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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "rock" in Chinese?

岩石

yán shí

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "rock" is 岩石.

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

YAN SHI. Yan rises slightly, shi is flat. Yan starts low and climbs gently, then shi stays steady on top.

Writing and usage

Two characters: 岩 (yan) has 8 strokes with the mountain radical on the left, 石 (shi) has 5 strokes and is itself a stone character.

Example sentence

海边有很多岩石。

There are many rocks by the sea.

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How to remember 岩石

See the mountain in yan? It's literally part of the character. Shi on its own means stone, so together they are stone from the mountain.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

See more nouns.

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Questions about 岩石

How do you say "rock" in Chinese?

In Chinese, "rock" is 岩石. It is a noun.

How is 岩石 written in Chinese?

Two characters: 岩 (yan) has 8 strokes with the mountain radical on the left, 石 (shi) has 5 strokes and is itself a stone character.

How is 岩石 used in a sentence?

Use 岩石 as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: 海边有很多岩石。 (There are many rocks by the sea.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

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"Rock" in other languages

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