堤防

• Reading: ていぼう
• Romaji: teibou
• Kanji breakdown: 堤 (tei) — embankment, dike; 防 (bō) — defend, prevent
• Pronunciation: /teː.boː/

Meaning

Embankment; levee; dike; seawall. A structure built to contain or redirect water and protect land from flooding or wave action.

A noun referring to any engineered barrier constructed along rivers, coasts, or shorelines to prevent flood damage. 堤防 appears frequently in news reports during typhoon and heavy-rain seasons, and is central to civil engineering and disaster-management discourse. Its failure (決壊) is considered a major disaster event in Japan.

Examples

1. 河川沿いの堤防が豪雨で決壊し、周辺地域に甚大な被害をもたらした。 The levee along the river burst during the heavy rain, causing severe damage to the surrounding area.
2. 住民たちは堤防の建設を自治体に繰り返し要請してきた。 Residents have repeatedly petitioned the local government for the construction of an embankment.
3. 海岸の堤防には波の浸食を防ぐためのコンクリートブロックが積まれている。 Concrete blocks are stacked along the coastal seawall to prevent wave erosion.

Usage Guide

Context: civil engineering, flood control, natural disasters

Tone: descriptive

Origin & History

Sino-Japanese compound. 堤 (tei) means embankment or dike, 防 (bō) means defence or prevention. Together they describe the structure that defends land from water.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal