山 meaning in English
mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4]); (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
Meaning of 山
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4])
- (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on
- surname Shan
How to use 山
山 is a very common everyday word for mountain or hill, and it is counted with the measure word 座 (zuò). It appears in many compounds like 爬山 (pá shān, to hike) and 山区 (shānqū, mountain area). Example: 我们周末去爬山。(Wǒmen zhōumò qù pá shān.) We are going hiking this weekend.
山 (shān) looks like a mountain range drawn simply: a tall peak in the middle with two smaller peaks on each side, all standing on one base line. Picture three summits rising from the ground.
Common mistake: Learners often use 个 (gè) instead of the proper measure word 座 (zuò), so say 一座山 (yí zuò shān), not 一个山. Also keep the first tone high and flat; shān is not shàn (扇, fan) or shǎn (闪, to flash).
山 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
山 shān · mountain · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 山.
| 爬山 | pá shān | to go for a hike (esp. in the hills or mountains) |
| 登山 | dēngshān | to climb a mountain; climbing |
| 山区 | shānqū | mountain area |
| 山谷 | shāngǔ | valley; ravine |
| 山峰 | shānfēng | (mountain) peak |
| 山坡 | shānpō | hillside |
| 火山 | huǒshān | volcano |
| 下山 | xiàshān | to go down a hill; (of the sun or moon) to set |
| 山顶 | shāndǐng | hilltop |
| 高山 | gāoshān | high mountain; alpine mountain |
| 冰山 | bīngshān | iceberg; ice-covered mountain |
| 山寨 | shānzhài | fortified hill village; mountain stronghold (esp. of bandits) |
Questions about 山
What does 山 mean?
山 (shān) means "mountain; hill (CL:座[zuo4]); (coll.) small bundle of straw for silkworms to spin cocoons on" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 山?
山 is made of 1 character: 山 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 山 an HSK word?
Yes. 山 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 爬山 and 登山?
爬山 (pá shān) is the casual everyday word for going hiking or walking up a hill. 登山 (dēngshān) sounds more formal and often refers to mountain climbing as a sport, like serious mountaineering.
Can 山 mean a large pile of something?
Yes, figuratively 山 can describe a big heap, as in 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi), meaning huge crowds of people. The dictionary also lists a colloquial sense: a small bundle of straw where silkworms spin cocoons.