山川
shānchuān · HSK 7
Mountainous
⛰️ 山 mountain + 川 river = the mountains-and-rivers of a landscape
山 (shān) is mountain; 川 (chuān) is river or stream. Stacked together they name rugged, mountainous terrain — literally the mountains-and-rivers of a region.
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'.