Where does “山” come from?

山 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 陰, from Middle Chinese 陰.

山 (Japanese): a mountain or hill; a mine; a heap, pile

Definitions

  1. a mountain or hill; a mine; a heap, pile

Ancestry of “山”, step by step

山 traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 陰

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese陰shadow, shade; hidden side; yin
2Middle Chinese陰—

via Old Japanese 山

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Japanese山a mountain
2Proto-Japonic*yamamountain

via Middle Chinese 山

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Chinese山—

Words derived from “山”

Every word from Middle Chinese 陰 →Every word from Japanese 陰 →