山 means “mountain”

Watch: Gen and Shibamaru learn 山

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Where 山 comes from

山 began as a picture of a mountain range with three peaks. Over time the picture became three simple lines. The tall line in the middle is the highest peak, and you write it first.

Stroke order (3 strokes)

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3

Words with 山

• 

  山やま

  YAMA

  mountain

• 

  富士山ふじさん

  FUJISAN

  Mt. Fuji

• 

  火山かざん

  KAZAN

  volcano

• 

  山手線やまのてせん

  YAMANOTESEN

  Yamanote Line

The part of each word written with 山 is shown in orange. Audio: the readings from our video.

Reading tips

• On its own, 山 is read やま (YAMA): 山にのぼります means "I climb a mountain."
• In words made of two or more kanji, 山 is often read サン (SAN), as in 富士山 (FUJISAN). Many mountain names in Japan end this way.
• Sometimes サン changes to ザン (ZAN) after another kanji, as in 火山 (KAZAN, volcano). This S-to-Z sound change happens in many Japanese compound words.
• The サン at the end of 富士山 is not the name ending さん (like Tanaka-san). It is just the kanji 山.

Gen's mistake

• Gen山手線って 山を走るの？Does the Yamanote Line go up a mountain?
• Shibamaruううん、東京を走る電車だよNo, it's a train in Tokyo!

The 山手線 (YAMANOTESEN) is a train line that loops around central Tokyo, through stations like Tokyo, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. There are no mountains on the way. The name comes from 山の手 (YAMANOTE), an old name for the higher, hilly part of the city.

Example sentences

• 山に のぼります。

  YAMA NI NOBORIMASU.

  I climb a mountain.

• ふじさんは 日本で いちばん たかい 山です。

  FUJISAN WA NIHON DE ICHIBAN TAKAI YAMA DESU.

  Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan.

Keep learning kanji

• Remembering the Kanji 1

  Beginner and up

  Learn the meaning and the writing of over 2,000 kanji by building each one from its parts with a short story. Readings are not covered.

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• GENKI I Textbook (3rd Edition)

  Beginner

  A popular first textbook used in many university courses. Each lesson has a dialogue, grammar explanations in English, and plenty of practice.

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