Departments
A MOUNTAIN OF A KANJI
山
The “mountain kanji” has two readings: SAN and yama. There are only two serious pitfalls to keep in mind in regard to this character:
When this on reading of this character falls in the second syllable of character, the SAN reading usually changes to ZAN:
- 登山（とざん）mountain climbing
- 火山 （かざん）volcano
- 下山 （げざん）descent from a mountain
When the kanji is doubled to form the following compound word, the kun reading is used, and the second kanji is indicated with a 々.
山々（やまやま）
*Note that this expression is often used figuratively: