Chinese character for mountain: 山 (shān)
The Chinese character for mountain is 山 (shān). It means mountain or hill and appears in 山水 (shānshuǐ, landscape) and 爬山 (pá shān, to climb a mountain). It is one of the easiest pictographs to recognize.
How 山 is built
山 is a pictograph of three mountain peaks rising from the ground, with the tallest in the middle. It has only three strokes. As a part of other characters it marks mountains and high places, as in 岛 (island) and 峰 (peak). Mountains stand for stability and steadiness in Chinese culture, as in the saying 稳如泰山 (as steady as Mount Tai). It is identical in both scripts.
山 shān · mountain
- 凵qiǎn — container
- 丨 — vertical stroke
Origin hint: Three mountain peaks (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 山 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 山 is identical in both scripts and very readable; it pairs well with 水 as 山水 for a landscape theme.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for mountain?
山 (shān) means “mountain”.
How do you pronounce 山?
山 is pronounced shān.