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岩石 (yán shí) — rock (geological formation)

Definition

岩石 (yánshí) is the formal, scientific term for 'rock' as a geological formation. Use 石头 (shítou) in everyday speech for a stone or rock you can pick up.

noun
rock (geological formation)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 岩石。
    Zhè zuò shān zhǔ yào yóu yán shí gòu chéng.
    This mountain is mainly composed of rock.
  • 岩石。。
    Kē xué jiā cóng yán shí zhōng fā xiàn le huà shí. fā xiàn le huà shí.
    Scientists discovered fossils in the rock.
  • 岩石，。
    Zhè kuài yán shí fēi cháng gǔ lǎo, yǒu jǐ yì nián le.
    This rock is very old, hundreds of millions of years old.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

岩yánrock; cliff
石shístone

岩 means 'rock, cliff' and 石 means 'stone'; together they refer to natural rock.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 巖; 岩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
嚴
嚴yán巖yán
Same sound today

The traditional form 巖 combines 山 (mountain) with 嚴, a part that gives the sound; the simplified 岩 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the original parts.

Open 岩 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Materials & Substances

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