Japanese Conversation · Level 16
90 words
Japanese word
岩
Pronunciation
Romajiiwa
Meaning
- nounrock
Example
川のそばに大きな岩があります。kawa no so ba ni ō ki na iwa ga a ri ma su
There is a large rock beside the river.
More examples
海で大きな岩を見ました。umi de ō ki na iwa o mi ma shi ta
I saw a big rock by the sea.
海岸では、波が大きな岩に何度も当たります。kai gan de wa nami ga ō ki na iwa ni nan do mo a ta ri ma su
On the shore, waves repeatedly hit a large rock.
Core concept
Describes a naturally occurring stone mass that is too large to be treated as an ordinary loose stone.
Common phrases
岩にぶつかるiwa ni bu tsu ka ru
hit a rock
岩を動かすiwa o ugo ka su
move a rock
岩の表面iwa no hyō men
surface of a rock
Similar words
石ishi: A hard piece of mineral material that can usually be picked up and moved.
岩石ganseki: A solid mass of naturally formed minerals that makes up part of the earth.
Definition in Japanese
地殻をつくる硬い物質、または地表に現れたその大きな塊。移動できる塊にもいう。chi kaku o tsu ku ru kata i bus shitsu ma ta wa chi hyō ni arawa re ta so no ō ki na katamari i dō de ki ru katamari ni mo i u
Word origin
The native Japanese word 岩 (iwa, "rock") is recorded in the older form いは (iha, "rock"); its kanji was adopted to write the existing Japanese word.
Usage tips
- English rock can refer to music, but Japanese uses 岩 (iwa, "rock") for a natural rock and ロック (rokku, "rock music") for the music genre.
Other meanings
- bouldernoun