崩壊（ほうかい、houkai）
- collapse

The Japanese word 崩壊 (読み方: ほうかい, *houkai*) means "collapse," "breakdown," "fall," or "disintegration." It refers to the process of something gradually falling apart, deteriorating, or losing its structure or function. This can apply to physical objects, systems, societies, or even abstract concepts. The key idea is a process of degradation leading to an end. It suggests a significant and often irreversible change. 崩壊 can also describe the sudden, complete destruction of something, as well as a gradual process.

⚫︎社会の崩壊 Translation: The collapse of society. ⚫︎経済の崩壊を食い止める Translation: To prevent the collapse of the economy. ⚫︎建物が崩壊した Translation: The building collapsed.

You can use 崩壊 to describe a wide range of situations where something is failing or coming to an end. It's often used in formal or serious contexts. For example, you might use it when talking about political instability, the decline of a civilization, the destruction of a building, or the failure of a system. You can also use forms of 崩壊, such as 崩壊する (*houkai suru*) "to collapse" or 崩壊した (*houkai shita*) "collapsed."

崩壊 is typically written in kanji. The reading is ほうかい in hiragana. There are no other ways to write this word commonly. The okurigana is fixed and used as 崩壊, 崩壊する, 崩壊した and so on.

⚫︎ 倒壊 (とうかい, *toukai*) - collapse (of a building or structure) ⚫︎ 破綻 (はたん, *hatan*) - failure, bankruptcy, breakdown ⚫︎ 滅亡 (めつぼう, *metsubou*) - destruction, ruin, downfall ⚫︎ 崩落 (ほうらく, *houraku*) - collapse, falling down (used for objects) ⚫︎ 瓦解 (がかい, *gakai*) - disintegration, collapse (of an organization, etc.)

⚫︎ 建設 (けんせつ, *kensetsu*) - construction, building ⚫︎ 安定 (あんてい, *antei*) - stability, equilibrium ⚫︎ 維持 (いじ, *iji*) - maintenance, preservation ⚫︎ 復興 (ふっこう, *fukkou*) - reconstruction, recovery

その国の政治体制は、内戦の末に崩壊した。 ・Translation: The political system of that country collapsed after the civil war. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 崩壊 to describe the end of a political system due to internal conflict.

長年の使用で、橋は少しずつ崩壊し始めた。 ・Translation: After years of use, the bridge began to gradually collapse. ・Explanation: This sentence shows 崩壊 describing the slow degradation of a structure over time.

The word 崩壊 is composed of two kanji: 崩 (*hou* or *kuzure-*) which means "to crumble, collapse", and 壊 (*kai* or *koware-*) which means "to break, destroy". The combination of these two characters conveys the meaning of a complete breakdown or disintegration.