岩 (yán) is a Chinese character meaning “rock”. It is written from 山 (mountain) and 石 (stone; rock), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “rock”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
山 + 石
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿱山石，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（3+5=8）
Memory aid
A mountain (山) sitting on stone (石): the rock a mountain is made of.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 岩石yán shírock岩 = yán
- 火山岩huǒ shān yánvolcanic rock岩 = yán
- 岩浆yán jiāngmagma; lava岩 = yán
Go deeper
All readings
rock
rock; crag; cliff
构成地壳的石头；也指高峻的山崖。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 岩石yán shírock岩 = yán
- 火山岩huǒ shān yánvolcanic rock岩 = yán
- 岩浆yán jiāngmagma; lava岩 = yán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 岩 mean?
岩 (yán) means rock; crag; cliff.
How do you pronounce 岩?
It is pronounced yán.
What parts is 岩 made of?
山 (mountain) and 石 (stone; rock), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿱山石，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（3+5=8）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 岩 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 岩?
山. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 岩?
Common ones are 岩石 and 火山岩. The reading of 岩 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.