸きりぎしsteep bank
• 断岩だんがんprecipice