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Kanji Detail for 山 - "mountain, temple"

山

  • Meaning

    山 means "mountain, temple." Also associated with burial mound.

    1. Mountain - A high elevated landform; something shaped like a mountain.

    2. Temple - A term added to temple names.

    3. Burial mound - A grave made by piling earth.

    4. Climax - The peak of interest or excitement; the highest point.

    5. Enryaku-ji - The temple on Mount Hiei.

  • Words using 山

    • 火山 かざん Listen volcano
    • 青山 せいざん Listen lush mountain; green mountain; grave
    • 山形 やまがた Listen Yamagata (city, prefecture); mountain shape; chevron
    • 登山 とざん Listen mountain climbing; mountaineering; ascent of a mountain
    • 大山 たいざん Listen great mountain; large mountain
    • 小山 こやま Listen hill; knoll
    • 山村 さんそん Listen mountain village
    • 山手 やまて Listen place near the mountains; hilly section of a city (e.g. the Yamate area in Kōbe)

  • Four-character idioms with 山

    • 千山万水 せんざんばんすい Listen many mountains and rivers; a great distance to travel
    • 大山鳴動 たいざんめいどう Listen big fuss over nothing; much cry and little wool; much ado about nothing
    • 屍山血河 しざんけつが Listen heaps of bodies and streams of blood; fierce battle
    • 山容水態 さんようすいたい Listen scenic beauty of mountains and streams; fresh and clear beauty of nature's splendor
    • 山川草木 さんせんそうもく Listen nature; natural scenery
    • 山紫水明 さんしすいめい Listen scenic beauty

  • Origin of 山

    A pictograph of three peaks rising from a common ridge, unchanged in spirit since the oracle bones.

    How to remember it: Three peaks, tallest in the middle — a mountain range in three strokes.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 山

    • Verified meaning: mountain, temple
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read がんざん, せん, たか, たかし)
    • Also carries these associations: burial mound

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 山

    Given names 山(がんざん)Listen 山(たかし)Listen

    Surnames 山(せん)Listen 山(たか)Listen 山(のぼる)Listen 山(やま)Listen 山(やまかつ)Listen 山(やまさ)Listen 山(やまさき)Listen 山(やまざき)Listen 山(やまじ)Listen 山(やまずみ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    mountain

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    mountain, hill, peak

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    surname Shan

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    mountain, hill, peak

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A general term for raised earth and rock on the ground. Such as hills, ridges, and islands. When speaking of multiple mountains and their ups and downs and branches, it's called 山彙 or 山脈. Those formed by volcanic activity are called 火山. | Burial mounds are called 山. Such as 山陵.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    san(サン) サン

    sen(セン) セン

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    yama(やま) やま

  • Strokes

    tip

    3 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    山 (yama・yamahen・yamakammuri)

  • Related Keywords

    mountain temple burial mound climax enryaku-ji grave peak alpine altitude ascent climb descent elevated elevation foothill high hike landform landscape lofty majestic nature outdoors plateau range ridge summit terrain towering

Sentences including 山

  • What a good teacher mr hirayama is !

  • I climbed the mountain last summer.

  • There are many monkeys in the mountain.

  • Is okayama a big city?

  • My name is yamada.

  • We went to the mountain to ski.

  • I have lived in sasayama for three years.

  • I would go to the mountains when young.

  • She is a doctor and also an alpinist.

  • We went to the mountain to ski.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 山 (yama・yamahen・yamakammuri)

See all kanji with this radical →

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