Japanese word

岩石

Pronunciation

Romajiganseki

Meaning

  • nounrock

Example

この岩石はとても硬いです。ko no gan seki wa to te mo kata i de su

This rock is very hard.

Illustration for 岩石 (rock)

More examples

博物館では、火山の岩石を詳しく調べています。haku butsu kan de wa ka zan no gan seki o kuwa shi ku shira be te i ma su

At the museum, we are examining volcanic rocks in detail.

Core concept

Refers to naturally formed solid material made of one or more minerals and forming part of the Earth.

Common phrases

  • 岩石の種類gan seki no shu rui

    types of rock

  • 岩石の成分gan seki no sei bun

    rock composition

  • 岩石を分類するgan seki o bun rui su ru

    classify rocks

Similar words

岩iwa: A large, hard mass of natural stone that often remains in the ground.
石ishi: A small piece of hard natural stone that can be picked up or used as an object.

Definition in Japanese

鉱物などが固まってできた、地殻を構成する自然の物質。kō butsu na do ga kata ma tte de ki ta chi kaku o kō sei su ru shi zen no bus shitsu

Word origin

岩石 (ganseki) combines 岩 (gan, "rock") and 石 (seki, "stone"), so its form directly describes rock-like stone material.

Usage tips

  • In Japanese science writing, 岩石 (ganseki) is the formal term for rock, while 岩 (iwa) commonly refers to an individual rock or crag.

Related words

  • 岩石学gansekigakupetrologynoun
  • 岩石学者gansekigakushapetrologistnoun

Word lists with this word