How to say "rock" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- nounCovers rock only as a music genre — the kind of band you listen to; as a loanword it never refers to stones or boulders.
- 岩いわnounUse this for rock as a large, solid mass of stone — a boulder you might scramble over on a mountainside or see along a coast.
- 石いしnounIts core sense is stone: a pebble or a loose piece you could pick up. When English 'rock' means something like that, this is the word; a huge boulder is 岩.
- 揺れるゆれるichidan verb, intransitive verbThis is the verb for back-and-forth motion: use it when a boat rocks on the waves or a cradle rocks. It also covers shaking, swaying and swinging, so context decides how to render it.
- nounIn rock-paper-scissors this is the 'rock' — the closed fist. Outside that game it means a fist, so it is not the word for actual rocks or stones.
Pick 「ロック」 for the music genre, 岩 for a large boulder-like mass, 石 for a small loose stone, 「揺れる」 when 'rock' is a verb of swaying motion, and 「グー」 for the fist in rock-paper-scissors.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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