下水道|げすいどうgesuidou[2]nakadaka (mid-high)
This browser can't play pronunciations (needs Safari 18.4 or later, or Chrome / Edge / Firefox).
- nounsewer; sewer system; sewerage; drain
- Synonym下水げすいNeutralNeutral. The wastewater from homes and businesses, or drainage facilities; 「下水道」 refers specifically to the sewage system.
- Synonym下水管げすいかんNeutralNeutral. The pipe itself that carries sewage; 「下水道」 covers the pipes plus the treatment facilities.
- Synonym下水溝げすいこうWrittenWritten/formal prose. A ditch or channel dug in the ground to drain water; 「下水道」 is the full system of pipes, channels and treatment facilities.
- RelatedどぶCasualColloquial. An open, often smelly gutter or ditch for dirty water, or ditches generally; 「下水道」 is the whole sewage system with treatment facilities.
- Antonym上水道じょうすいどうWrittenWritten/formal prose. The waterworks that supply drinking water — the counterpart to 「下水道」, which handles sewage.
Use 「下水道」 for a city's sewage system. 「下水」 is the wastewater itself, 「下水管」 the pipes, 「溝」 an open roadside gutter, 「下水溝」 a drainage ditch in formal prose, and 「上水道」 the opposing water-supply system.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only


