L8. Daily Japanese Kanji — Lesson 8
Days 1-10
R-report
[Day 8] 山 - mountain
The character 山 is an ancient pictograph that originally represented a mountain with three peaks; it appears often in place names, geography, weather reports, hiking context, and everyday speech. Readings: On'yomi: サン / ザン (san / zan) — used in Sino-Japanese compounds such as 山脈（さんみゃく, sanmyaku, "mountain range") and 火山（かざん, kazan, "volcano"). Kun'yomi: やま (yama) — the native Japanese reading used for standalone words and place names, e.g. 山（やま, yama, "mountain"） and 山道（やまみち, yamamichi, "mountain path"). Mnemonic tip: think of three simple strokes as three peaks — that visual helps you remember both the meaning and the three-stroke order.
Readings
On'yomi: **サン／ザン (山)** (san / zan) Kun'yomi: **やま (山)** (yama)
Related words
- 山（やま / yama） — mountain. - **山**が見える場所が好きです。(Yama ga mieru basho ga suki desu. — I like places where I can see mountains.)
- 富士山（ふじさん / Fujisan） — Mount Fuji. - 日本で一番高い山は**富士山**です。(Nihon de ichiban takai yama wa **Fujisan** desu. — Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan.)
- 山頂（さんちょう / sanchou） — summit; mountain top. - 朝早く山に登って、**山頂**で日の出を見ました。(Asa hayaku yama ni nobotte, **sanchō** de hinode o mimashita. — I climbed early and watched the sunrise at the summit.)
- 火山（かざん / kazan） — volcano. - その島には活**火山**がある。(Sono shima ni wa katsu **kazan** ga aru. — There is an active volcano on that island.)
- 山小屋（やまごや / yamagoya） — mountain hut; mountain lodge. - 冬に**山小屋**で一泊しました。(Fuyu ni **yamagoya** de ippaku shimashita. — I stayed one night at a mountain hut in winter.)