Refers to a dirty, often smelly drainage ditch or gutter, typically found along roads or in urban areas. Carries a negative, unpleasant connotation.
道端のどぶに落ちてしまった。
I fell into the ditch by the roadside.
gap between cutting guides
Only with reading ドブ
Specialized term used in printing or paper cutting; refers to the gap between cutting guides. Usually written in katakana as ドブ.
印刷の工程で、ドブの幅を調整する。
In the printing process, adjust the width of the gap between cutting guides.
I slipped on the dark road and fell into the ditch.
この辺りはどぶの臭いがひどい。
The smell from the drains is terrible around here.
この辺りはどぶの臭いがしてひどい。
This area smells terrible, like a ditch.
The bike's front wheel got stuck in the ditch and I couldn't move.
下水 refers to the sewage/wastewater system in general, whereas どぶ is the concrete, often foul-smelling open ditch that carries such water.
排水溝 is the neutral technical term for a drainage channel or gutter, while どぶ implies the same thing but with a dirty, malodorous connotation.
brown rat; Norway rat; sewer rat · dark gray; dirty gray · deceitful employee; unfaithful servant
large ditch
ditch water; water in a ditch
ditch mud; mud from a ditch
Sphaerium japonicum; fingernail clam
Usually written in kana; the kanji 溝 is also read みぞ and can cause confusion.
Kanji spelling is possible but rare; more often read みぞ.
Katakana spelling is common in informal writing and for the specialized sense 'gap between cutting guides'.
The origin is uncertain; possibly related to どろ (mud) or どぶん (splashing sound). The kanji 溝 is an assigned character, not reflecting the word's derivation.