ruins; remains of a building or town
Refers to the ruined remains of a building, town, facility, or similar place, often after abandonment, disaster, or war. Common in phrases such as 廃墟になる and 廃墟と化す.
The town was reduced to ruins by the war.
The ruins of an old hotel remain in the mountains.
The factory became ruins after the fire.
The entire town was reduced to ruins by the war.
They explored the ruined hotel.
The boy took photos while wandering through the ruins.
遺跡 denotes historic or archaeological remains valued for their cultural heritage, whereas 廃墟 simply means physical ruins, often modern and abandoned.
跡 is a broad, everyday word for a trace or site left behind, while 廃墟 specifically means the concrete ruins of a structure.
残骸 refers to wreckage or debris from something destroyed, while 廃墟 refers to the standing ruined remains of a building or town.
廃墟 refers to ruins or abandoned structures in general (any cause of decay), whereas 焼け跡 specifically means the remains left after a fire.
廃墟 means ruins or a derelict building/site in general, whereas ゴーストタウン specifically denotes an entire abandoned town.
廃墟 is the broader term for any abandoned ruin or building, whereas 廃坑 is used specifically for a disused mine.
廃墟 describes abandoned, decaying buildings often from recent history, whereas 遺跡 refers to archaeological remains studied for their historical value.
Used when counting ruins (廃墟) as locations or sites, e.g. 廃墟一箇所, rather than as physical structures.
Standard kanji spelling; this form and reading is high-priority.
Attested variant spelling, less standard than 廃墟.
A Sino-Japanese compound read はいきょ. 廃 is associated with abandonment or disuse, and 墟 with ruins or the site of something destroyed; the variant 廃虚 uses 虚 in place of 墟 but refers to the same word.