山冈
shān gāng · HSK 7
small hill
⛰️ 山冈 = 山 mountain + 冈 ridge/hill, so a small mound
山 — pictograph of three mountain peaks
山 is one of the oldest pictographs in Chinese, originally drawn in oracle bone script as three pointed peaks rising from a baseline. The form was simplified over time into the modern three vertical strokes on a base. Its meaning has stayed remarkably stable: 'mountain' or 'hill'.