The kanji 岩 represents "rock," "boulder," or "cliff." It fundamentally conveys the idea of a large, solid mass of stone, something typically found in nature and characterized by its hardness and durability.

・On-yomi (音読み): ガン (gan) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): いわ (iwa)

⚫︎岩山 Translation: rocky mountain ⚫︎岩石 Translation: rock, stones ⚫︎岩壁 Translation: cliff face, rock wall

The kanji 岩 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The left side is the radical 石 (いし, "stone") and provides the meaning. The right side is 艮 (こん, "firm" or "stopping"), which functions as the phonetic component, indicating the sound and contributing to the overall meaning of stability and solidity. Therefore, the structure of 岩 clearly demonstrates "stone" combined with "firm" or "stopping," to depict "rock."