断崖|だんがいdangai[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounprecipice; cliff; bluff
   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.

• Synonym絶壁ぜっぺきNeutralNeutral word for a sheer cliff; stresses a face as straight and vertical as a wall. Synonymous with 「断崖」, and the two often pair as 「断崖絶壁」.
• Synonym崖がけNeutralThe everyday word for a cliff, by far the most common; also figurative for the edge of danger, as in 「崖っぷち」.
• Synonym懸崖けんがいWrittenWritten and rare; stresses a cliff that juts outward, an overhanging precipice. Also a bonsai style with branches trailing downward.
• Synonym切り岸きりぎしNeutralRare; stresses a stretch where the ground rises abruptly, as a steep bank along a river or on a slope.
• Synonym山岨やまそわWrittenWritten and rare, with an old-fashioned air; stresses a steep cliff in the mountains.
• Synonym削壁WrittenWritten and rare; stresses a steep face as straight as if cut by a blade.
• Synonym切岸NeutralRare; simply another written form of 「切り岸」, with the same meaning.
• Synonym絶崖WrittenWritten and rare; synonymous with 「断崖」 but stresses extreme peril.
• Synonym岨WrittenA steep slope in the mountains; a rare, archaic single-character word seen mainly in old texts.
• Antonym平地へいちNeutralLevel, flat ground; the exact opposite of the steep, dangerous terrain of 「断崖」.

Default to 「断崖」 for a steep, dangerous cliff by the sea or in the mountains; it often appears as 「断崖絶壁」. In everyday speech, 「崖」 is the common word, and it can also mean the brink of trouble. For a wall-like, perfectly vertical face choose 「絶壁」. 「切り岸」 covers steep riverbanks. The rest — 「懸崖」, 「削壁」, 「山岨」, 「絶崖」, 「岨」 — are rare written or archaic variants; 「平地」 is the opposite.

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

1. 切り立きりたった険けわしい崖がけ。