山 (shān): mountain, hill, (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
山 (shān) is a Chinese character meaning “mountain.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 凵 (structural) and 丨 (structural). It ranks #259 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 山 three mountain peaks. Its radical form 山 (mountain) appears in many related characters such as 岁 (suì, years old), 岸 (àn, bank), 岗 (gǎng, (bound form) hillock).
Definitions
- mountain
- hill
- (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
Etymology & Origin
pictographicThree mountain peaks
Decomposition: ⿶凵丨 (layout: surround-from-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 山 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 山
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 山顶noun | shān dǐng | hilltop | 6 |
| 山坡noun | shān pō | hillside | 6 |
| 山区noun | shān qū | mountain area | 5 |
| 山峰noun | shān fēng | (mountain) peak | 6 |
| 人山人海phrase | rén shān rén hǎi | (idiom) multitude | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 山姆proper-noun | shān mǔ | (name) Sam |
| 旧金山proper-noun | jiù jīn shān | San Francisco, California |
| 山羊noun | shān yáng | goat |
| 火山noun | huǒ shān | volcano |
| 亚历山大 | yà lì shān dà | Alexander (name) |
| 山谷noun | shān gǔ | valley |
| 山洞noun | shān dòng | cavern |
| 雪山noun | xuě shān | snow-capped mountain |
| 山脉noun | shān mài | mountain range |
| 冰山noun | bīng shān | iceberg |
| 登山verb | dēng shān | to climb a mountain |
| 山脊noun | shān jǐ | mountain ridge |
| 开门见山 | kāi mén jiàn shān | lit. to open the door and see the mountain |
| 山庄noun | shān zhuāng | manor house |
| 爬山verb | pá shān | to go for a hike (esp. in the hills or mountains) |
山 appears in 117 compound words: 47 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 山 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (74)
Annamite Range, aka Annamese Cordillera, mountain range forming the border between Vietnam and Laos
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
half of the country (usually referring to the unoccupied part of an invaded country)
can't recognize Mt Taishan (idiom); fig. not to recognize a famous person
Annamite Range, aka Annamese Cordillera, mountain range forming the border between Vietnam and Laos
can't recognize Mt Taishan (idiom); fig. not to recognize a famous person
Showing 12 of 74 idioms containing 山.
Example Sentences
山字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
shān zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character for "mountain" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
排山倒海 扑面而来!六百只宋代瓷碗在这叠成墙
pái shān dǎo hǎi pū miàn ér lái ! liù bǎi zhī sòng dài cí wǎn zài zhè dié chéng qiáng
Overwhelming and coming! Six hundred Song Dynasty porcelain bowls are stacked on this wall
山东济南网红巨型空飘鳌鱼被大风吹走,现场工...
shān dōng jì nán wǎng hóng jù xíng kōng piāo 鳌 yú bèi dà fēng chuī zǒu , xiàn chǎng gōng . . .
Shandong Jinan Internet celebrity giant floating turtle was blown away by the strong wind, and the on-site workers...
新春走基层丨从前有座山,山里有座站,站里来了个“0..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 cóng qián yǒu zuò shān , shān lǐ yǒu zuò zhàn , zhàn lǐ lái le gè 0 . .
New Year's walk to the grassroots丨Once upon a time, there was a mountain, there was a station in the mountain, and there was a "0..
致敬坚守者:宝山这些身影温暖了我们的团圆年|在宝山..
zhì jìng jiān shǒu zhě : bǎo shān zhè xiē shēn yǐng wēn nuǎn le wǒ men de tuán yuán nián zài bǎo shān . .
Salute to the perseverance: These figures of Baoshan warmed our reunion year|In Baoshan:
新春“不打烊”:梁山港的坚守与奋进
xīn chūn bù dǎ 烊 : liáng shān gǎng de jiān shǒu yǔ fèn jìn
New Year "not closed": Liangshan Port's perseverance and progress
我们打算去登山，你也去吗？
Wǒmen dǎsuàn qù dēngshān, nǐ yě qù ma?
We're going up into the mountains, so why don't you come with us?
这列火车在昆山车站停车吗？
Zhè liè huǒchē zài Kūnshān chēzhàn tíngchē ma?
Does this train stop at Kunshan station?
那辆山地车多少钱？
Nà liàng shāndìchē duōshao qián?
How much is that mountain bike?
你住在筱山多久了？
Nǐ zhù zài xiǎo shān duōjiǔ le?
How long have you lived in Sasayama?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 山 (shān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 山 and 大?
How many strokes does 山 have?
What is the radical of 山?
What are the components of 山?
What are common words containing 山?
What characters sound the same as 山 (shān)?
Is 山 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 山 with real-time feedback
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