撃墜（げきつい、gekitsui）
- shooting down

The Japanese word 撃墜 (げきつい - gekitsui) primarily means "to shoot down" or "to down" something, especially an aircraft, by shooting at it. It implies the destruction or disabling of an aerial vehicle through gunfire or other means. It can also be used figuratively to describe the complete defeat of someone or something in a competition or argument, rendering them powerless or unsuccessful.

⚫︎ 戦闘機が敵のミサイルを撃墜した。 Translation: The fighter jet shot down the enemy missile. ⚫︎ あの政治家は討論会で相手を撃墜した。 Translation: That politician defeated their opponent in the debate. ⚫︎ パイロットは敵の航空機を撃墜するのに成功した。 Translation: The pilot succeeded in shooting down the enemy aircraft.

This word is most commonly used in the context of military action, aviation, or competitions. It's suitable for describing scenarios where something is brought down or defeated. ⚫︎When talking about actual aircraft being shot down, using this word is natural. ⚫︎It can also be used in a figurative sense to express a decisive victory or overwhelming defeat. ⚫︎The word is more formal, so in casual situations other words might be used.

撃墜 is written in kanji. The reading is げきつい in hiragana. There is only one standard way to write this word, and no variations in the okurigana.

⚫︎ 打ち落とす (uchiotosu) - to shoot down, to knock down ⚫︎ 墜落させる (tsuiraku saseru) - to cause to crash (though this focuses more on the crash itself) ⚫︎ 破る (yaburu) - to defeat (figurative sense)

⚫︎ 打ち上げ (uchiage) - launch, to launch (opposite of bringing something down) ⚫︎ 上昇 (joushou) - rise, to rise (opposite of falling) ⚫︎ 勝利する (shouri suru) - to win (opposite of being defeated)

そのミサイルはレーダーに探知され、すぐに撃墜された。 ・Translation: That missile was detected by radar and immediately shot down. ・Explanation: This sentence describes an aircraft missile being defeated by shooting it down.

彼はプレゼンテーションでライバルの提案を撃墜した。 ・Translation: He shot down his rival's proposal in the presentation. ・Explanation: This is a figurative usage of 撃墜, referring to the rejection or defeat of the rival's idea.

The word 撃墜 is formed from two kanji: 撃 (geki), meaning "to attack," "to hit," or "to strike," and 墜 (tsui), meaning "to fall" or "to crash." Together, they create the meaning of "to cause something to fall by attacking it."