断水

だんすい

water outage

JLPT N2

Character Breakdown

Meaning and Usage

"断水" (だんすい) refers to a temporary interruption or cutoff of water supply, often due to maintenance, natural disasters, or emergencies. It is a common term used in daily life when discussing water supply issues.

Common Contexts

You will often hear "断水" in news reports about typhoons, earthquakes, or scheduled maintenance. It is important to prepare by storing water when a断水 is announced.

Collocations and Patterns

  • 断水する: to have a water outage
  • 断水が続く: the water outage continues
  • 断水の知らせ: notice of water outage
  • 断水期間: period of water outage

Register and Usage Notes

"断水" is a neutral term used in both formal and informal contexts. It is not a casual word but is commonly understood by all age groups.

Common Mistakes

Learners sometimes confuse "断水" with "停電" (ていでん, power outage). Remember that "断水" specifically refers to water supply interruption, not electricity.

Example Sentences

たいふうのえいきょうでまちぜんたいがだんすいしている。

The whole town is experiencing a water outage due to the typhoon.

だんすいのあいだはみずをせつやくしなければならない。

During the water outage, we have to conserve water.

だんすいのしらせがじぜんにとどいたので、ぺっとぼとるにみずをよういした。

Since we received notice of the water outage in advance, I prepared water in plastic bottles.