碞 (yán) - Yan — refers to stacked rocks & perilous, towering cliffs

碞Tone 2

yán ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

妍嬿

碞 · yán

Yan — refers to stacked rocks;

perilous, towering cliffs;

also used to describe something dangerous or precarious.

Yan — refers to stacked rocksperilous, towering cliffsalso used to describe something dangerous or precarious.

Usage highlights

stacked rockstowering cliffdangerous peakprecarious stonesrocky precipice

Synonyms

  • 岩— rock, cliff
  • 磊— pile of stones
  • 险— dangerous, perilous

Antonyms

  • 平— flat, level
  • 安— safe, secure

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The mountain path was perilous with stacked rocks (碞石).
  • They climbed the towering cliff (碞崖).
  • The ancient text described a dangerous peak (碞峰).

Collocations

  • stacked rocks(碞石)
  • towering cliff(碞崖)
  • dangerous peak(碞峰)
  • precarious stones(碞磊)
  • rocky precipice(碞岩)

Idioms

  • Towering cliffs and deep ravines(碞崖深谷)
  • Dangerous as stacked rocks(危如碞石)
  • Precarious mountain path(碞道险峻)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character depicts three mouths (品) over stones (石), suggesting rocks piled high or speaking of rocks.
  • Used in classical texts to describe dangerous, rocky terrain that is difficult to traverse.
  • Appears in some place names and geographical descriptions for areas with distinctive rock formations.

FAQ