mountain

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 山 means a mountain; its kun-reading is やま and its on-readings include さん.
• Basic usage: 山(やま) means a mountain or a critical point in a task, while 登山(とざん) means mountain climbing.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A mountain to climb and a critical point in work
  • 山 is the mountain climbed with the family. In the work example, 最大の山 means the most critical point.
  • 登山 refers to the activity of climbing a mountain. Unlike the standalone reading やま for 山, the latter part of 登山 is read ざん.