岩

See also: 巖, 礹, 巗, 碞, 嵒, and 嵓

岩 U+5CA9, 岩 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5CA9 ← 岨 [U+5CA8] CJK Unified Ideographs 岪 → [U+5CAA]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

岩 (Kangxi radical 46, 山+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 山一口 (UMR), four-corner 2260₁, composition ⿱山石)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 309, character 19
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 7985
• Dae Jaweon: page 609, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 766, character 7
• Unihan data for U+5CA9

Chinese

trad.		岩/嵒*/巗*/巖
simp.		岩
alternative forms		嵓

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 岩
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意): 山 (“hill”) + 石 (“rock”).

Originally written as 巖 – phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ŋraːm): semantic 山 (“hill”) + phonetic 嚴 (OC *ŋam). The variant form 岩 first appeared in the clerical script in the Han dynasty era.

Etymology

Cognate with 嚴 (OC *ŋam, “majestic; stern; grave”) and 儼 (OC *ŋamʔ, “dignified; majestic”). See 嚴 for more.

癌 (ái, “cancer”) is a derivative of 岩.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yán (yan²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngaam⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): ngàm

  (Hailu, HRS): ngam

• Eastern Min (BUC): ngàng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): ngang²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): gâm / giâm

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ngam⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶yi; ⁶nge

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yán
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yán
    • Wade–Giles: yen²
    • Yale: yán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yan
    • Palladius: янь (janʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ngaam⁴
    • Yale: ngàahm
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngaam⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngam⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaːm²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngàm
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngam^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngam²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋam¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngam
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋam⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ngàng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaŋ⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ngang²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: ngáng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaŋ¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: ngang²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaŋ²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gâm
    • Tâi-lô: gâm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gaam
    • IPA (Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei): /ɡam²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡam²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡam¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: giâm
    • Tâi-lô: giâm
    • Phofsit Daibuun: giaam
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡiam²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /ɡiam²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡiam¹³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ngam⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: ngâm
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋam⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶yi; ⁶nge
    • MiniDict: yi^去; nge^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hhi; ³nge
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦi²³/, /ŋe²³/

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• Middle Chinese: ngaem

Rime
Character	岩
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)
Final (韻)	銜 (149)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	五銜切
Baxter	ngaem
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ŋˠam/
Pan Wuyun	/ŋᵚam/
Shao Rongfen	/ŋam/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ŋaɨm/
Li Rong	/ŋam/
Wang Li	/ŋam/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ŋam/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yán
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ngaam4

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ŋ]ˤr[a]m/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ŋraːm/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	岩
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	yán
Middle Chinese	‹ ngæm ›
Old Chinese	/*[ŋ]ˁr[a]m/ (< uvular?)
English	rocky, lofty
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	岩
Reading #	1/1
No.	3684
Phonetic component	敢
Rime group	談
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	巖
Old Chinese	/*ŋraːm/

Definitions

岩

1. cliff
2. rock; stone; -ite
3. mountain peak
4. cave
5. (obsolete) tall; steep
6. (obsolete) precipitous and strategically located

   • 制，巖邑也，虢叔死焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     制，岩邑也，虢叔死焉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

     Zhì, yán yì yě, Guó Shū sǐ yān. [Pinyin]

     The Zhi area is a dangerous and strategic place, Guo Shu died there.

Compounds

• 七星岩 (Qīxīngyán)
• 七里岩 (Qīlǐyán)
• 偉晶岩 / 伟晶岩
• 冰岩
• 冰磧岩 / 冰碛岩
• 凝灰岩 (nínghuīyán)
• 千岩萬壑 / 千岩万壑 (qiānyánwànhè)
• 噴出岩 / 喷出岩
• 大岩桐
• 大慈岩 (Dàcíyán)
• 安山岩 (ānshānyán)
• 岩圈
• 岩基
• 岩壁 (yánbì)
• 岩層 / 岩层
• 岩岸
• 岩床
• 岩心 (yánxīn)
• 岩棉
• 岩洞 (yándòng)
• 岩溶 (yánróng)
• 岩漿 / 岩浆 (yánjiāng)
• 岩灣 / 岩湾 (Yánwān)
• 岩田
• 岩石 (yánshí)
• 岩石圈 (yánshíquān)
• 岩石學 / 岩石学 (yánshíxué)
• 岩礁
• 岩羊 (yányáng)
• 岩脈 / 岩脉
• 岩鹽 / 岩盐
• 巉岩 (chányán)
• 懸岩 / 悬岩
• 攀岩 (pānyán)
• 斑岩 (bānyán)
• 板岩 (bǎnyán)
• 梅家岩 (Méijiāyán)
• 水成岩 (shuǐchéngyán)
• 沉積岩 / 沉积岩 (chénjīyán)
• 泥板岩 (níbǎnyán)
• 油頁岩 / 油页岩
• 流紋岩 / 流纹岩
• 浮岩 (fúyán)
• 深成岩
• 瀉水岩 / 泻水岩 (Xièshuǐyán)
• 火山岩 (huǒshānyán)
• 火成岩 (huǒchéngyán)
• 熔岩 (róngyán)
• 片岩 (piànyán)
• 片麻岩 (piànmáyán)
• 玄武岩 (xuánwǔyán)
• 玢岩 (bīnyán)
• 瘦岩岩
• 白雲岩 / 白云岩 (báiyúnyán)
• 石灰岩 (shíhuīyán)
• 石英岩
• 矽質岩 / 矽质岩
• 砂岩 (shāyán)
• 硬頁岩 / 硬页岩
• 磨變岩 / 磨变岩
• 礁岩
• 礫岩 / 砾岩 (lìyán)
• 粘板岩
• 粒變岩 / 粒变岩
• 粗面岩
• 紅岩寺 / 红岩寺 (Hóngyánsì)
• 結晶岩 / 结晶岩
• 膨土岩
• 花崗岩 / 花岗岩 (huāgāngyán)
• 角礫岩 / 角砾岩 (jiǎolìyán)
• 角頁岩 / 角页岩
• 輝綠岩 / 辉绿岩
• 輝長岩 / 辉长岩
• 鑼圈岩 / 锣圈岩 (Luóquānyán)
• 頁岩 / 页岩 (yèyán)
• 骨岩岩
• 高白岩 (Gāobáiyán)
• 黃牛岩 / 黄牛岩 (Huángniúyán)
• 黑曜岩 (hēiyàoyán)
• 龍巖 / 龙岩 (Lóngyán)

References

• “岩”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–